A fire history from tree rings in a high-elevation forest of Rocky Mountain National Park

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1259-1273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne Buechling ◽  
William L Baker
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
National Park ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Rocky Mountain National Park ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Surface Fires ◽  
Crown Fires

Historical fire patterns in a subalpine forest of Rocky Mountain National Park were quantified from an analysis of forest stand ages and fire-scarred trees. A comparatively detailed sample of 3461 tree cores and 212 fire scars was collected from a 9200-ha study area north of Estes Park, Colorado. A total of 41 fire events were identified in the record. Annually precise fire dates, beginning in 1533, include 22 high-severity crown fires, 7 low-severity surface fires, and 8 mixed-severity events with both surface and crown fire components. Fire rotation was estimated for both surface fires (7587 years) and crown fires (346 years). Fire rotation did not appear to vary with fuel characteristics associated with topographical differences in the study area. Fires larger than 300 ha were few, but they determined a large proportion of the area burned since 1700 and were significantly correlated with a reconstructed index of summer drought. Low fire activity in the 20th century was associated with decreased severity and frequency of drought episodes. Long fire rotations preclude definitive conclusions regarding the effects of fire suppression in the 20th century, but relationships between high-severity fires, fuels, and drought suggest that climatic variability remains the primary influence on fire cycles in high-elevation ecosystems of the southern Rocky Mountains.

Distributional Changes and Range Predictions of Downy Brome (Bromus tectorum) in Rocky Mountain National Park

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Bromberg ◽  
Sunil Kumar ◽  
Cynthia S. Brown ◽  
Thomas J. Stohlgren
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Bromus Tectorum ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Rocky Mountain National Park ◽  
Downy Brome ◽  
Strong Response ◽  
Vegetation Surveys

AbstractDowny brome (Bromus tectorumL.), an invasive winter annual grass, may be increasing in extent and abundance at high elevations in the western United States. This would pose a great threat to high-elevation plant communities and resources. However, data to track this species in high-elevation environments are limited. To address changes in the distribution and abundance of downy brome and the factors most associated with its occurrence, we used field sampling and statistical methods, and niche modeling. In 2007, we resampled plots from two vegetation surveys in Rocky Mountain National Park for presence and cover of downy brome. One survey was established in 1993 and had been resampled in 1999. The other survey was established in 1996 and had not been resampled until our study. Although not all comparisons between years demonstrated significant changes in downy brome abundance, its mean cover increased nearly fivefold from 1993 (0.7%) to 2007 (3.6%) in one of the two vegetation surveys (P = 0.06). Although the average cover of downy brome within the second survey appeared to be increasing from 1996 to 2007, this slight change from 0.5% to 1.2% was not statistically significant (P = 0.24). Downy brome was present in 50% more plots in 1999 than in 1993 (P = 0.02) in the first survey. In the second survey, downy brome was present in 30% more plots in 2007 than in 1996 (P = 0.08). Maxent, a species–environmental matching model, was generally able to predict occurrences of downy brome, as new locations were in the ranges predicted by earlier generated models. The model found that distance to roads, elevation, and vegetation community influenced the predictions most. The strong response of downy brome to interannual environmental variability makes detecting change challenging, especially with small sample sizes. However, our results suggest that the area in which downy brome occurs is likely increasing in Rocky Mountain National Park through increased frequency and cover. Field surveys along with predictive modeling will be vital in directing efforts to manage this highly invasive species.

Mercury Transport in a High-Elevation Watershed in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

2005 ◽  
Vol 164 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 21-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Alisa Mast ◽  
Donald H. Campbell ◽  
David P. Krabbenhoft ◽  
Howard E. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Rocky Mountain National Park ◽  
Mercury Transport

Modeling visitor use on high elevation mountain trails: An example from Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, USA

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 2882-2893 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Pettebone ◽  
Ashley D’Antonio ◽  
Abigail Sisneros-Kidd ◽  
Christopher Monz
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Rocky Mountain National Park ◽  
Visitor Use

scholarly journals 20th-century variations in area of cirque glaciers and glacierets, Rocky Mountain National Park, Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA

2007 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 349-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Hoffman ◽  
Andrew G. Fountain ◽  
Jonathan M. Achuff
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
National Park ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Winter Precipitation ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Rocky Mountain National Park ◽  
Systematic Change ◽  
Topographic Effects ◽  
Local Climate

AbstractComparison of historic maps and aerial and ground-based photographs for the small cirque glaciers and glacierets of Rocky Mountain National Park in the northern Front Range of Colorado, USA, indicates modest change during the 20th century. The glaciers retreated through the first half of the 20th century, advanced slightly from the mid-1940s to the end of the century and have retreated slightly since. High interannual variability in area and temporal gaps in data complicate the trends. Local climate records indicate a lack of systematic change between 1950 and 1975, but significant warming afterwards. Local topographic effects (e.g. wind redistribution of snow and avalanching) are important influences. These small glaciers respond to changes in regional climate; summer temperature alone is a good predictor of the mass balance of Andrews Glacier (r= -0.93). Spring snowfall is also an important factor. That winter precipitation is not statistically significant supports the notion that these small glaciers gain much snow from wind drift and avalanching, making winter snow accumulation almost indifferent to variations in direct snowfall. Less than expected glacier retreat may be due to increased summer cloudiness.

scholarly journals Assessment of High Resolution Air Temperature Fields at Rocky Mountain National Park by Combining Scarce Point Measurements with Elevation and Remote Sensing Data

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Antonio-Juan Collados-Lara ◽  
Steven R. Fassnacht ◽  
Eulogio Pardo-Igúzquiza ◽  
David Pulido-Velazquez
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
National Park ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Rocky Mountain National Park ◽  
Temperature Fields ◽  
Lapse Rate ◽  
Validation Experiment

There is necessity of considering air temperature to simulate the hydrology and management within water resources systems. In many cases, a big issue is considering the scarcity of data due to poor accessibility and limited funds. This paper proposes a methodology to obtain high resolution air temperature fields by combining scarce point measurements with elevation data and land surface temperature (LST) data from remote sensing. The available station data (SNOTEL stations) are sparse at Rocky Mountain National Park, necessitating the inclusion of correlated and well-sampled variables to assess the spatial variability of air temperature. Different geostatistical approaches and weighted solutions thereof were employed to obtain air temperature fields. These estimates were compared with two relatively direct solutions, the LST (MODIS) and a lapse rate-based interpolation technique. The methodology was evaluated using data from different seasons. The performance of the techniques was assessed through a cross validation experiment. In both cases, the weighted kriging with external drift solution (considering LST and elevation) showed the best results, with a mean squared error of 3.7 and 3.6 °C2 for the application and validation, respectively.

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