NPS
Vascular plant communities are an important component of National Park biodiversity. Operationally, vegetation characteristics such as dominant plant species, canopy cover, or stand age are often used to classify landscapes prior to identification of management zones or development of management plans or as a stratification level in research projects and long-term monitoring programs. Functionally, plants influence hydrologic and biogeochemical processes, nutrient cycling, disturbance patterns, wildlife habitat, and patterns of human use. Changes in plant distribution, abundance, and phenology are valuable indicators of current and past environmental and climate factors and the influence of stressors to ecosystems.
Vegetation research and monitoring in parks of the North Coast and Cascades Network include:
- Long-term monitoring of forests, low-elevation prairies, whitebark pine, and subalpine vegetation conducted by the North Coast and Cascades Network Inventory & Monitoring Program
- Monitoring of plant phenology (timing of flowering) as an indication of the influence of warming climates on plant function. Three citizen science projects are on-going in Mount Rainier and North Cascades: University of Washington’s MeadoWatch; NPS Cascades Butterfly Project, and Walking with Wildlflowers, monitoring plant phenology along the Pacific Crest Trail
- Forest Health – forest health is monitored by the NPS Inventory & Monitoring Program and the USDA Forest Service. The US Forest Service monitors forest health aerially and through the Forest Inventory & Analysis Program (FIA)
- Restoration of native plant communities: we restore and monitor native prairies at San Juan Island National Historical Park and Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve and a variety of riparian, forest, intertidal, and subalpine plant communities in other network parks
- Changes in plant community distribution and composition over time is currently being studies in North Cascades and Mount Rainier National Parks
- Influence of air pollution on native plant and soil processes
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- Locations: Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park
In about 1900, a tiny insect called balsam woolly adelgid, a European native, appeared in North America on balsam firs. It can now be found in the West as well, in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. In Mount Rainier and North Cascades National Parks, infestations have been found on subalpine fir and Pacific silver fir, but subalpine fir is more heavily damaged.
- Locations: Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Olympic National Park, San Juan Island National Historical Park
The North Coast and Cascades Network Exotic Plant Management Team (NCCN EPMT) manages a diverse array of exotic plants across the dramatic landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. The team works with partner parks and agencies to augment vegetation management across the network.
- Locations: Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park
MAY 2018 – Whitebark pine is a five-needle pine that grows in high-elevation ecosystems in Western North America. It can be found in three national parks within the North Coast and Cascades Network. Today, its long-term survival is threatened by an introduced fungus, blister rust, and the native mountain pine beetle. To better understand how to protect the trees, the Network established study plots in eight stands in Mount Rainier and five stands in North Cascades in 2004.
Researchers are satellite-tracking Clark’s nutcrackers to better understand how resilient the mutualistic relationship is between this species and whitebark pine, which both appear to be declining in the Pacific Northwest.
- Locations: Crater Lake National Park, North Cascades National Park, Yosemite National Park
Walking with Wildflowers is a citizen science program dedicated to monitoring plant phenology along the Pacific Crest Trail using observations from hikers and backpackers. Its main goal is to determine whether plant species are able to respond to changing climatic conditions and better understand how plants use seasonal cues to time flowering.
Last updated: July 13, 2023