Historical data could help Alaska farmers address permafrost challenges
Kristin Summerlin
907-474-6284
Dec. 11, 2023
This week, scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks are presenting their work alongside thousands of colleagues from around the world at the 2023 American Geophysical Union fall meeting. Some of their discoveries are featured here. You can also find out more about UAF at AGU by searching for #UAFxAGU on social media platforms.
A small hay field, initially cleared for cultivation in the early 1990s, shows mounds and ponds from degrading permafrost. After 2017, haying was no longer viable.
Since farmers cleared the first fields for crops in the Interior more than a century ago, they’ve grappled with two significant challenges posed by degrading permafrost. When the frozen ground thaws, it can form mounds and marshes that make plowing impossible. Or sinkholes may open suddenly, damaging buildings or swallowing farm equipment.
These costly problems tend to worsen over time, sometimes forcing farmers to abandon their fields after several years.
Through Permafrost Grown, an initiative funded by the National Science Foundation, researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks are collaborating with Interior farmers to learn how agriculture and permafrost interact. Their goal is to develop best practices to mitigate and manage permafrost degradation.
A sinkhole scars the T Field on UAF’s North Campus, where a massive ground-ice body eroded. The field, Farm 3 on geologist Troy Péwé's 1948 map, was initially cleared in 1908. Sinkholes still form there more than 100 years later.
As part of that effort, Benjamin Jones, research associate professor at UAF’s Institute of Northern Engineering, uses drones and pulsed lasers to gather data on how agricultural land in the Interior has changed over time. He is revisiting the permafrost-laden fields first documented in the 1940s by renowned geologist and early permafrost scientist Troy L. Péwé.
By focusing on farms cleared 70 to 100 years ago, Jones aims to use historical observations to address the challenges today’s farmers face, helping them keep their fields in production.
“It may be surprising that people are trying to farm on permafrost. It just seems like it might be a bad idea,” Jones said. “But the permafrost region spans 80 percent of the state, so it’s practically unavoidable. And it’s not a terrible idea. The soils are really fertile. It’s good land to farm on. You just have to understand what some of the potential pitfalls are and how to plan to manage them.”
With the new geospatial data, Jones hopes to compile information to help farmers determine where to place their fields to avoid or lessen permafrost damage and support sustainable farming practices.