Combining Environmental History and Soil Phytolith Analysis at the City of Rocks National Reserve: Developing New Methods in Historical Ecology
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Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 12-2008 Combining Environmental History and Soil Phytolith Analysis at the City of Rocks National Reserve: Developing New Methods in Historical Ecology Lesley Morris Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Biology Commons, Botany Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Morris, Lesley, "Combining Environmental History and Soil Phytolith Analysis at the City of Rocks National Reserve: Developing New Methods in Historical Ecology" (2008). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 35. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/35 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMBINING ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY AND SOIL PHYTOLITH ANALYSIS AT THE CITY OF ROCKS NATIONAL RESERVE: DEVELOPING NEW METHODS IN HISTORICAL ECOLOGY by Lesley R. Morris A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Ecology Approved: __________________ _________________ Dr. Ronald J. Ryel Dr. Neil West Major Professor Committee Member __________________ __________________ Dr. Fred Baker Dr. John Malechek Committee Member Committee Member __________________ __________________ Dr. Christopher Conte Dr. Byron Burnham Committee Member Dean of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2008 ii Copyright © Lesley R. Morris 2008 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Combining Environmental History and Soil Phytolith Analysis at the City of Rocks National Reserve: Developing New Methods in Historical Ecology by Lesley R. Morris, Doctor of Philosophy Utah State University, 2008 Major Professor: Dr. Ronald J. Ryel Department: Wildland Resources Historical ecology is an emerging and interdisciplinary field that seeks to explain the changes in ecosystems over time through a synthesis of information derived from human records and biological data. The methods in historical ecology cover a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. However, methods for the more recent past (about 200 years) are largely limited to the human archive and dendrochronological evidence, which can be subject to human bias, limited in spatial extent or not appropriate for non-forested systems. There is a need to explore new methods by which biological data can be used to understand historic vegetation and disturbance regimes over the recent past especially in arid ecosystem types. Soil phytolith analysis has the potential to provide much needed information regarding historical conditions in both areas. Phytoliths are structures formed in plants through deposition and accumulation of silica within and around cell walls that are released from plants and preserved in sediments long after death and decay iv of plant material. The City of Rocks National Reserve in southern Idaho was an excellent place to develop new methods in historical ecology because the human records of historic environmental conditions were so rich. There were two overarching and interconnected objectives for this dissertation research. The first was to reconstruct an ecological history of the City of Rocks National Reserve from the period of overland emigration to present. The second objective was to explore the utility of soil phytolith analysis for inferring vegetation and disturbance regime change over the recent past by testing its sensitivity to record known changes. I employed modern analogue studies, a multi-core approach and detailed core analysis to test for known changes through analysis of extraction weights, relative abundance of phytolith assemblages, microscopic charcoal and burned (darkened) phytoliths. My results showed that this combination of history and soil phytolith analysis can be useful for inferring vegetation changes (e.g. increases in introduced grasses) and disturbances (e.g. fire) in ecological histories. (320 pages) v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was funded by a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant from the National Science Foundation, the National Park Service, Idaho State Parks and Recreation, the Ecology Center at Utah State University, and a College of Natural Resources S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Doctoral Fellowship. I want to acknowledge the many people who helped with this project at Utah State University. I appreciated the commitment from both Neil West, who retired as my dissertation advisor part way into this project, and Ron Ryel, who guided me through to the end. Thank you to the rest of my dissertation committee: John Malecheck, Fred Baker, and Chris Conte. Many thanks to Marvin Bennett and Stephanie White, in the Ecology Center, and to Mary Barkworth and Michael Piep, at the Intermountain Herbarium. Helga Van Miegroet provided access to her laboratory and equipment. Darryl DeWald and Richard Mueller lent me microscopes. Chris and Ellie McGinty gave me patient assistance with maps and graphics. Field and laboratory assistance was provided by: Christo Morris, Jenny Wolfgram, Heather Wolfgram, Hayley Olsen, Jen Minnick, Stephanie Ashby, and Sean Kelly. Special thanks to Wallace Keck, superintendent, Brad Shilling, Venna Ward, and Juanita Jones at the City of Rocks National Reserve. Special thanks also to the wonderful people of Almo and Elba! Special thanks to all of the oral history participants for hours of discussion, laughs, and hospitality! Marion and Buddy Ward, at the Old Homestead Bed and Breakfast, and Darla and Darwin Bywater, at the Almo Creek Outpost, treated me vi like family. Special thanks to Mic Nicholson, Harold O. and Lorrayne Ward, Bill and Phyllis Tracy, and J.R. Simplott for access to private property. Thanks, also, to the many staff members, librarians, and archivists who assisted me including: Patty McNamee at the National Archives and Records Administration Pacific Alaska Regional Office in Seattle, the staff at the Idaho State Historical Society, Doug Misner from the Utah State Historical Society, Nancy Ady and Jim Tharp at the Burley District Office of the Bureau of Land Management, John Mark Lambertson at the Merrill Mattes Library, and Jim Riehl from Oregon California Trails Association. Mikhail Blinnikov from St. Cloud State University, Minnesota, trained me in phytolith extraction and identification. Linda Scott-Cummings from the PaleoResearch Institute in Boulder, Colorado, visited me here in Logan. And last but not least, thanks to family for all of their support. Especially my husband, Christo Morris, who has traveled with me, collected plants and soil cores, counted phytoliths, provided information on the introduction and extent of introduced plants, proofread chapters, offered his weed collection for phytolith analysis, and encouraged me the whole way. You’re the best! Lesley Morris vii CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi LIST OF PLATES ........................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1 Research objectives and questions...........................................................3 Research design and methodology...........................................................3 Chapter previews .....................................................................................4 References..............................................................................................10 2. PHYTOLITHS: “JEWELS OF THE PLANT WORLD”..........................12 Introduction............................................................................................12 Physiology: production and function.....................................................13 Extraction, identification, and classification..........................................15 Issues, theory, and use ...........................................................................18 Analysis and interpretation ....................................................................25 Conclusion .............................................................................................26 References..............................................................................................27 3. THE “LAND WITNESS”: TEMPORARY LANDSCAPES OF THE CITY OF ROCKS NATIONAL RESERVE.....................................31 Introduction............................................................................................31 Study area...............................................................................................35 Native American use and occupation ....................................................38 European exploration and emigration....................................................40 Period of survey and settlement.............................................................46