A gradient vegetation, resource and fire management model for Glacier National Park, Montana

Kessel, Stephen

A gradient vegetation, resource and fire management model was developed for Glacier National Park, Montana, to meet three major requirements. First, it was developed to provide a quantitative synecological model of Glacier's terrestrial plant communities. Second, it was constructed to develop the additional components necessary to produce a resource information system and real-time fire behavior model. And third, it was tested to evaluate the gradient modeling method as a resource management tool. The methodology links a 6-dimensional habitat hyperspace model of the terrestrial communities with a remote site inventory which offers 10 m resolution, a weather model and fire behavior models by the development of suitable digital computer software. This synthetic method, called gradient modeling, relies on field samples to provide quantitative models of plant communities, overstory and understory species populations, and flammable fuel loadings, but uses remote sensing methods to construct the site inventory. The resulting gradient models provided a detailed quantitative understanding of the distribution of plant community characteristics and their component species populations, the dynamic ecological processes which create and maintain ecological diversity, and the process of primary and secondary succession which operate on Glacier¿s landscape, and offer promise for quantification of micrometeorological parameters and the distribution of artiodactyls and birds. Synthesis of these components into a resource management information system provided a detailed, high resolution package which offers site, vegetation, fuel, succession and fire behavior analysis with low operating cost and simplified use procedures. The gradient model offers greater resolution, precision and flexibility than is available from any other management model, but has a cost of development and implementation comparable to that of traditional classification and type-mapping methods. Conclusions center on the application of this new methodology in other areas and to other management problems, and include comments on the natural role of fire in creating and maintaining the park's diverse ecosystems, the failure of the park¿s managers to meet their management responsibilities, and the problems encountered when attempting to develop land management models for public land management agencies.

A gradient vegetation, resource and fire management model for Glacier National Park, Montana

Collections