Last updated: August 28, 2024
Article
Checking Lassen's Vital Signs
Walker Hall
Klamath Network Science
National parks are the guardians of our unique American natural and cultural history. But perhaps more than ever before, parks exist in a rapidly changing landscape. Urban growth, replacement of native species by exotics, air and water pollution, increasing visitor use, and climate change all impact the natural web of life. This leads us to ask:
How healthy are our parks?
How are they changing?
To answer these questions, the National Park Service clustered parks into 32 Inventory and Monitoring Networks. In 2010 at Lassen Volcanic and nearby parks, the Klamath Network began monitoring natural resources, called “vital signs,” that serve as red flags if conditions deteriorate. Through repeated visits to fixed sampling sites over time, we track status and trends in park conditions to support park managers’ efforts to make science-based management decisions.
What Do We Monitor at Lassen Volcanic National Park?
Water Quality and Aquatic Life
NPS
Life flourishes in and near water, from the tiny aquatic insects that feed frogs and colorful warblers, to the lush vegetation prized by myriad wildlife. In the summer months, Lassen’s high mountain ponds and lakes draw long-toed salamanders (Ambystoma macrodactylum) from the forest to breed. In Lassen’s cold, clean streams, native rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) compete with their exotic cousins, brown trout (Salmo trutta) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) for tasty aquatic insects. But Lassen’s water is vulnerable to climate change and other stressors, like heavy backcountry use near shorelines. We sample fish, aquatic organisms, streamside plants, and water chemistry to track the health of the park’s ponds and lakes.
Some resources we measure:
- water quality, like oxygen, pH, and cloudiness (turbidity)
- water chemistry, like nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous) and salts
- water quantity, like stream discharge
- habitat features, like streamside vegetation and in-stream woody debris
- amphibians, algae, and aquatic macroinvertebrates (stream bugs)
Learn more and find recent publications:
https://www.nps.gov/im/klmn/streams.htm
https://www.nps.gov/im/klmn/lakes.htm
Land Plants and Early Detection of Invasive Species
NPS/Andrew Ray
Lassen’s plant communities range from highly diverse streamside thickets, with the showy Lewis’ monkeyflower, to much simpler conifer stands near treeline. This vegetation feeds, shelters, and provides breeding habitat for insects and wildlife. But changes brought on by invasive species and climate change can disturb these communities and ripple through the entire ecosystem. To track this basic building block of Lassen’s ecological health, we monitor plant abundance and variety. We also track woody debris conditions intricately tied to fire behavior.
Some resources we measure:
- cover and diversity of native plants
- cover and diversity of nonnative plants
- regeneration, by tree seedling counts
- mortality, by counting recently dead trees
- fuel availability, by measuring woody debris and litter and duff depths
- live tree characteristics, like volume (basal area), canopy health, and height
NPS/Sean Smith
While most of our vegetation plots sample relatively undisturbed areas, including wilderness, other areas in Lassen contend with nonnatives (plants that evolved in a different place), like yellow salsify and bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare). Although these nonnative invaders can wreak havoc, outcompeting native plants, monopolizing water, and changing the soil, Lassen is fortunate to have very few—most commonly, the relatively harmless dandelion. We survey park travel corridors, like roads and trails, where nonnatives most commonly appear.
Learn more and find recent publications:
https://www.nps.gov/im/klmn/vegetation.htm
https://www.nps.gov/im/klmn/invasives.htm
Whitebark Pine
NPS
On the forested shoulders of Lassen Peak, the iconic whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) weathers the harsh, subalpine climate just below treeline. Its high-energy seeds feed Clark’s nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) and squirrels. Its roots stabilize the thin rocky soil. Its shady branches prolong the snowmelt that sustains Lassen’s streams. But white pine blister rust, a nonnative fungal infection, and mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae) have taken a toll on this keystone species. We monitor tree conditions and the extent of both blister rust infection and beetle damage to support park management and larger-scale research throughout the West to protect this imperiled species.
Some resources we measure:
- tree size (diameter at breast height), height, and condition (live vs dead)
- abundance of seedlings and cone-bearing trees
- mistletoe and blister rust infection, and mountain pine beetle infestation
Learn more and find recent publications:
Birds
Frank Lospalluto
Birds delight us with song and beauty, but also with scientific data! Easily detected, they are good indicators of ecological health because they respond quickly to environmental change. With the Klamath Bird Observatory, we monitor landbird communities (excluding water- and shorebirds) at Lassen. These include the tiny but abundant golden-crowned kinglet that flocks elusively through the treetops, whispering its high, thin song. Our results also contribute to regional landbird tracking projects, like the Avian Knowledge Network Northwest.
During the breeding season, we count birds along transects to determine
- the variety of species present
- the relative abundance of each species in the park
Learn more and find recent publications:
More Information and Vital Sign Publications
Klamath Inventory and Monitoring Network
Download a printable pdf of this article.
Prepared by Sonya Daw and the Klamath Network staff.