GLORIA 2006 poster

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AFFILIATIONS University of California White Mountain Research Station CalFlora Project USDA PSW Research Station Creekside Center for Earth Observations Albion College Scripps Institute for Oceanography Minnesota State University Daniel W. Pritchett1, John T. Smiley1 Collaborating for climate change monitoring: GLORIA in the White Mountains 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 A B C ABSTRACT The GLORIA project (Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments, established in 2001) is an international research effort to monitor effects of climate change on high peaks above timberline around the world. Collaborating with scientists and volunteers from the US Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, CIRMOUNT (Consortium for Integrated Climate Research in Western Mountains), and the California Native Plant Society, the University of California White Mountain Research Station (WMRS) established 4 long-term monitoring sites on summits in the White Mountains the week of August 13-20, 2004. Baseline vegetation and soil temperature data were collected following standard GLORIA protocols, which call for re-measurement every 5 years in perpetuity. During this process several scientists expressed interest in expanding the project to sample for other potential ecosystem responses to climate change. To this end WMRS sponsored a "GLORIA field week" August 12-20, 2005, inviting scientists to the WMRS Crooked Creek station to collaborate on GLORIA-related projects. This lead to establishment of 3 more GLORIA monitoring sites as well as initiation of an annual butterfly survey and monitoring of periglacial geomorphic features near each GLORIA summit. Interest continued to grow and in May 2006, WMRS sponsored a one-day workshop for researchers interested in GLORIA-related work. The outcome was a commitment by WMRS to sponsor another GLORIA field week and establish a "GLORIA Master Site" known as "WMRS-GLORIA”. Twenty-seven researchers and volunteers participated in the second GLORIA field week, July 23-29, 2006. Multiple sampling protocols were used to gather data on organisms (macroinvertebrates to bristlecone pines), plant communities, and geomorphic features. Supported projects will extend the spatial and ecological scales of monitoring, help interpret results of standard GLORIA monitoring, and provide well-documented baselines for future re-survey. Among the hypotheses investigated are predictions that species distributions will change in a variety of ways in relation to topography and elevation, and that periglacial geomorphic features will show more rapid response to climate change than will species distributions. Local and national media covered the event. WMRS is archiving data sets and is committed to long-term support for WMRS-GLORIA projects. FIXED AREA PLOTS Left: a diagram of the layout of the North Summit Area Sections (5 m and 10 m, outlined by yellow transverse lines) according to the standard GLORIA sampling protocol. The area of each Summit Area Section varies with the slope of the summit. Right: a diagram of the layout of the modified GLORIA sampling protocol used in the White Mountains. The addition of a fixed area plot (10 m x 10 m, shown in pink) within each Summit Area Section facilitates comparisons between sites and calibration of ocular cover estimates. D NE NW 1m 2m 3m 4m 5m 6m 7m 8m 9m 10m NE N NW 1m 2m 3m 4m 5m 6m 7m 8m 9m 10m IMPLEMENTING STANDARD GLORIA PROTOCOL Left: working on summit SME (Site 5). View is from the East 5 m Summit Area Section (SAS) looking downslope into the East 10 m SAS. Each of the 8 SAS’s are defined by aspect (N, S, E, W) and elevation (0 – 5 m downslope from the summit, and 5-10 m downslope from summit). The yellow paint on the rocks will assist in re-establishment of the sampling grid when the summit is monitored again in 2010. 2006 GLORIA FIELD WEEK Projects: Principal Investigators GLORIA down-slope extension of vegetation monitoring: Ann Dennis2 Limber pine recruitment and demography: Connie Millar3 Plant recruitment across ecotones: Stu Weiss4 & Chris Van de Ven5 Microclimate survey: Stu Weiss4 & Chris Van de Ven5 Alpine meadow vegetation Survey: Linah Ababneh1 Butterfly census: John Smiley1 Alpine macroinvertebtrate survey: Jeff Holmquist1 White Mountains climate transect: Dan Cayan6 Periglacial processes and patterned ground formation: Forrest Wilkerson7 & Ginger Schmidt7 White Mountains treeline change: Linah Ababneh1 . Photo Lance Iverson Limber pine recruitment within zone of former upper treeline, as evidenced by deadwood bristlecone pine. Photo Connie Millar SOMETIMES LOW-TECH IS BEST Above: butterfly census team. Above right: pennies in a 1 m grid to measure ground surface motion. Right: WMRS ecologist Jeff Holmquist throws a sampling quadrat. TREELINE CHANGE IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. Above left: 1964; Above right: 2005. N