Estimation of water quality and plant primary production in Arctic wetlands using ground based spectrometry

Wetlands represent a significant portion of the Arctic tundra landscape, which is experiencing warming at an unprecedented rate. Understanding of primary production in these ecosystems is essential for assessing carbon fluxes and climate change effects. Remote sensing techniques are known to be accurate and cost effective to monitor aquatic vegetation and water quality parameters; however, their utility in mapping these ecosystems is unknown. We used a handheld hyperspectral radiometer (Unispec, PP Systems) to measure reflectance across the visible and near-infrared spectrum (400-1100nm) of two predominant aquatic graminoid species (Carex aquatilis and Arctophila fulva) along an anthropogenic disturbance gradient in tundra ponds of Barrow, Alaska. Spectral measurements were validated with in situ biomass harvest and water quality monitoring (e.g DOC, nutrients, algal chlorophyll). Reflectance of the two plant species exhibited spectral differences in the near-infrared portion of the spectrum. These reflectance measurements were also associated with water quality and plant biomass. Future efforts will involve the extrapolation of these ground based observations to a regional level using airborne and satellite imagery. This study advances large scale quantification and monitoring of water quality and aquatic plant production in the Arctic tundra and aids understanding of anthropogenic and climate effects in this rapidly changing ecosystem.