I. PROGRAM OVERVIEW 



INTRODUCTION 



The requirements for terrestrial ecosystem research in arctic and subarctic regions were 

 dramatized by events immediately preceding and following the discovery of oil in 1968 at Prudhoe 

 Bay. A keen awareness of these "fragile," cold-dominated ecosystems emerged as attempts to 

 mechanically cope with them produced unsightly and destructive evidence of man's intrusions in- 

 to a natural environment. The proposal to transport hot oil through a pipeline across the state of 

 Alaska raised an additional series of crucial environmental questions. 



Until recently, physical and biological scientists had traditionally undertaken research more 

 or less independently - both in time and space. Where integrated research had been attempted, 

 results were still presented by individuals, on discipline-oriented subjects, and often in widely 

 separated types of publications. The ecosystem concept and the methods of investigating, as 

 a total system, the interrelationships of all life forms with their physical environment offered 

 many advantages for the scientific pursuit of ecological assessment in the Arctic and subarctic. 



During the spring of 1970, the Tundra Biome Program of the U.S. International Biological Pro- 

 gram undertook the design of a series of short-term, interrelated experiments and observations which 

 would produce basic information on the functioning of cold-dominated ecosystems and would also 

 begin to answer questions concerning their responsiveness to natural and artificial impact. The 

 resulting summer research, funded principally by the National Science Foundation, did not constitute 

 the full Tundra Biome Program, although key elements of the more comprehensive integrated research 

 design were introduced. This report highlights the scientific accomplishments of the summer 1970 

 research, but is not a definitive treatise on the subjects of arctic and subarctic ecosystems. The 

 results, in most cases, were hurriedly abstracted from a voluminous data bank. Field investigations 

 of one season's duration can not be considered complete. Therefore, the interpretations and conclu- 

 sions are minimal and are considered preliminary. Final reports and interpretations will appear as 

 individual scientists complete their investigations. 



The report itself is published at this time for three purposes: 



1. To serve as an interim report to the National Science Foundation for 

 its portion of the sponsored research under the grant entitled E[(ects of 

 Perturbatioms on the Cold-Dominated Ecosystems in Alaska. 



2. To review the status of current research within the program, so that a 

 new proposal for 1971 can be developed based upon the 1970 research results. 

 This summary will serve to familiarize prospective projects with the modus 

 operandi of the prc^ram and current progress in specific research subjects. 



3. To demonstrate that a group of scientists from many institutions tlirough- 

 out the U.S., working together as a highly coordinated team, can conduct 

 integrated projects and can report the meaningful results of tlieir findings 

 while current research continues. The ability to do this is the initial 

 criterion for the continuation of this and similar ecosystem prc^rams. 



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