| Summary: | Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2022 Ice-wedge thermokarst ponds are forming in many areas of the Arctic as a result of climate warming and infrastructure development. Previous research suggests that development of aquatic vegetation within these ponds may create negative feedbacks to the process of ice-wedge degradation by reducing pond-bottom temperatures and thaw depths. The objectives of this research were to characterize thermokarst-pond plant communities and to evaluate the effects of vegetation on within-pond sediment temperatures and thaw depths. Aquatic vegetation was sampled in 39 plots within 29 thermokarst ponds in the Prudhoe Bay region of Alaska. Five floristically distinct plant communities were identified: Calliergon richardsonii comm., Scorpidium scorpioides comm., Pseudocalliergon turgescens comm., Hippuris vulgaris comm., and Ranunculus gmelinii comm. These communities had low species diversity (mean species richness 3.2 ± 1.5 SD) and were best differentiated by the single dominant species included in plant-community names. Ordination of species composition data revealed a temperature gradient, along which high biomass was associated with low sediment temperature and shallow thaw depth. The C. richardsonii and P. turgescens moss-dominated communities had very high biomass values (3079 g/m² ± 1895 SD and 3135 g/m² ± 585 SD, respectively). Examinations of temperature and thaw differences between communities were limited by sample size, as several communities were described based on only two plots each. To evaluate the potential insulative role of pond vegetation on pond-bottom temperature and thaw depth, differences between broad vegetation types (i.e., moss, forb, sparse) rather than communities were examined. Vegetation cover, total biomass, biomass of plant functional types, and soil organic horizon thickness were sampled, along with mean thaw depth and sediment temperature. Linear mixed-effects models were used to identify vegetation-related parameters with the highest ...
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