The Scotty Creek Forest Dynamics Plot is located in the Hay River Lowlands at 61o81 north, west of Yellowknife, and just south of Fort Simpson, in Canada.This is the first plot in boreal forest in the CTFS-SIGEO network, and pushes the total CTFS-SIGEO plot count to 50. The plot is 21 hectares and is located in a remote expanse of pristine boreal peatland, which has been the focus of hydrological research since the late 1990s.
An interesting feature of Scotty Creek is that the site is characterized by discontinuous permafrost which creates habitat heterogeneity across the plot. The most abundant species is black spruce, and larch. High-density patches of Betula glandulosa(American dwarf birch) reaching measurable size are also frequent in the plot. Other common species include Alaskan paper birch, trembling aspen, white spruce, and alder and several willow species. The most common large mammals include moose, black bear, and woodland caribou.
To learn more, visit www.ctfs.si.edu
