Dead standing pine trees in a boreal forest landscape in the Kalevala National Park, northern Fennoscandia: amount, population characteristics and spatial pattern

Summer range is not thought to be limiting to elk because abundant, high quality forage is available whereas a shortage of forage usually exists on elk winter ranges. Nevertheless, summer nutrition and fat reserves acquired on summer ranges influence growth, survival and reproduction of ungulates (Klein 1965, Verme 1963, 1965, Julander et al. 1961). The enormous area of summer range for the Northern Yellowstone elk herd renders detailed field surveys impractical. This study was initiated to evaluate the feasibility of using LANDSAT satellite imagery to (1) characterize vegetation communities on summer range from LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS) data and digitized vegetation maps of Yellowstone National Park, (2) predict plant production within grassland types and (3) correlate elk population characteristics with fluctuations in plant production and weather.

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Dendrochronological Assessment of Whitebark Pine Response to Past Climate Change: Implications for a Threatened Species in Grand Teton National Park

The UW National Parks Service Research Station Annual Reports ◽

10.13001/uwnpsrc.2014.4047 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 37 ◽

pp. 58-64

Author(s):

Kendra McLauchlan ◽

Kyleen Kelly

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

National Park ◽

Fire History ◽

Multiple Stressors ◽

Fire Suppression ◽

Climatic Variability ◽

High Elevation ◽

Whitebark Pine ◽

Grand Teton National Park ◽

Pine Trees

One of the keystone tree species in subalpine forests of the western United States â whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis, hereafter whitebark pine) â is experiencing a significant mortality event (Millar et al. 2012). Whitebark pine occupies a relatively restricted range in the high-elevation ecosystems in the northern Rockies and its future is uncertain. The current decline of whitebark pine populations has been attributed to pine beetle infestations, blister rust infections, anthropogenic fire suppression, and climate change (Millar et al. 2012). Despite the knowledge that whitebark pine is severely threatened by multiple stressors, little is known about the historic capacity of this species to handle these stressors. More specifically, it is unknown how whitebark pine has dealt with past climatic variability, particularly variation in the type of precipitation (rain vs. snow) available for soil moisture, and how differences in quantity of precipitation have influenced the establishment and growth of modern stands. We propose to study the past responses of whitebark pine to paleoclimatic conditions, which would be useful to park ecologists in developing new conservation and regeneration plans to prevent the extinction of this already severely threatened high-elevation resource. The purpose of this study is to determine in great temporal and spatial detail the demographics of the current stand of whitebark pine trees in the watershed surrounding an unnamed, high-altitude pond (known informally as Whitebark Pine Moraine Pond) located approximately 3.06 miles NW of Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). The main objectives of this study were: 1.) To obtain the precise GPS locations of the current stand of whitebark pine trees in the watershed to generate a GIS map detailing their locations. 2.) To obtain increment cores of a subset of the trees in the watershed to estimate age and date of establishment for the current stand of whitebark pines, with particular attention to fire history. 3.) To analyze ring widths from core samples to identify climatic indicators that may influence the regeneration and survival of whitebark pine.

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Simulating Carbon Dynamics of the Boreal Forest in Pukaskwa National Park

Boreal Forests and Global Change ◽

10.1007/978-94-017-0942-2_29 ◽

1995 ◽

pp. 283-298

Author(s):

I. A. Nalder ◽

H. G. Merriam

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forest ◽

National Park ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Pukaskwa National Park

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Population characteristics and habitat suitability of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758) in the Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

European Journal of Ecology ◽

10.2478/eje-2019-0012 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 62-71

Author(s):

Mananya Pla-ard ◽

Ronglarp Sukmasuang ◽

Khanchit Srinopawan

Keyword(s):

Population Structure ◽

Habitat Suitability ◽

National Park ◽

Population Characteristics ◽

Line Transect ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Annual Data ◽

Wet Season ◽

Khao Yai National Park ◽

Combined Data

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the population and habitat of wild elephants in the Khao Yai National Park, to provide elephant population densities using the line transect method. Habitat suitability was also assessed based on the data obtained from the location of the species during monthly ranger patrol across the park area, with the rate of dung decay used for population calculation. The population structure and age class were studied by direct observation to estimate the population trend. On the basis of 116 systematic transect lines that were 2 km in length and separated by 500-m intervals, a total of 1,209 elephant dung piles were found in more than 213.20 km. The analysis of the combined data showed that the dung density was 531.49 dung piles/km2, with a decay rate of 0.0039 dung piles/day based on 56 dung piles checked every 7 days. The annual data showed that the population density was 0.15 individuals/km2. The population structure comprising calf:juvenile:subadult:adult was 1: 1.09:1.14:2.10; the sex ratio of adult male to adult female elephants was 1:1.10; and the ratio of reproductive ability among adult females, juveniles, and calves was 1.00:0.99:0.90. The combined data also showed that the main environmental factor affecting the presence of the animals was salt lick sites. The pooled data analysis found that the habitat most suitable for the elephants covered an area of 220.59 km2. The habitat suitability, based on the dry season appearance data, covered an area of 258.64 km2, whereas during the wet season, it covered an area of 517.45 km2. As the most suitable habitat for elephants appears around the park boundary, habitat improvements for wild elephants should address the central areas of the national park. A greater emphasis should be placed on creating salt licks, being far from human activity sites.

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