High elevation vegetation of the Enchantment Lakes Basin, Washington

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 1111-1130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger del Moral
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Gradient Analysis ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Reciprocal Averaging ◽  
Vegetation Map ◽  
Wet Meadow ◽  
Lupinus Polyphyllus ◽  
Indirect Gradient Analysis ◽  
Primary Survey ◽  
The Pacific

The vegetation of the Enchantment Lakes Basin, which is located at and above timberline on the slopes of Mount Stuart, Washington, was examined by classification and ordination methods. A vegetation map relates the 21 recognized community types to physiographic and topographic features. Vegetation was divided into plots with and without trees. The 11 forested communities include those dominated by Larix lyallii and Cassiope mertensiana on moist slopes, L. lyallii and Phyllodoce glanduliflora on steep north-facing slopes, Abies lasiocarpa and Vaccinium inyrtillus on low elevation, moist sites, and several communities dominated by Pinus albicaulis on dry, exposed slopes. The 10 alpine communities include dry fell-fields dominated by Lupinus lepidus with a variety of forbs, communities dominated by Cassiope mertensiana and Phyllodoce glanduliflora and by P. empetriformis, and lush and wet meadow communities dominated by Lupinus polyphyllus and Carex nigricans. These communities are related to those identified by other workers in the Pacific Northwest. Keys to the vegetation of this area are presented. Indirect gradient analysis using reciprocal averaging revealed both vegetation and species patterns. In the subalpine, moisture appears to be the dominant operational gradient, while inferred temperature is a secondary factor. In the alpine vegetation, a combined gradient of moisture and exposure is indicated by reciprocal averaging. Special ordinations derived from reciprocal averaging reflect these interpretations and identify indicator species for particular habitats in both subalpine and alpine. The patterns are summarized with a mosaic diagram. The use of multivariate methods provided means to summarize primary survey data quickly and efficiently. The pattterns thus revealed are comparable to other studies in the Pacific Northwest and thus engender confidence in the use of indirect gradient analysis as a valuable tool for primary survey in these ecosystems. A vegetation map, keys to vegetation types, community and species patterns, and the relationship between classifications and ordinations emerged from this study.

Precipitation chemistry and deposition at a high-elevation site in the Pacific Northwest United States (1989–2015)

2019 ◽  
Vol 212 ◽  
pp. 221-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne M. Johansen ◽  
Clint Duncan ◽  
Ashleen Reddy ◽  
Naomi Swain ◽  
Mari Sorey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Precipitation Chemistry ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
High Elevation Site ◽  
The Pacific

Contrasting Climatic Histories for the Snake River Plain, Idaho, Resulting from Multiple Thermal Maxima

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen K. Davis ◽  
John C. Sheppard ◽  
Susan Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Snake River Plain ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Snake River ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
River Plain

Ten sites near the Snake River Plain have consistent differences in their climatic histories. Sites at low elevation reflect the “early Holocene xerothermic” of the Pacific Northwest, whereas most climatic chronologies at high elevation indicate maximum warmth or aridity somewhat later, ca. 6000 yr ago. This elevational contrast in climatic histories is duplicated at three sites from the central Snake River Plain. For sites in such close proximity, the different chronologies cannot be explained by changes in atmospheric circulation during the late Quaternary. Rather, the differences are best explained by the autecology of the plants involved and the changing seasonal climate. The seasonal climatic sequence predicted by multiple thermal maxima explains the high- and low-elevation chronologies. During the early Holocene, maximum insolation and intensified summer drought in July forced low-elevation vegetation upward. However, moisture was not a limiting factor at high elevation, where vegetation moved upward in response to increased length of growing season coincident with maximum September insolation 6000 yr ago.

Influence of landscape on resident and anadromous life history types of Oncorhynchus mykiss

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1013-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn R. Narum ◽  
Joseph S. Zendt ◽  
David Graves ◽  
William R. Sharp
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Oncorhynchus Mykiss ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Isolation By Distance ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Steelhead Trout ◽  
Mantel Tests ◽  
Lower Elevation ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
High Gradients

Landscape features can significantly influence genetic and life history diversity of rainbow/steelhead trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss . In this study, heterozygosity of 21 populations of O. mykiss from the Pacific Northwest, USA, was significantly negatively correlated with features such as elevation (P = 0.0023), upstream distance (P = 0.0129), and precipitation (P = 0.0331), and positively correlated with temperature (P = 0.0123). Mantel tests of isolation by distance were significant for anadromous populations (P = 0.007) but not for resident collections (P = 0.061), and suggested that fluvial distance was not the only significant physical variable that influenced genetic structure of life history types. Principal components interpolated to the drainage indicated that high-elevation sites were primarily occupied by the resident form, and high gradients and barriers act to limit anadromous distribution to lower elevation sites. These patterns of O. mykiss life history diversity provide insight regarding the interaction, distribution, and limitations of resident and anadromous forms of the species within this region.

scholarly journals Impacts of the July 2012 Siberian fire plume on air quality in the Pacific Northwest

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 2593-2611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Teakles ◽  
Rita So ◽  
Bruce Ainslie ◽  
Robert Nissen ◽  
Corinne Schiller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Monitoring Site ◽  
Smoke Plume ◽  
Air Quality Standards ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Modis Aod

Abstract. Biomass burning emissions emit a significant amount of trace gases and aerosols and can affect atmospheric chemistry and radiative forcing for hundreds or thousands of kilometres downwind. They can also contribute to exceedances of air quality standards and have negative impacts on human health. We present a case study of an intense wildfire plume from Siberia that affected the air quality across the Pacific Northwest on 6–10 July 2012. Using satellite measurements (MODIS True Colour RGB imagery and MODIS AOD), we track the wildfire smoke plume from its origin in Siberia to the Pacific Northwest where subsidence ahead of a subtropical Pacific High made the plume settle over the region. The normalized enhancement ratios of O3 and PM1 relative to CO of 0.26 and 0.08 are consistent with a plume aged 6–10 days. The aerosol mass in the plume was mainly submicron in diameter (PM1 ∕ PM2.5 = 0.96) and the part of the plume sampled at the Whistler High Elevation Monitoring Site (2182 m a.s.l.) was 88 % organic material. Stable atmospheric conditions along the coast limited the initial entrainment of the plume and caused local anthropogenic emissions to build up. A synthesis of air quality from the regional surface monitoring networks describes changes in ambient O3 and PM2.5 during the event and contrasts them to baseline air quality estimates from the AURAMS chemical transport model without wildfire emissions. Overall, the smoke plume contributed significantly to the exceedances in O3 and PM2.5 air quality standards and objectives that occurred at several communities in the region during the event. Peak enhancements in 8 h O3 of 34–44 ppbv and 24 h PM2.5 of 10–32 µg m−3 were attributed to the effects of the smoke plume across the Interior of British Columbia and at the Whistler Peak High Elevation Site. Lesser enhancements of 10–12 ppbv for 8 h O3 and of 4–9 µg m−3 for 24 h PM2.5 occurred across coastal British Columbia and Washington State. The findings suggest that the large air quality impacts seen during this event were a combination of the efficient transport of the plume across the Pacific, favourable entrainment conditions across the BC interior, and the large scale of the Siberian wildfire emissions. A warming climate increases the risk of increased wildfire activity and events of this scale reoccurring under appropriate meteorological conditions.

Subalpine meadow vegetation of south central Vancouver Island

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 815-821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Milko ◽  
M. A. M. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Pteridium Aquilinum ◽  
South Central ◽  
Olympic Mountains ◽  
Subalpine Meadow ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Community Types

The subalpine meadow vegetation at three sites in the south central mountains of Vancouver Island was described. Based on dominance, six plant community types were delimited by ordination and classification. The community types are Phlox–moss, Anaphalis–Aster, Ribes–Heuchera, Pteridium aquilinum, Senecio–Veratrum, and Vaccinium–Carex. Although the two low-elevation sites were floristically similar, community definition was sharply delineated at Haley Lake but more continuous at Bell Creek. In contrast, the high-elevation Gemini Peak site was floristically and compositionally different and showed a more advanced stage of succession towards forest-dominated communities. Comparisons of the plant communities with those described for other subalpine regions of the Pacific Northwest indicated the strongest similarity to the vegetation of the Olympic Mountains, Washington.

Suitability of Natural Areas for Representing Ecological Change in the Pacific Northwest

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 452
Author(s):  
Margaret H. Massie ◽  
Todd M. Wilson ◽  
Anita T. Morzillo ◽  
Emilie B. Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Natural Areas ◽  
The Pacific
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