Carbon sequestration in a high-elevation, subalpine forest

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 459-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. Monson ◽  
A. A. Turnipseed ◽  
J. P. Sparks ◽  
P. C. Harley ◽  
L. E. Scott-Denton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Subalpine Forest

Postglacial vegetation dynamics at high elevation from Fairy Lake in the northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Montana, USA

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
James V. Benes ◽  
Virginia Iglesias ◽  
Cathy Whitlock
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem ◽  
Southwestern Montana ◽  
History Of ◽  
Greater Yellowstone ◽  
High Elevations ◽  
Early Late

AbstractThe postglacial vegetation and fire history of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is known from low and middle elevations, but little is known about high elevations. Paleoecologic data from Fairy Lake in the Bridger Range, southwestern Montana, provide a new high-elevation record that spans the last 15,000 yr. The records suggest a period of tundra-steppe vegetation prior to ca. 13,700 cal yr BP was followed by open Picea forest at ca. 11,200 cal yr BP. Pinus-Pseudotsuga parkland was present after ca. 9200 cal yr BP, when conditions were warmer/drier than present. It was replaced by mixed-conifer parkland at ca. 5000 cal yr BP. Present-day subalpine forest established at ca. 2800 cal yr BP. Increased avalanche or mass-wasting activity during the early late-glacial period, the Younger Dryas chronozone, and Neoglaciation suggest cool, wet periods. Sites at different elevations in the region show (1) synchronous vegetation responses to late-glacial warming; (2) widespread xerothermic forests and frequent fires in the early-to-middle Holocene; and (3) a trend to forest closure during late-Holocene cooling. Conditions in the Bridger Range were, however, wetter than other areas during the early Holocene. Across the Northern Rockies, postglacial warming progressed from west to east, reflecting range-specific responses to insolation-driven changes in climate.

The contribution of beneath-snow soil respiration to total ecosystem respiration in a high-elevation, subalpine forest

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell K. Monson ◽  
Sean P. Burns ◽  
Mark W. Williams ◽  
Anthony C. Delany ◽  
Michael Weintraub ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Ecosystem Respiration ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Total Ecosystem Respiration

scholarly journals Soil, plant, and transport influences on methane in a subalpine forest under high ultraviolet irradiance

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 1311-1324 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Bowling ◽  
J. B. Miller ◽  
M. E. Rhodes ◽  
S. P. Burns ◽  
R. K. Monson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Elevation ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Vegetation Canopy ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
Uv Irradiance ◽  
Plant Foliage ◽  
Net Uptake ◽  
Scalar Similarity ◽  
Ultraviolet Irradiance

Abstract. Recent studies have demonstrated direct methane emission from plant foliage under aerobic conditions, particularly under high ultraviolet (UV) irradiance. We examined the potential importance of this phenomenon in a high-elevation conifer forest using micrometeorological techniques. Vertical profiles of methane and carbon dioxide in forest air were monitored every 2 h for 6 weeks in summer 2007. Day to day variability in above-canopy CH4 was high, with observed values in the range 1790 to 1910 nmol mol−1. High CH4 was correlated with high carbon monoxide and related to wind direction, consistent with pollutant transport from an urban area by a well-studied mountain-plain wind system. Soils were moderately dry during the study. Vertical gradients of CH4 were small but detectable day and night, both near the ground and within the vegetation canopy. Gradients near the ground were consistent with the forest soil being a net CH4 sink. Using scalar similarity with CO2, the magnitude of the summer soil CH4 sink was estimated at ~1.7 mg CH4 m−2 h−1, which is similar to other temperate forest upland soils. The high-elevation forest was naturally exposed to high UV irradiance under clear sky conditions, with observed peak UVB irradiance >2 W m−2. Gradients and means of CO2 within the canopy under daytime conditions showed net uptake of CO2 due to photosynthetic drawdown as expected. No evidence was found for a significant foliar CH4 source in the vegetation canopy, even under high UV conditions. While the possibility of a weak foliar source cannot be excluded given the observed soil sink, overall this subalpine forest was a net sink for atmospheric methane during the growing season.

scholarly journals Effect of clear cutting on nutrient fluxes in a subalpine forest at Fraser, Colorado

1997 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. O. Reuss ◽  
R. Stottlemyer ◽  
C. A. Troendle
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Loss ◽  
Water Flux ◽  
Base Cations ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Control Plot ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Nutrient Fluxes ◽  
Exchange Reactions ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Nitrogen Inputs

Abstract. Nutrient fluxes were investigated on a forested and a clearcut plot in a mixed conifer high elevation (2900 m) forest at the Fraser Experimental Forest in Fraser, Colorado, USA. Plots were located on a coarse loamy mixed Dystric Cryochrept with relatively high base saturation (30-90%) and underlain by an impermeable clay subsoil. Following harvest in late 1984, annual mean NO3 concentrations of 195 to 198 μmol l-1 were observed from 1988 through 1990 and concentrations were still above reference levels in 1993. Total nitrogen loss attributable to leaching following harvest was estimated at 48kg ha-1 over 8 years. Over this same period, atmospheric nitrogen inputs exceeded annual outflow of NH4 plus NO3 from the control plots by approximately 11 kg N ha-1. A slight enrichment Of SO4 and Cl was observed from the harvested plot in 1986 but concentrations later fell below control plot levels, apparently due to dilution by the increased discharge from the harvested plot which was three to four times that from the control plot. Elevated Ca, Mg, and Na concentrations followed a similar pattern to NO3 due to exchange reactions, while a depression in alkalinity of about one-third the amount of NO3 found was also observed. Enrichment of K occurred primarily in water collected at less than 1 m depth. Increases in base cation loss due to leaching after harvest were about twice the amount that can be accounted for by the increased flux of NO3, SO4, and Cl anions. The excess reflects the increased water flux and consequent leaching of base cations in association with HCO3 and organic anions.

Temperature as a control over ecosystem CO2 fluxes in a high-elevation, subalpine forest

Oecologia ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. E. Huxman ◽  
A. A. Turnipseed ◽  
J. P. Sparks ◽  
P. C. Harley ◽  
R. K. Monson
Keyword(s):  
High Elevation ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Co2 Fluxes

scholarly journals Soil and plant contributions to the methane flux balance of a subalpine forest under high ultraviolet irradiance

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 4765-4801
Author(s):  
D. R. Bowling ◽  
J. B. Miller ◽  
M. E. Rhodes ◽  
S. P. Burns ◽  
R. K. Monson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Methane Flux ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Vegetation Canopy ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
Uv Irradiance ◽  
Plant Foliage ◽  
Net Uptake ◽  
Ultraviolet Irradiance

Abstract. Recent studies have demonstrated direct methane emission from plant foliage under aerobic conditions, particularly under high ultraviolet (UV) irradiance. We examined the potential importance of this phenomenon in a high-elevation conifer forest using micrometeorological techniques. Vertical profiles of methane and carbon dioxide in forest air were monitored every 2 h for 6 weeks in summer 2007. Day to day variability in above-canopy CH4 was high, with observed values in the range 1790 to 1910 nmol mol−1. High CH4 was correlated with high carbon monoxide and related to wind direction, consistent with pollutant transport from an urban area by a well-studied mountain-plain wind system. Soil moisture was moderately dry during the study. Vertical gradients of CH4 were small but detectable day and night, both near the ground and within the vegetation canopy. Gradients near the ground were consistent with the forest soil being a net CH4 sink. Using scalar similarity with CO2, the magnitude of the summer soil CH4 sink was estimated at ~1.7 mg CH4 m−2 h−1, which is similar to other temperate forest upland soils. The high-elevation forest was naturally exposed to high UV irradiance under clear sky conditions, with observed peak UVB irradiance >2 W m−2. Gradients and means of CO2 within the canopy under daytime conditions showed net uptake of CO2 due to photosynthetic drawdown as expected. No evidence was found for a significant foliar CH4 source in the vegetation canopy, even under high UV conditions. While the possibility of a weak foliar source cannot be excluded given the observed soil sink, overall this subalpine forest was a net sink for atmospheric methane during the growing season.

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.

scholarly journals Extensive observations of CO2carbon isotope content in and above a high-elevation subalpine forest

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Bowling ◽  
S. P. Burns ◽  
T. J. Conway ◽  
R. K. Monson ◽  
J. W. C. White
Keyword(s):  
High Elevation ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Isotope Content
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