Climate- and disturbance-driven changes in subsistence berries in coastal Alaska: Indigenous knowledge to inform ecological inference

Abstract

Berry-producing plants are a key subsistence resource in Indigenous Alaskan communities. High-latitude coastal regions are particularly impacted by global climate change due to their location at the land-sea ecotone subjecting them to terrestrial stressors as well as shifts in ocean dynamics. While vegetation changes have been documented for the subarctic coastal region of Alaska, we know little about permafrost underlain portions of the landscape that support berry communities. To fill this gap surveys were administered in four communities within the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, to identify observations of changes in berry resources and integrate Indigenous Knowledge of drivers of changes with climate projections. We found that while most participants agreed on several observed changes and drivers, many important differences were identified at the community level. Regional consensus can be used in combination with climate projections to forecast potential future impacts to berry resources while distinctions at the community level can help us to untangle local scale disturbances.