This dataset provides ecological field data that were collected during July 2017 and July 2018 from 43 plots spanning gradients of fire history in the upland tundra of the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta, Alaska. Plot-level data include vegetation species composition and structure, leaf area index (LAI), topography, thaw-depth, and soil characteristics collected at plots burned in 1971-1972, 1985, 2006-2007, 2015, or unburned controls. Vegetation species were sampled along transects using the vegetation point-intercept (VPI) sampling approach and summarized by three metrics of vegetation cover: (1) top-hit cover, (2) any-hit cover, and (3) multi-hit cover. Each metric is the total number of hits for a species divided by the total number of sample points. The VPI any-hit cover metric data were combined with Landsat imagery to develop fractional maps of any-hit cover for four aggregated plant functional types (PFTs); bryophytes, herbs, lichen, and shrubs for the upland tundra area. Photographs of vegetation transects and soil pits are included as companion files.