1 Air Quality Monitoring on the Tongass National Forest Methods and Baselines Using Lichens Linda H. Geiser, Chiska C. Derr, and Karen L. Dillman USDA-Forest Service Tongass National Forest/ Stikine Area P.O. Box 309 Petersburg, Alaska 99833 September 1994 2 Acknowledgments Project development and funding: Max Copenhagen, Regional Hydrologist, Jim McKibben Stikine Area FWWSA Staff Officer and Everett Kissinger, Stikine Area Soil Scientist, and program staff officers from the other Areas recognized the need for baseline air quality information on the Tongass National Forest and made possible the initiation of this project in 1989. Their continued management level support has been essential to the development of this monitoring program. Lichen collections and field work: Field work was largely completed by the authors. Mary Muller contributed many lichens to the inventory collected in her capacity as Regional Botanist during the past 10 years. Field work was aided by Sarah Ryll of the Stikine Area, Elizabeth Wilder and Walt Tulecke of Antioch College, and Bill Pawuk, Stikine Area ecologist. Lichen identifications: Help with the lichen identifications was given by Irwin Brodo of the Canadian National Museum, John Thomson of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Pak Yau Wong of the Canadian National Museum, and Bruce McCune at Oregon State University. Much appreciation is due to both Dr. Brodo and Dr. Thomson for making the verification of the major portion of the collections possible. A number of specimens were also examined and identified by Trevor Goward at the University of British Columbia and by Bruce Ryan at Arizona State University. Preparation of herbarium specimens and database compilation: was coordinated by Karen Dillman, with help from Rick Schreiber, Paula Rak and Tara Lathrop of the Stikine Area. Technical support: Technical advice was provided by many Forest Service personnel and others, particularly Jim Bennett of the National Park Service Air Quality Division, Bruce McCune at Oregon State University, Tom DeMeo, former Ketchikan Area ecologist, and Paul Alaback, Research Ecologist at the Juneau Forest Science Laboratory. John Martin, former Regional Ecologist, Dave Kellaher, Chatham Area hydrologist, Ken Holbrook, Yakutat District Ranger, and Michael Sheppard of the Nature Conservancy also provided advice and assistance. A special debt of appreciation is owed to John DeLapp of the Alaska Natural Heritage Program for frequent consultations over the past several years. Field logistics and project support: Dispatch and aviation personnel on all three Areas, and the business office personnel on the Stikine Area, played essential roles in transportation logistics and safety. Manuscript review: A draft version of this report was reviewed by Bruce McCune at Oregon State University, Jim Bennett of the NPS Cooperative Research Division, Tom Nash at Arizona State University and Richard Fisher, USFS-WO Air Resource Specialist. Linda H. Geiser Chiska C. Derr Karen L. Dillman Ecologist Ecologist/ Coop Ed. Biological Technician USDA Forest Service USDA Forest Service USDA Forest Service Siuslaw National Forest Chugach National Forest Tongass National Forest Corvallis, OR 97331 Girdwood, AK 99587 Petersburg, AK 99833 3 CONTENTS Page List of Figures 4 Summary 7 1. Introduction 1.1 Why an air quality monitoring program? Agency and legal directives. 8 1.2 Lichens and air quality. 11 1.3 The Tongass National Forest. 13 1.4 Regional meteorological patterns and pollutants. 14 1.5 Point sources of air pollution in Southeast Alaska. 17 1.6 Program objectives. 21 2. Methods 2.1 Plots: selection and description. 22 2.2 Element analysis: collection, preparation and analysis of lichen tissue. 24 2.3 Lichen species inventory. 26 2.4 Quantitative lichen community analysis of old-growth shorepine and western hemlock forests. 27 2.5 Preliminary study near an air pollution point source . 30 3. Results and Discussion 3.1 Plots: data summary and conclusions. 32 3.2 Element analyses. 32 3.21 Procedural error and sample variability. 37 3.22 Description of the data. 37 3.23 Normalization of the data. 37 3.24 Influence of lichen species on tissue element concentrations. 38 3.25 Temporal variability. 39 3.26 Spatial variability. 39 3.27 Effect of substrate and habitat. 39 3.28 Establishment of baselines for lichen element concentrations. 40 3.29 Evaluation of baselines: biological significance and comparison to literature values. 40 3.3 Lichen inventory. 45 3.31 Forest-wide lichen inventory. 45 3.32 Air pollution sensitivity of the lichens of the Tongass National Forest. 50 3.33 Most common lichens of the Tongass National Forest. 52 3.4 Lichen Community Analyses 53 3.41 Variables affecting lichen species composition. 3.42 Relationship of lichen species composition to canopy cover. 53 3.43 Relationship of elevation to lichen species composition. 56 3.44 Relationship of dominant vegetation types to lichen species composition. 57 3.45 Lichen species composition of typical vegetation types in southeastern Alaska. 56 4 3.5 Preliminary assessment of air quality near a point source. 67 4. Recommendations for continued monitoring 4.1 Detection of Forest-wide air quality changes. 74 4.2 Assessment of point source impacts. 75 5. References Cited 78 6. Appendices 85 6.1 Appendix A. Plot locations and descriptions. A1 6.2 Appendix B. 1989-1990 Elemental analysis data. B1 6.3 Appendix C. 1991-1992 Elemental analysis data. C1 5 List of Figures Page Figure 1. Air quality monitoring locations on the Tongass National Forest. 15 Figure 2. Facilities with state air quality control permits in Southeast Alaska. 18 Figure 3. Field data card. 23 Figure 4. Dominant vegetation types of southeastern Alaska. 28 Figure 5. Effect of number of branches counted on estimations of species richness and abundance of some 28 common lichens. Figure 6. Distribution of plots among administrative districts of the Tongass National Forest. 32 Figure 7. Distribution of plots by elevation. 32 Figure 8. Distribution of plots within forested plant communities. 33 Figure 9. Distribution of plots among landforms. 34 Figure 10. Laboratory detection limits for ICP-AES. 35 Figure 11. ICP-AES quality control "check". Statistics for replicate analyses. 35 Figure 12. Sulfur and nitrogen statistics for cumulative and current runs of reference standards. 36 Figure 13 Reference lichen (Alectoria sarmentosa) statistics for 17 elements. 36 Figure 14 Differences between 6 ICP-AES and 24 S analytical splits in 1990. 37 Figure 15 Normal distribution superimposed on Pb, Ni, Cr and Cd density histograms. 38 Figure 16 Distribution of element analysis data by vegetation type and lichen species. 39 Figure 17 Statistics of baseline element analysis data by lichen species, year and element. 41 Figure 18 Tongass National Forest baseline values for tissue concentrations and standard errors of 17 elements 43 in Alectoria sarmentosa, Cladina rangiferina, Hypogymnia enteromorpha, and Lobaria oregana. Figure 19 Comparison of baseline elemental concentrations and standard error of four lichen species on the 44 Tongass National Forest to other United States National Park and Forest values and to international ranges for combined lichen genera. Figure 20 Lichens of the Tongass National Forest. 46 Figure 21 Air pollution sensitivity of Tongass National Forest lichens. 51 Figure 22 Most common macrolichens of the Tongass National Forest. 52 Figure 23 Correlation between lichen species compositions in forests of varying canopy cover. 54 Figure 24 Effect of canopy cover on lichen constancy. 55 Figure 25 Similarities of lichen species compositions across a range of overstory canopy cover (%). 56 Tree diagram. Figure 26 Similarities of lichen species compositions across a range of overstory canopy cover (%). 56 Multidimensional scaling model. 6 Figure 27 Correlation between lichen species compositions at various elevations in southeastern Alaska. 57 Figure 28 Similarities of lichen species composition across a range of elevations (ft). Tree diagram. 57 Figure 29 Similarities of lichen species composition across a range of elevations (ft). Multidimensional scaling 58 model. Figure 30 Correlation between lichen species compositions of dominant vegetation types in southeastern 58 Alaska. Figure 31 Similarities between lichen species compositions of dominant vegetation types in southeastern 59 Alaska. Tree diagram. Figure 32 Similarities between lichen species compositions of dominant vegetation types in southeastern 59 Alaska. Multi-dimensional scaling model. Figure 33 Typical lichen communities and species constancy of common habitats on the Tongass N. F. 62 Figure 34 Lichen tissue collection sites in the vicinity of Sitka, Alaska. 68 Figure 35 Three dimensional presentation of lichen tissue concentrations of 15 elements around the community 70 of Sitka, Alaska in 1990. 7 SUMMARY An air quality biomonitoring program for the Tongass National Forest was initiated to 1) establish baseline conditions, 2) develop sensitive, easily repeatable methods for continued monitoring and 3), provide methods and information to help Forest Supervisors meet Forest Service responsibilities described by the Forest Service Air Resource Handbook and the Clean Air Act. Baseline conditions were described through 1) element analysis of 366 samples of four lichens common to the forests and muskegs of the Tongass National Forest (Alectoria sarmentosa, Cladina rangiferina, Hypogymnia enteromorpha, and Lobaria oregana), 2), a forest-wide inventory of the