Alpine Vegetation Monitoring

Mount Rainier's subalpine and alpine meadows harbor a diverse plant community visited by millions of people every year. However, as temperatures rise, trees are encroaching into these spaces from below while meadow plants gradually edge higher into habitat previously covered by ice or bare ground. This study examines what the future may hold for these dynamic places.

Soil Respiration

Dr. Beatrice Willard (1925-2003) was a beloved and respected tundra ecologist. In 1959 she established research plots in Rocky Mountain National Park. At these plots Dr. Willard examined the "complexity of dynamic processes set in motion by visitor impact" for approximately 40 years. Dr. Willard’s work at the plots and the subsequent influence she had over national environmental policy is of great importance to our Nation’s history.

Most theories expect greater plant diversity at lower elevations and less diversity in harsher high-elevation locations. We found the reverse is true--in this case. Learn why: Roland, C. A. and J. H. Schmidt. 2015. A diverse alpine species pool drives a "reversed" plant species richness-elevation relationship in interior Alaska. Journal of Biogeography 42(4): 738-750.

Sometimes, national parks are faced with a daunting challenge: removing ecologically disruptive, non-native mammals. Pinnacles National Park knows what it’s like. They have worked hard to successfully remove feral pigs. So when Olympic National Park needed to remove introduced mountain goats using non-lead ammunition, they sought the expertise of Pinnacles Invasive-Wildlife Biologist and Non-lead Ammunition Specialist Daniel Ryan.

here are 17 documented species of willow in Rocky Mountain National Park, and four of them make a living on the alpine tundra. Willow plants provide habitat and food for a variety of species including the white-tailed ptarmigan, but research shows a decrease in their overall cover and size. Who might be to blame?

Alpine plant communities are limited by nitrogen (N) because they have evolved in ecosystems with naturally low levels of reactive N. Increased N deposition is projected to alter plant communities, soil processes, soil carbon and N storage.

Most flowering plants rely on insect pollinators for successful reproduction. Thus many plant-feeding animals (like bears, goats, elk) are also dependent on insect pollinators for their well-being. Still, park scientists know relatively little about the diversity of native insect pollinators. We designed a study to document the diversity of two very important groups of insect pollinators in North Cascades and Olympic National Parks: bees and flower flies.