90 
or nesting and which areas have lesser ecological 
benefits or costs. Although the speed of the 
present mapping method is acceptable for our 
current objectives we, as well as others, are 
exploring the possibility of using more rapid 
remote sensing methods such as computer classi- 
fication and plotting and color enhancement. In 
these endeavors, our present maps provide excel- 
lent and essential ‘‘ground truth.” At the 
moment, however, it is our experience that 
automatic techniques cannot successfully pro- 
duce maps of large areas at scales of 1:3,000 or 
smaller because of the mosaic and patterning 
which makes each tundra landscape unit unique. 
Conclusions 
We have presented a vegetation map of a 
small portion of the Prudhoe Bay oil field. We 
believe the method of mapping we have develop- 
ed is simple, easily taught, reasonably rapid, and 
effective. From these maps, with the addition of 
simple field observations and measurements and 
with subsequent analysis, it will be possible to 
develop recommendations for the effective man- 
agement and husbandry of the tundra ecosystem 
at Prudhoe Bay. The permanent plots which we 
have established will serve as an important base- 
line against which the effects of the develop- 
ment of the oil field on the tundra ecosystem 
can be gauged. 
Acknowledgments 
We wish to acknowledge the many fruitful 
discussions we had with Dr. Kaye R. Everett, 
who produced the soils map which serves as a 
companion to our vegetation map. We thank 
John Batty, who acted as field assistant and gave 
unflaggingly of his expertise in tundra plant 
identification and vegetation mapping. Ms. Vicki 
Dow provided us with valuable drafting help in 
the production of the maps and figures. We 
would also like to thank Dr. Jerry Brown, 
Director of the Tundra Biome, who encouraged 
us to do this work; the Naval Arctic Research 
Laboratory at Point Barrow and Mukluk Freight 
Line at Prudhoe Bay, which provided field sup- 
port. The late Scott Parrish provided us with 
coordination background information on Prud- 
hoe Bay. The mapping project was primarily 
financed from Prudhoe Bay Environmental Sub- 
committee funds through a subcontract from 
the Tundra Biome Center, University of Alaska, 
to the University of Colorado. However, consid- 
erable degree of effort from the NSF Tundra 
Biome grant (GV-29350) to the University of 
Colorado was provided as similar efforts were 
under way on the Barrow site. 
References 
Britton, M. E. (1967). Vegetation of the Arctic 
tundra. Pages 67-130 jn Arctic Biology 
(H. P. Hanson, ed.). Oregon State University 
Press. 
Brown, J. (1969). Soils of the Okpilak River 
region, Alaska. Pages 93-128 in The 
periglacial environment, past and present 
(T. L. Péwe, ed.). McGill-Queen’s University 
Press. 
Brown, J., R. K. Haugen, and S. Parrish (This 
volume). Selected climatic and soil thermal 
characteristics of the Prudhoe Bay region. 
Type 8 vegetation of active frost boils with little 
vegetation as a result of disturbance by road 
construction equipment. 
