Persistent Changes to Ecosystems following Winter Road Construction and Abandonment in an Area of Discontinuous Permafrost, Nahanni National Park Reserve, Northwest Territories, Canada

Disturbances to discontinuous permafrost terrain, such as those caused by winter road construction and abandonment, can lead to large and persistent changes in ecosystem composition and structure. A study conducted 32 years after the abandonment of a winter access road in Nahanni National Park Reserve (NNPR) found that these changes are driven by interactions between soil conditions and vegetation communities. The research compared disturbed (road) and undisturbed sites across four terrain types: spruce peatland, black spruce parkland, deciduous forest, and alpine treeline terrain. Findings suggest that when disturbances fundamentally disrupt stabilizing interactions between soil conditions and vegetation, lasting changes to ecosystem structure and function are likely, even in the context of climate warming.

Cameron, E. A., & Lantz, T. C. (2017). Persistent Changes to Ecosystems following Winter Road Construction and Abandonment in an Area of Discontinuous Permafrost, Nahanni National Park Reserve, Northwest Territories, Canada. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 49(2), 259–276. https://doi.org/10.1657/aaar0016-012