Sierra Nevada Network High Elevation Forest Monitoring
Sierra Nevada Inventory and Monitoring Network. Sierra Nevada Network High Elevation Forest Monitoring. 2011. National Park Service
Three Pacific West Region (PWR) Inventory and Monitoring Program networks, the Klamath Network (KLMN), Sierra Nevada Network (SIEN), and the Upper Columbia Basin Network (UCBN), have identified high priority park vital signs, indicators of ecosystem health, which represent a broad suite of ecological phenomena operating across multiple temporal and spatial scales. Our intent has been to develop a balanced and integrated suite of vital signs that meets the needs of current park management, and that also will accommodate unanticipated environmental conditions and management questions in the future. The high elevation white pine tree species found in these networks are vulnerable to invasive pathogens as well as other stressors such as climate-change induced drought, and have been recognized as high priority vital signs for five parks: Crater Lake National Park (CRLA) and Lassen Volcanic National Park (LAVO) in KLMN, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park (SEKI) and Yosemite National Park (YOSE) in SIEN, and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve (CRMO) in UCBN. Currently, populations of these white pine species and their respective communities are in better ecological condition within the participating network parks compared to populations elsewhere in the Cascades and Rocky Mountains (e.g., blister rust infection and mountain pine beetle infestation rates are lower). However, the observed steeply declining trends in white pine populations in the northern Cascade and Rocky Mountain ranges, coupled with the identification of blister rust and mountain pine beetle in our parks is a significant cause for concern about the future status of these valuable communities. Monitoring of white pine community dynamics will enable parks the opportunity for early detection of downward trends and perhaps more effective management intervention. Also, monitoring information from these parks will contribute meaningfully to the broader regional assessment of the status and trend of white pine species across western North America. The objectives of the protocol are to determine the status and trends in: 1. Tree species composition and structure 2. Tree species birth, death, and growth rates 3. Incidence of white pine blister rust and level of crown kill 4. Incidence of pine beetle and severity of tree damage 5. Incidence of dwarf mistletoe and severity of tree damage 6. Cone production of white pine species
- Type
- Project
- Authors
- Sierra Nevada Inventory and Monitoring Network
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- DEPO , SEKI , SIEN , YOSE
- Keywords
- biodiversity, cone, cone production, crown kill, DEPO, dwarf mistletoe, flora, Forest, forests, foxtail pine, high elevation forests, I&M, Inventory and Monitoring, KICA, Kings Canyon, Kings Canyon National Park, long term monitoring, Monitoring, mountain pine beetle, National Monument, National Park, pine, pine beetle, pine communities, Pinus albicaulis, Pinus balfouriana, Pinus flexilus, point count, sample design, SEKI, SEQU, Sequoia, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Sequoia National Park, SIEN, Sierra Nevada, Sierra Nevada Network, species, species distribution, subalpine forest, transect, tree, tree species, vital sign, white pine, white pine blister rust, Whitebark Pine, wildlife, YOSE, Yosemite, Yosemite National
Program
Products
- Monitoring White Pine (Pinus albicaulis, P. balfouriana, P. flexilis) Community Dynamics in the Pacific West Region - Klamath, Sierra Nevada, and Upper Columbia Basin Networks
- Sierra Nevada Network High Elevation Forest Monitoring Plot Locations Geodatabase
- High-elevation Forest Monitoring
- High-elevation forest monitoring resource brief
- High-elevation forest monitoring resource brief
- White pine monitoring: 2013 results and summary
- Whitebark and Foxtail Pine in the Sierra Nevada: assessing stand structure and condition
- White pines in decline: what can managers do?
- Is the Fate of Whitebark Pine in the Beak of Clark's Nutcracker?
- High-elevation forest monitoring overview
- Assessing trends and vulnerabilities in the mutualism between whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) and Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) in national parks of the Sierra-Cascade region
- Climate change and tree-line ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada: Habitat suitability modelling to inform high-elevation forest dynamics monitoring
- Compounding effects of white pine blister rust, mountain pine beetle, and fire threaten four white pine species
- Long-term monitoring of high-elevation white pine communities in Pacific West Region national parks
- Monitoring white pine (Pinus albicaulis, P. balfouriana, P. flexilis) community dynamics in the Pacific West Region - Klamath, Sierra Nevada, and Upper Columbia Basin Networks
- Monitoring white pine (Pinus albicaulis, P. balfouriana, P. flexilis) community dynamics in the Pacific West Region - Klamath, Sierra Nevada, and Upper Columbia Basin Networks: Standard operating procedures version 1.0 (Appendix A to Narrative Version 1.0)
- Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks White Pine Blister Rust Project Dataset (1993-2017)
- Setting the stage for climate change scenario planning: Whitebark pine and American pika in the Sierra Nevada, Klamath, and Upper Columbia Basin Inventory and Monitoring Networks
- Sierra Nevada Network high elevation white pine monitoring: 2017 annual report
- Sierra Nevada Network high elevation white pine monitoring: 2019 annual report
- Sierra Nevada Network high elevation white pine monitoring: 2021 annual report
- Sierra Nevada Network white pine monitoring: 2016 annual report
- Sierra Nevada Network white pine monitoring: 2022 annual report