Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
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4.. Which.mountain.resources.and.ecosystems.are.likely.to.be.most.sensitive.to.
future.climatic.change,.and.what.are.possible.management.responses?
These. research. questions. address. priorities. of. the. US. Climate. Change. Science.
Program. (CCSP),. especially. Goal. 4. of. the. CCSP. Strategic. Plan:. “Understand. the.
sensitivity.and.adaptability.of.different.natural.and.managed.ecosystems.and.human.
systems.to.climatic.and.related.global.changes,”.with.priority.on.improving.knowl-
edge.of.“thresholds.of.change.that.could.lead.to.discontinuities.(sudden.changes).in.
some.ecosystems.and.climate-sensitive.resources.”
BIOGEOGRAPHIC FOCUS
The.WMI.research.program.is.based.on.long-term.research.and.monitoring.in.ive.
bioregions..The.scientiic.focus.for.each.bioregion.is.summarized.as.follows.
p
aCifiC
n
orThWesT
Research.has.been.conducted.primarily.in.Olympic.National.Park.(NP).and.North.
Cascades.NP.(Washington),.with.supporting.ield.sites.and.studies.on.US.National.
Forest.lands.in.the.Olympic.and.Cascade.Mountains.(Washington.and.Oregon)..This.
area. ranges. from. marine. to. continental. climates,. with. striking. westside. (wet). ver-
sus. eastside. (dry). contrasts.. Research. has. focused. on. ecosystem. productivity. and.
ire.disturbance,.with.empirical.studies.at.a.variety.of.spatial.and.temporal.scales..
Simulation. modeling. was. used. to. integrate. responses. of. natural. resources. to. cli-
matic. variability. and. change,. and. statistical. modeling. established. the. biophysical.
“niche”.of.dominant.tree.species.in.the.region..Growth.increases.in.high-elevation.
tree.species.over.the.past.century.and.widespread.establishment.of.trees.in.subalpine.
meadows.have.been.documented,.especially.for.warmer.periods.with.low.snowpack..
Teleconnections. between. the. Paciic. Decadal. Oscillation. (20-. to. 30-year. cool. and.
warm. phases). and. temporal. variation. in. (1). regional. tree. growth,. (2). ire,. and. (3).
long-term.drought.have.also.been.documented..Carbon.storage.was.quantiied.across.
the.forest.ecosystems.of.the.region,.thereby.improving.carbon.budgets.for.mountain.
forests.
s
ierra
n
eVada
Research.has.been.conducted.primarily.in.Sequoia-Kings.Canyon.NP.and.Yosemite.
NP.(California)..This.area.is.dominated.by.Mediterranean.climate.with.cool,.wet.
winters. and. dry. summers.. Research. has. focused. primarily. on. the. effects. of. cli-
matic.variability.and.change.on.forest.ecosystem.dynamics.and.ire.regimes,.with.
collaborative. studies. on. forest. ecology,. paleoecology,. and. simulation. modeling..
Signiicant. indings. include. documentation. of. major. periods. of. drought. prior. to.
1950,. altered. demographic. patterns. as. a. possible. function. of. climatic. variability.
in. mixed-conifer. forest,. and. high-resolution. quantiication. of. past. ire. regimes. in.
cool-wet. winters. mixed-conifer. forest.. Investigations. of. ire. effects. on. forest. pat-
tern.and.dynamics.have.led.to.modiications.in.prescribed.ire.and.timber.harvest.
