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(Carnegiea Gigantea) at Saguaro National Monument, Arizona

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(Carnegiea Gigantea) at Saguaro National Monument, Arizona 1 2 Case Study of Research, Monitoring, and Management Programs Associated with the Saguaro Cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) at Saguaro National Monument, Arizona Joseph R. McAuliffe Technical Report NPS/WRUA/NRTR-93/01 (CPSU/UA no. 48) September 1993 National Park Service Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit School of Renewable Natural Resources 125 Biological Sciences East The University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 85721 3 AUTHOR Joseph R. McAuliffe Director of Research Desert Botanical Garden 1201 N. Galvin Parkway Phoenix, AZ 85008 UNIT PERSONNEL William L. Halvorson, unit leader Peter S. Bennett, research ecologist Cecil R. Schwalbe, research ecologist Michael R. Kunzmann, ecologist Katherine L. Hiett, biological technician William A. Rosenberg, biological technician Amy D. Johnson, biological technician Joan M. Ford, administrative clerk Gloria J. Maender, editorial assistant Mary N. Greene, secretary (602) 670-6885 (602) 621-1174 FTS (602) 670-6885 Reports in the Natural Resources Technical Report (NRTR) Series are produced in limited quantities. As long as the supply lasts, copies may be obtained from the Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, NPS-CPSU/UA, 125 Biological Sciences East, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. Reports are also available (a copy charge may be involved) upon request by mail or phone (303-969-2130) from the NPS Technical Information Center (TIC), Attn: DSC-PGT, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225-0287. This report was printed on recycled paper. 4 CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... vii INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 THE ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MONUMENT ........................................................................................................................ 3 LAND USE BEFORE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MONUMENT ..................................... 7 MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS FOLLOWING ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MONUMENT ........................................................................................................................ 9 PRINCIPAL LINES OF RESEARCH AND MONITORING .............................................. 11 Saguaro Disease Investigations ................................................................................... 11 Ecological Investigations, 1960-1991 ......................................................................... 13 Consequences of Catastrophic Freezes .................................................................. 14 Other Requirements for Seedling Establishment .................................................... 17 The Importance of Nurse Plants.............................................................................. 17 Impacts of Livestock Grazing ................................................................................. 18 Climate (Precipitation) Variability ......................................................................... 19 Long-term Saguaro Monitoring Plots ..................................................................... 20 Pollination and Seed Dispersal .............................................................................. 20 Air Quality Division Investigations ............................................................................ 23 The Clean Air Act and Development of Monitoring Programs .............................. 23 Research Concerns of AQD at SAGU .................................................................... 24 Studies on Epidermal Browning .................................................................... 25 Long-term Saguaro Trend Plots ............................................................... 27 Morphological, Histological and Histochemical Studies ......................... 28 Alternative Explanations of Epidermal Browning ................................... 29 Elemental Analyses of Soils and Saguaro Tissue ..................................... 29 Ecophysiological Studies ......................................................................... 31 Other AQD Investigations ............................................................................. 31 Effects of Acid Precipitation ......................................................................... 31 Biomonitoring Garden Studies ...................................................................... 32 Evaluation of the Biomonitoring Effort ................................................... 32 Planned Nitrogen Enrichment Studies ....................................................... 33 Evaluation of the Nitrogen Enrichment Study Plan ................................. 33 The Process of Formulation and Review of Research Programs iii Originating within the Denver Air Quality Division ................................ 33 Determination of Research Priorities by AQD ......................................................34 AQD Procedures for Request, Review, and Funding of Research Proposals .......34 IMPACTS OF RESEARCH ON MANAGEMENT DECISIONS AND PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS .....................................................................................................................36 Impacts of Investigations on "Bacterial Necrosis" ............................................................36 Impacts of Some Ecological Research, 1960-1991 37 CONCLUSION AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................39 Strengthening the Capability to Conduct Research within the NPS System..........................39 Identification and Review of Research Priorities ..................................................................40 Disposition of Long-term Ecological Monitoring Records....................................................40 LITERATURE CITED .................................................................................................................42 iv FIGURES Figure 1. Matched Landscape Photos from 1935, 1960, and 1985: Rincon Mountain District, Saguaro National Monument ....................................................................2 Figure 2. Map of Sonoran Desert and Location of Saguaro National Monument. Inset: Detail of Separate Districts in the Monument .........................................................4 Figure 3. Epidermal Browning on Saguaros at Saguaro National Monument …………….26 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS National Park Service (NPS) personnel of Saguaro National Monument (SAGU), especially former superintendent William Paleck, Meg Weesner, Liz Bellantoni, and Patte Danisiewicz have been extremely helpful in providing access to much information necessary for this review. Special thanks go to Charles H. Lowe and Raymond M. Turner for providing me with their valuable perspectives regarding research on the saguaro. Raymond Turner also provided the photographs for use in Figure l. Mark Scruggs and Tonnie Maniero of the NPS Air Quality Division provided considerable information on recent research programs. Other persons who provided information were Ken Stolte, Lance S. Evans, Kate Lajtha, Robert Hall, and Peter Bennett. Mark Dimmitt of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum kindly provided records on freeze-kill of saguaros at the museum. Jane Cole, librarian of the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, located and obtained many library materials. Many suggestions for improvement of the manuscript were provided by W. L. Halvorson, W. Paleck, M. Weesner, G. J. Maender, P. Warshall, T. Burgess, L. Ecker, J. Cole, W. Hodgson, and an anonymous reviewer. I especially thank my wife, Carla, for the help she provided in editing the original manuscript. vi ABSTRACT Saguaro National Monument (SAGU) near Tucson, Arizona, was established in 1933 to protect what was at that time one of the most awe-inspiring stands of saguaros (Carnegiea gigantea) to be found anywhere in the Sonoran Desert. However, subsequent decline of that particular saguaro population has spawned many research and monitoring efforts over the last 50 years in an attempt to understand the factors responsible for the local population decline. As a consequence of the research attention focused on the saguaro, this plant species has become one of the most intensively studied, non-agricultural plants of the world. However, despite this research attention, it is ironic that factors that affect saguaro populations are extremely misunderstood on the part of some scientists, National Park Service (NPS) personnel, and the public in general. Many of these misunderstandings originally arose from investigations of the 1940s through 1960s that were narrowly focused on plant pathology and did not consider the breadth of ecological factors that affect saguaro populations. A considerable amount of ecologically oriented research conducted in the last few decades has helped clear up some of the widespread interpretive errors resulting from the era of plant pathology investigations. Unfortunately, a recent flurry of research activity focusing on possible links between atmospheric pollution and saguaro population decline has contributed to an additional layer of confusion and misunderstanding regarding the ecology of the saguaro. The conclusions of many scientific
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