DOCSLIB.ORG

Natural Range of Variation of Red Fir Forests in the Bioregional Assessment Area

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Natural Range of Variation of Red Fir Forests in the Bioregional Assessment Area Natural Range of Variation of Red Fir Forests in the Bioregional Assessment Area Marc D. Meyer, Southern Sierra Province Ecologist, Pacific Southwest Region Table of Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................3 Physical setting and geographic distribution .............................................................................................3 Geographic Distribution .........................................................................................................................3 Subspecies Distributions ........................................................................................................................3 Climatic Relationships ...........................................................................................................................3 Geology, Topography, and Soils ............................................................................................................4 Ecological setting .......................................................................................................................................4 Indicator Species and Vegetation Classification ....................................................................................4 Ecological Importance of Red Fir ..........................................................................................................4 Holocene Forest Development ...............................................................................................................5 Cultural and Socioeconomic Setting ..........................................................................................................7 Cultural and Socioeconomic Significance of Red Fir Forests ...............................................................7 Historical Setting .......................................................................................................................................7 European-American Settlement and National Forest Administration (1849-1945) ..............................7 Post-World War II (1945 to present) ......................................................................................................8 Methods..........................................................................................................................................................8 Variables, Scales, and Information Availability .........................................................................................8 Historic Reference Period ..........................................................................................................................9 NRV Descriptions and Comparisons to Current Conditions .........................................................................9 Function .....................................................................................................................................................9 Fire .........................................................................................................................................................9 Insects and Pathogens ..........................................................................................................................14 Wind and Volcanism ............................................................................................................................15 Climatic Water Deficit .........................................................................................................................16 1 Structure ...................................................................................................................................................17 Canopy Structural Classes and Landscape Patchiness .........................................................................17 Vertical Forest Structural Classes ........................................................................................................17 Canopy Cover and Height ....................................................................................................................18 Canopy Structural Complexity, Forest Heterogeneity, and Fragmentation .........................................18 Tree Densities, Size, and Size Class Distribution ................................................................................19 Basal Area ............................................................................................................................................20 Tree Spatial Patterns ............................................................................................................................20 Tree regeneration .................................................................................................................................22 Snags ....................................................................................................................................................22 Biomass ................................................................................................................................................22 Physiognomic Patterns – Seral Class Proportions ...............................................................................23 Composition .............................................................................................................................................23 Overstory Species Composition ...........................................................................................................23 Understory Species Composition .........................................................................................................23 Projected Future Conditions and Trends ......................................................................................................24 Background ..............................................................................................................................................24 Model Projections ....................................................................................................................................24 Summary ......................................................................................................................................................25 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................................26 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................................26 Figure Captions ............................................................................................................................................38 Tables ...........................................................................................................................................................41 Figures..........................................................................................................................................................60 2 Introduction Physical setting and geographic distribution Geographic Distribution Red fir (Abies magnifica) forests are distributed throughout the Sierra Nevada immediately above the montane mixed-conifer and below the subalpine forest zones (Figures 1 and 2; Oosting and Billings 1943, Rundel et al. 1988). This forest generally occurs in a 300 to 500 m elevation width that extends from approximately 1800–2400 m in the northern Sierra Nevada to about 2200–2800 m in the southern part of the range (Fites-Kaufman et al. 2007, Potter 1998). Red fir extends from Sunday Peak in the northern edge of Kern County (Greenhorn Mountains) through the Cascade Range into southern Oregon as far north as Crater Lake National Park (Griffin and Critchfield 1972). Red fir is absent from the Warner Mountains and the Intermountain semides- ert province, including the White and Inyo Mountains of eastern California (Griffin and Critch- field 1972). Red fir forests are less common on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and are seldom encountered south of Mammoth Mountain and north of the Kern Plateau (Potter 1998). Subspecies Distributions Populations of red fir are represented by three different varieties in the Sierra Nevada. Shasta red fir (Abies magnifica var. shastensis) occurs from Lassen Peak to Crater Lake National Park and has cones with partly exerted bracts. The second variety, A. m. var. magnifica, exists in the northern and central Sierra Nevada and has a hidden-bract cone type. Abies magnifica var. critchfieldii occurs primarily south of the middle fork of the Kings River and is distinguished from the Shasta red fir variety by smaller cones with protruding cone bracts (Lanner 2010). Until recently, this last variety in the southern Sierra Nevada was considered to be a disjunct popula- tion of Shasta red fir. However, geographic patterns of morphological variation, artificial cross- ing results, and recent molecular studies indicate that Shasta red fir consists of California red fir introgressed by noble fir (A. procera), and that A. m. var. critchfieldii has not hybridized with noble fir (Lanner 2010). Chloroplast genetic loci indicate that bothA. m. critchfieldi and A. m. magnifica share the same unique haplotype found in 100% of Sierra Nevada populations (Oline 2008). In contrast, the Shasta red fir variety contains multiple haplotypes, suggesting that
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Effectiveness of Limiting Use in Wilderness Areas
    University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1990 Effectiveness of limiting use in wilderness areas Mary Beth Hennessy The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Hennessy, Mary Beth, "Effectiveness of limiting use in wilderness areas" (1990). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 2166. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/2166 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Mike and Maureen MANSFIELD LIBRARY Copying allowed as provided under provisions of the Fair Use Section of the U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW, 1976. Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author's written consent. MontanaUniversity of The Effectiveness of Limiting Use in Wilderness Areas By Mary Beth Hennessy B.A. University of California Santa Barbara, 1981 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science University of Montana 1990 Approved by Chairman, Board of Examiners Dean, Graduate School IfthUocJu /f, Date UMI Number: EP35655 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted.
    [Show full text]
  • Wilderness Visitors and Recreation Impacts: Baseline Data Available for Twentieth Century Conditions
    United States Department of Agriculture Wilderness Visitors and Forest Service Recreation Impacts: Baseline Rocky Mountain Research Station Data Available for Twentieth General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-117 Century Conditions September 2003 David N. Cole Vita Wright Abstract __________________________________________ Cole, David N.; Wright, Vita. 2003. Wilderness visitors and recreation impacts: baseline data available for twentieth century conditions. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-117. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 52 p. This report provides an assessment and compilation of recreation-related monitoring data sources across the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS). Telephone interviews with managers of all units of the NWPS and a literature search were conducted to locate studies that provide campsite impact data, trail impact data, and information about visitor characteristics. Of the 628 wildernesses that comprised the NWPS in January 2000, 51 percent had baseline campsite data, 9 percent had trail condition data and 24 percent had data on visitor characteristics. Wildernesses managed by the Forest Service and National Park Service were much more likely to have data than wildernesses managed by the Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service. Both unpublished data collected by the management agencies and data published in reports are included. Extensive appendices provide detailed information about available data for every study that we located. These have been organized by wilderness so that it is easy to locate all the information available for each wilderness in the NWPS. Keywords: campsite condition, monitoring, National Wilderness Preservation System, trail condition, visitor characteristics The Authors _______________________________________ David N.
    [Show full text]
  • Imaginative Geographies of Mars: the Science and Significance of the Red Planet, 1877 - 1910
    Copyright by Kristina Maria Doyle Lane 2006 The Dissertation Committee for Kristina Maria Doyle Lane Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: IMAGINATIVE GEOGRAPHIES OF MARS: THE SCIENCE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RED PLANET, 1877 - 1910 Committee: Ian R. Manners, Supervisor Kelley A. Crews-Meyer Diana K. Davis Roger Hart Steven D. Hoelscher Imaginative Geographies of Mars: The Science and Significance of the Red Planet, 1877 - 1910 by Kristina Maria Doyle Lane, B.A.; M.S.C.R.P. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2006 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to Magdalena Maria Kost, who probably never would have understood why it had to be written and certainly would not have wanted to read it, but who would have been very proud nonetheless. Acknowledgments This dissertation would have been impossible without the assistance of many extremely capable and accommodating professionals. For patiently guiding me in the early research phases and then responding to countless followup email messages, I would like to thank Antoinette Beiser and Marty Hecht of the Lowell Observatory Library and Archives at Flagstaff. For introducing me to the many treasures held deep underground in our nation’s capital, I would like to thank Pam VanEe and Ed Redmond of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. For welcoming me during two brief but productive visits to the most beautiful library I have seen, I thank Brenda Corbin and Gregory Shelton of the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Natural Regeneration of White and Red Fir. . . Influence of Several Factors. Berkeley, Calif., Pacific SW
    PACIFIC SOUTHWEST Forest and Range FOREST SERVICE. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE P.O. BOX 245, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 94701 Experiment Station U.S.D.A. FOREST SERVICE RESEARCH PAPER PSW- 58 /1970 Gordon, Donald T. 1970. Natural regeneration of white and red fir. influence of several factors. Berkeley, Calif., Pacific SW. Forest & Range Exp. Sta. 32 p., illus. (U.S.D.A. Forest Serv. Res. Pap. PSW-58) In a group of studies at Swain Mountain Experimental Forest in northeastern California, seedling survival and mortality were analyzed within the general framework of seed production and dispersal, germination, seedbed condition, soil surface temperature, insolation, soil moisture, and vegetative competition. Factors found to favor seedling establishment were abundance of sound seed, mineral soil seedbed, and probably some shade in the first year. Chief obstacles to seedling survival and growth included strong insolation, deep litter, insects, competing low vegetation, and time between good seed years. The most practical approach to securing natural regeneration appears to be keeping abundant seed trees close to a prepared mineral soil seedbed. Oxford: 231–181.525[+ 174.7 Abies concolor + 174.7 Abies magnifica + 174.7 Abies magnifica var. shastensis]. Retrieval Terms: Abies concolor; Abies magnifica; Abies magnifica var. shastensis; natural regeneration; seedling establishment; seedbed; protective shading; seed production; seedling mortality; Swain Mountain Experimental Forest. Gordon, Donald T. 1970. Natural regeneration of white and red fir. influence of several factors. Berkeley, Calif., Pacific SW. Forest & Range Exp. Sta. 32 p., illus. (U.S.D.A. Forest Serv. Res. Pap. PSW-58) In a group of studies at Swain Mountain Experimental Forest in northeastern California, seedling survival and mortality were analyzed within the general framework of seed production and dispersal, germination, seedbed condition, soil surface temperature, insolation, soil moisture, and vegetative competition.
    [Show full text]
  • Building 27, Suite 3 Fort Missoula Road Missoula, MT 59804
    Photo by Louis Kamler. www.nationalforests.org Building 27, Suite 3 Fort Missoula Road Missoula, MT 59804 Printed on recycled paper 2013 ANNUAL REPORT Island Lake, Eldorado National Forest Desolation Wilderness. Photo by Adam Braziel. 1 We are pleased to present the National Forest Foundation’s (NFF) Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2013. During this fourth year of the Treasured Landscapes campaign, we have reached $86 million in both public and private support towards our $100 million campaign goal. In this year’s report, you can read about the National Forests comprising the centerpieces of our work. While these landscapes merit special attention, they are really emblematic of the entire National Forest System consisting of 155 National Forests and 20 National Grasslands. he historical context for these diverse and beautiful Working to protect all of these treasured landscapes, landscapes is truly inspirational. The century-old to ensure that they are maintained to provide renewable vision to put forests in a public trust to secure their resources and high quality recreation experiences, is National Forest Foundation 2013 Annual Report values for the future was an effort so bold in the late at the core of the NFF’s mission. Adding value to the 1800’s and early 1900’s that today it seems almost mission of our principal partner, the Forest Service, is impossible to imagine. While vestiges of past resistance what motivates and challenges the NFF Board and staff. to the public lands concept live on in the present, Connecting people and places reflects our organizational the American public today overwhelmingly supports values and gives us a sense of pride in telling the NFF maintaining these lands and waters in public ownership story of success to those who generously support for the benefit of all.
    [Show full text]
  • Seed Maturity in White Fir and Red Fir. Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Exp
    PACIFIC SOUTHWEST Forest and Range FOREST SERVICE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE P.O. BOX 245, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 94701 Experiment Station USDA FOREST SERVICE RESEARCH PAPER PSW-99 /1974 CONTENTS Page Summary ................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................. 3 Methods .................................................... 3 Testing Fresh Seeds ....................................... 3 Testing Stratified Seeds .................................... 3 Seedling Vigor Tests ...................................... 4 Artificial Ripening Trial ................................... 4 Other Observations ........................................ 4 Results and Discussion ....................................... 5 Cone Specific Gravity ..................................... 5 Seed Germination, byCollection Date ....................... 5 Seed GerminationandCone Specific Gravity ................ 7 Red Fir Seedling Vigor .................................... 9 ArtificialRipening of White Fir Seeds ....................... 9 OtherMaturity Indices ..................................... 9 Application ................................................. 10 Literature Cited.............................................. 12 THE AUTHOR WILLIAM W. OLIVER is doing silvicultural research on Sierra Nevada conifer types with headquarters at Redding, California. He earned a B.S. degree (1956) in forestry from the University of New Hampshire, and an M.F. degree (1960) from the University of Michigan. A native of
    [Show full text]
  • North Carolina Obituaries Courier Tribune Name Date of Paper Page # Date of Death Abbott, Blannie Allen 7-Aug-84 7A 6-Aug-84
    North Carolina Obituaries Courier Tribune Name Date of Paper Page # Date of Death Abbott, Blannie Allen 7-Aug-84 7A 6-Aug-84 Abbott, Douglas L. 1-Sep-82 12A 30-Aug-82 Abbott, Helen Hartsook 3-Dec-82 9A 2-Dec-82 Abbott, Molly Jeane 3-Nov-81 8A 31-Oct-81 Abbott, Nora Johnson Mitchell 14-Oct-83 12A 13-Oct-83 Abbott, Roger 1-Aug-84 6A 31-Jul-84 Abercrombie, Dodd 5-Oct-80 6A 3-Oct-80 Abernathy, Ray Paul 29-Jun-80 8A 28-Jun-80 Abernathy, Shaun Travis 24-May-83 8A 24-May-83 Abrams, Reagan Vincent 28-Sep-80 6A 26-Sep-80 Abston, Thomas Earl 30-Dec-82 10A 29-Dec-82 Ackerman, Elsie K. 20-Apr-82 8A 19-Apr-82 Acree, Una Mae Phillips 6-Jul-81 6A 5-Jul-81 Adams, Anna Threadgill 9-Dec-85 9A 8-Dec-85 Adams, Annie Vaughn 12-Mar-85 6A 11-Mar-85 Adams, Bernice Hooper 6-Jul-82 8A 5-Jul-82 Adams, Dora Carrick 13-Jun-80 10A 12-Jun-80 Adams, Edward Vance 23-May-83 6A 23-May-83 Adams, Herman Hugh Sr. 29-Oct-81 8A 27-Oct-81 Adams, James Clifton 18-Sep-84 9A 17-Sep-84 Adams, John Edwin 1-Mar-84 10A 29-Feb-84 Adams, T.B. 15-Oct-82 10A 14-Oct-82 Adams, Velma D. 11-Aug-81 8A 10-Aug-81 Adcock, Plackard C. 6-Jul-82 8A 5-Jul-82 Aderholt, Daniel H. 17-May-85 10A 13-May-85 Adkins, Clarence Odell 1-Jan-85 7A 1-Jan-85 Adkins, E.G.
    [Show full text]
  • Special-Status Plants and Invasive/Noxious Weeds Technical Report
    SACRAMENTO MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT UPPER AMERICAN RIVER PROJECT (FERC NO. 2101) SPECIAL-STATUS PLANTS AND INVASIVE/NOXIOUS WEEDS TECHNICAL REPORT Prepared by: Devine Tarbell & Associates, Inc. Sacramento, California Prepared for: Sacramento Municipal Utility District Sacramento, California JULY 2004 Sacramento Municipal Utility District Upper American River Project FERC Project No. 2101 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section & Description Page 1.0 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 2.0 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................ 2 2.1 Special-Status Plants Study Plan ............................................................................ 2 2.2 Invasive/Noxious Weeds Study Plan...................................................................... 3 2.3 Water Year Types................................................................................................... 4 2.4 Agency Requested Information .............................................................................. 5 3.0 METHODS ......................................................................................................................... 5 3.1 Special-Status Plants............................................................................................... 5 3.2 Noxious Weeds ....................................................................................................... 6 4.0 RESULTS ..........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Analysis of Polarimetric Mini-SAR and Mini-RF Datasets for Surface Characterization and Crater Delineation on Moon †
    Proceeding Paper Analysis of Polarimetric Mini-SAR and Mini-RF Datasets for Surface Characterization and Crater Delineation on Moon † Himanshu Kumari and Ashutosh Bhardwaj * Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Department, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun 248001, India; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +91-9410319433 † Presented at the 3rd International Electronic Conference on Atmospheric Sciences, 16–30 November 2020; Available online: https://ecas2020.sciforum.net/. Abstract: The hybrid polarimetric architecture of Mini-SAR and Mini-RF onboard Indian Chan- drayaan-1 and LRO missions were the first to acquire shadowed polar images of the Lunar surface. This study aimed to characterize the surface properties of Lunar polar and non-polar regions con- taining Haworth, Nobile, Gioja, an unnamed crater, Arago, and Moltke craters and delineate the crater boundaries using a newly emerged approach. The Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) data of Chandrayaan-1 was found useful for the detection and extraction of precise boundaries of the cra- ters using the ArcGIS Crater tool. The Stokes child parameters estimated from radar backscatter like the degree of polarization (m), the relative phase (δ), Poincare ellipticity (χ) along with the Circular Polarization Ratio (CPR), and decomposition techniques, were used to study the surface attributes of craters. The Eigenvectors and Eigenvalues used to measure entropy and mean alpha showed distinct types of scattering, thus its comparison with m-δ, m-χ gave a profound conclusion to the lunar surface. The dominance of surface scattering confirmed the roughness of rugged material. The results showed the CPR associated with the presence of water ice as well as a dihedral reflection inside the polar craters.
    [Show full text]
  • Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Redwood National Park
    Humboldt State University Digital Commons @ Humboldt State University Botanical Studies Open Educational Resources and Data 9-17-2018 Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Redwood National Park James P. Smith Jr Humboldt State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/botany_jps Part of the Botany Commons Recommended Citation Smith, James P. Jr, "Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Redwood National Park" (2018). Botanical Studies. 85. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/botany_jps/85 This Flora of Northwest California-Checklists of Local Sites is brought to you for free and open access by the Open Educational Resources and Data at Digital Commons @ Humboldt State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Botanical Studies by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Humboldt State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A CHECKLIST OF THE VASCULAR PLANTS OF THE REDWOOD NATIONAL & STATE PARKS James P. Smith, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Botany Department of Biological Sciences Humboldt State Univerity Arcata, California 14 September 2018 The Redwood National and State Parks are located in Del Norte and Humboldt counties in coastal northwestern California. The national park was F E R N S established in 1968. In 1994, a cooperative agreement with the California Department of Parks and Recreation added Del Norte Coast, Prairie Creek, Athyriaceae – Lady Fern Family and Jedediah Smith Redwoods state parks to form a single administrative Athyrium filix-femina var. cyclosporum • northwestern lady fern unit. Together they comprise about 133,000 acres (540 km2), including 37 miles of coast line. Almost half of the remaining old growth redwood forests Blechnaceae – Deer Fern Family are protected in these four parks.
    [Show full text]
  • Hybridization of the California Firs
    Forest Science, Vol. 34, No. I, pp. 139-151. Copyright 1988 by the Society of American Foresters Hybridization of the California Firs William B. Critchfield Abstract. Four groups of firs (sections, in the most recent classification of Abies) are represented in California. Crossing within these sections is possible and even easy, and in two of the sections intergrading populations between highly crossable taxa are wide spread in California. An exception is A. amabilis, a Northwestern fir that has not been crossed with other species in the same section {Grandes: A. concolor, A. grandis) or in other sections (e.g., Nobiles: A magnified). Crossing species in different sections is usually difficult or impossible. The genetic isolation of A. bracteata, an endemic species classified as a monotypic subgenus or section, may be nearly complete: two probable hybrids with A. concolor died at a few years of age. A few putative hybrids from inter- sectional crosses between species in Grandes and Nobiles died within months of germi nation. Intersectional crosses with firs outside California (two Mexican and four Eur asian species) all failed except A. concolor x A. religiosa, which produced numerous healthy hybrids. The common occurrence of genetic barriers in Abies is at odds with the long-held view that it is easy to hybridize fir species. For. Sci. 34(1): 139-151. Additional key words. Abies, interspecific hybrids, crossability, classification. The ability of species to hybridize has not been explored as systemati cally in the genus Abies (true firs) as it has in other genera of Pinaceae such as Pinus and Pice a.
    [Show full text]
  • Rhinanthus Minor and Its Invertebrate Herbivores
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Sussex Research Online A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://eprints.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details The ecological interactions of the hemiparasite Rhinanthus minor and its invertebrate herbivores By David Fisher Barham Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Sussex July 2010 1 University of Sussex David Fisher Barham Doctor of Philosophy The ecological interactions of the hemiparasite Rhinanthus minor and its invertebrate herbivores Summary The hemiparasite Rhinanthus minor is a common component of many northern temperate grasslands. It can have major impacts on ecosystem processes, and is often present at very high densities, therefore constituting an important potential food source for invertebrate herbivores. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to investigate the interaction between this hemiparasite and its invertebrate herbivores, and to explore the various ecological factors which are likely to affect this interaction. In the first series of experiments the thesis explores how the density of the hemiparasite affects the composition of the vegetation, the performance of the hemiparasite and the levels of invertebrate herbivore damage it receives.
    [Show full text]