solving local, regional, national, and international air quality...
TRANSCRIPT
Sarah Jovan1, Linda Geiser2, Andrjez Bytnerowicz3, Karen Dillman4, Mark Fenn3, Jill Grenon5, Martin Hutten6, Pamela Padgett3, Linda H. Pardo7,
Jennifer Riddell8, Heather Root9, Tomás Hernández Tejeda10
1USFS, Pacific Northwest Research Stn, 620 SW Main, Suite 400, Portland, OR 97205, 2USFS, Pacific Northwest Air Resource Mgmt Program, PO Box 1148, Corvallis, OR 97339 3US FS, Pacific Southwest Research Stn, 4955 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507, 4USFS,Tongass National Forest, 123 Scow Bay Loop Rd., Petersburg, AK, 998335Montana State University, Department of Ecology, PO Box 173460, Bozeman, MT, 59717 6Yosemite NP, Div. of Resources Mgmt and Science, PO Box 700, El Portal, CA 95318 7US Forest Service, Northern Research Station, PO Box 968, Burlington, VT 05402, 8UC Davis, Dept. of Land, Air, & Water Resources, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616
9Oregon State University, Dpt. Botany and Plant Path., 2082 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331 10Inst. Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Ave. Progreso 5, Col. Viveros de Coyoacán, C.P., 04410 MX
Solving local, regional, national, and international air quality problems with the FIA
Lichen Indicator: recent examples (2008-present)
ABSTRACTScientists and managers are increasingly using FIA Lichen Indicator protocols and data to address forest health information needs across local, regional, national, and international scales. At local scales, the FIA lichen survey method is used to map and assess agricultural air pollution in Yosemite
National Park, cruise ship emissions in southeastern Alaska, ammonia deposition in Hells Canyon to protect cultural resources, and gas drilling emissions on Bridger Wilderness, a part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Wyoming. At regional scales, the Lichen Indicator is providing FS
managers with highly systematic evidence of ecological impacts to forest biota from air pollution and climate change: map products use lichen-based critical loads (CL) of nitrogen (N) to delineate areas of concern, gradient models for monitoring air quality and climate change are under
development for Southeast Alaska and the Northern Rockies, while the recently completed model for southern California is able to predict N deposition in kg N ha-1 yr-1 with excellent accuracy. At the national level, the indicator is being used to set eco-region specific CLs for N across all US
forested ecosystems. At the international scale, FIA lichen community data are used as scientific evidence to support lowering European CLs of N for forests and tundra. Additionally, a pilot project to evaluate air quality and climate status/trends in Mexico City will determine whether the FIA Lichen
Indicator protocol can be adopted nationally in Mexico’s forest inventory.
Air Quality & Climate Change Monitoring in Mexico City
Parque ecológico de San Nicolás Totolapan --view towards Mexico City
Description: The Comisión Nacional Forestal is testing the FIA Lichen Indicator
protocol in a pilot project to evaluate air quality and climate status/ trends in Mexico
City. Results will help determine if the Indicator can be nationally adopted as a forest
health indicator. To prepare, Dr. Hernández Tejeda began learning the understudied
Informing European Critical Loads for Nitrogen
Description: Critical loads (CLs) are the maximum nitrogen (N) loads a sensitive indicator can tolerate without
being harmed. US CL studies, partially based on FIA Lichen Indicator data, were presented at several recent
international workshops:
(a) Workshop on Nitrogen Deposition, Critical Loads and Biodiversity, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK Nov. 2009 (Fenn 2009, Geiser 2009,
Pardo 2009, Pouyat 2009).
(b) Intl. Cooperative Program on Mapping and Modeling 20th CCE Workshop and 26th Task Force Meeting, Paris, France Apr. 2010
(Pardo et al. 2010a)
(c) Workshop on the Review and Revision of Empirical CLs and Dose Response Relationships, Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands
June 2010 (Acherman et al. 2010, Pardo et al. 2010b).
The close correlation between FIA lichen community data and atmospheric N, a strongly eutrophying pollutant,
provided key scientific support at the Netherlands workshop for lowering European N CLs for Mediterranean
and boreal forests.
Lead: Tomás Hernández Tejeda
Status: Began summer 2008
National & International
Regional
Critical Loads of N Deposition for California ForestsDescription: Degradation of
lichen communities in
California’s mixed conifer forests
occurs when N deposition
exceeds 3.1 kg N ha-1 yr-1. This
N threshold, determined using
FIA lichen data, is called a
“Critical Load (CL)”. CLs marking
significant ecological damage
are used to inform air quality
policy and regulation. Lichen
communities in chapparal/oak
woodlands can tolerate about
5.5 kg N ha-1 yr-1, after which
communities become dominated
by weedy lichen species.
For both maps, N deposition to green-shaded areas is beneath the CL
causing declines in ecologically important lichen species and
enhancement of “weedy” lichen species .
Air Quality & Climate Change
Monitoring in Southeast AlaskaLead: Heather Root & Bruce McCune, Oregon State University
Status: Began in 2009; due 2012.
Photo by H. Root. Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau
Air Quality & Climate Change
Monitoring in the Northern RockiesLeads: Jill Grenon & Dave Roberts, Montana State University
Status: Beginning summer 2011; due 2013
Photo by Laura Crossett. Lichens, Wood River, WY.
Predicting Nitrogen Deposition with Lichen
Communities in Southern California
Site Actual Predicted 95% C.I.
Barton Flat 8.8 12.3 5.8 - 18.8
Breezy Point --- 65.1 54.0- 76.3
Camp Angelus 12.8 6.4 0 - 13.9
Camp Osceola 7.5 10.4 3.7 - 17.2
Camp Paivika 71.1 62.6 52.0- 73.2
Dogwood 33.4 37.2 31.3- 43.1
Heaps Peak Arboretum 36.4 36.1 30.3- 41.9
Holcomb Valley 6.1 3.1 0 - 11.2
Keller Peak --- 37.2 31.3- 43.1
Sky Forest Ranger Station --- 50.4 42.4- 58.4
Strawberry Peak 39.3 47.3 39.9- 54.8
Table comparing actual vs. lichen-based predictions of throughfall N
(kg N ha-1 yr-1) from sites in the highly N-impacted San Bernardino
Mtns.
Local
N levels in the wolf lichen, Letharia were measured.
Photo by Jason Hollinger.
Impact of Atmospheric N on Lichen Communities in
Yosemite National Park
Description: Agricultural air pollution from the
Central Valley is affecting forests in Yosemite NP
and other Federal Class 1 Areas in the SW Sierra
Nevada. To map air pollution gradients and impacts
in Yosemite, this study combines FIA-style lichen
surveys, measurements of major N pollutants, and
intensive sampling of lichen tissue across major
drainages. N
levels in lichens will be used
to map N deposition across
the Park.
Lead: Martin Hutten and Bruce McCune
Status: Began 2009; est. completion 2012.
Monitoring Gas Drilling Emissions in Bridger Wilderness
Description: Drilling
emissions are a major
ecological concern for Bridger
Wilderness which lies within
40 miles of 15,000 existing
wells; an additional 30,000
wells are planned. Lichens are
particularly sensitive
indicators of these N and S-
containing compounds.
Effects are investigated using
FIA lichen surveys, elemental
analysis of lichens, and
throughfall measurements.
Lead: Jill Grenon and Dave Roberts
Status: Began 2010; due 2012Description: Cruise ship emissions are now the
primary source of air pollution in Wilderness and
National Parks within SE AK. A study by the NPS,
USFS, and AK Dept of Environmental Conservation
aims to determine if /where adverse effects to
vegetation occur by intersecting FIA-style lichen
surveys with pollutant emissions and deposition data.
This information will be used to inform park policy
concerning number of cruise ships permitted to dock
and fuel quality requirements. Areas under study are:
Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness,
Glacier Bay National Park, and the
Klondike Goldrush and Sitka
National Historic Parks.Cruise ship haze. Photo by AK DEC
Leads: Dave Schirokauer and Linda Geiser
Status: Began 2007; est. completion 2011.
Pollution Monitoring in Hells Canyon
National Recreation Area
Photo of She Who Watches by Aphyr
Description: The FIA Lichen Indicator was
used to set preliminary eco-region specific
critical loads (CLs) for N across all forests
of the U.S,; (CLs are deposition amounts
above which lichen communities
experience detrimental shifts in species
composition). The continued production of
gradient models by Forest Service and
University scientists will help refine CLs
(see “Regional” monitoring projects in SE
Alaska and the N. Rockies)
United States Critical Loads for Nitrogen Deposition
SE Alaska Cruise Ship Emissions
Description: Enhanced deposition
of ammonia gas at rock art sites was detected using
FIA style lichen surveys in combination with pollution
measurements. As a result of this work, Wallowa NF
initiated a rock art monitoring program, developed a
wilderness air quality monitoring program, and is
planning a Snake River water
quality monitoring program to
determine if water quality
meets the new bi-state TMDLs
(total maximum daily loads)
for nutrients, oxygen, and pH.
Geiser et al. 2008. Evidence of enhanced atmospheric ammoniacal
N in Hell’s Canyon Nat. Rec. Area: Implications for natural and
cultural resources. J. Air & Waste Mgmt Assoc. 58:1223–1234.
Lichen sites
Fenn et al. 2010. N critical loads & mgmt alternatives for N-
impacted ecosystems in CA. J. Env. Mgmt. 91: 2404-2423.
Description: Changes in climate are magnified at
the higher latitudes. Scientists are developing a
model that uses FIA lichen data for tracking both
pollution and climate trends in forests of SE AK.
Description: Emissions from oil and gas drilling are
critical stressors to forest ecosystems in the sparsely
populated Northern Rockies. The scope of impact to
downwind forests is largely unknown. Scientists are
Lead: Sarah Jovan and Jennifer Riddell
Status: MS in prep.Description: Ecological damage
from excessive N is well
documented for southern CA
forests, which receive some of the
highest N inputs in the country (up
to 70 kg N ha-1 yr-1) . We built a
gradient model that can use lichen
community composition to predict
N deposition with very good
accuracy. This demonstrates how
lichen monitoring can serve as a
comparably explicit (but less costly)
complement to instrument-based
N-measurements.
Pardo et al. In Review. Assessment of N deposition effects and empirical CLs of N for ecoregions
of the US. GTR. USDA-FS NE Experimental Stn, Burlington, VT.
Mexican lichen flora In the summer of 2009,
when he surveyed 2 FIA-style lichen plots in
each of Mexico’s 7 forested ecoregions. He
meets weekly with Mexican lichenologist,
Marusa Herrera Campos, to learn identification
skills and he met with Sarah Jovan in Portland,
summer 2010, to practice the FIA survey
protocol and analysis ,methods.
Lichen monitoring using
FIA protocol and
elemental analysis of
lichens was officially
designated as a
management tool by
the USFS AK Region
(Dillman 2009).
using FIA lichen data to
build a gradient model
for monitoring air
quality and climate
trends across the
Rockies in Montana
and Wyoming.
Pardo, et al. In Review. Effects of N deposition and
empirical CLs for N for ecoregions of the U.S. Eco.Apps.