UC White Mountain Research Station brings GLORIA to the White Mountains
Upper summitarea (within 5vertical m ofsummit point)
Lower summitarea (between 5and 10 verticalmeters fromsummit point)
This pictureshows theSEupper andSElower sections.
In collaboration with the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station and the California Native Plant Society, the University of California WhiteMountain Research Station established GLORIA monitoring sites on four summits in the White Mountains of Eastern California in August 2004. The GLORIA(Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments: www.gloria.ac.at) project is a worldwide initiative to monitor climate effects on alpine peaks.The lower three GLORIA summits in the White Mountains consist of granitic rock, and range from 3240 m to 3975 m in elevation; the upper summit ismetavolcanic rock on the shoulder of White Mountain Peak at 4285 m. For each summit we followed the GLORIA sampling design and recorded baseline data onplant species composition, cover, and frequency. Permanent monitoring plots were set up, and dataloggers installed to measure soil temperature. Measurementsare to be repeated every five years in perpetuity. We also hope to establish a GLORIA “Master Site” in the White Mountains, in which the standard GLORIAprotocol would be augmented with additional transects and sampling protocols, and with expanded scope to include animal taxa. For example, we hope to usemodified protocols on a parallel summit transect on the Reed Dolomite (carbonate) substrate common in the White Mountains. We may also remeasure theGLORIA summits using alternative sampling protocols to facilitate comparison with other monitoring efforts.
GLORIA Alpine Monitoring in the White Mountains, Eastern California
Species occurrences at the four GLORIA sites. TheGLORIA summit ID codes and numbers in the table below locate thesummits on the maps and photos to the right. Detailed analyses ofoccurrences with regard to aspect and elevation and comparisons withother summit areas are in progress.
A
1
B
2
3
C
4
View to the NW of the GLORIA summits region in the White Mountains. The distance from site 4 tosite 1 is approximately 18 km.
Researchers from the PSW Research Station andCalifornia Native Plant Society volunteers eat lunch atGLORIA site 2. GLORIA Site 1 is seen in background.
View to Southeast from GLORIA site 1. GLORIA site 3 is visible in themiddleground.
3
WMRS Barcroft Station (B) in winter
WMRS Summit lab (A)
The GLORIA protocol
In each GLORIA region three or more summits are selected along anelevation gradient. They must have similar substrates and share as manyother physiographic attributes as possible. The maps and photos to theright show the four GLORIA summit sites in the White Mountains. Oneach summit, plots are centered around a permanently marked “highestsummit point.” Areas within 5 and 10 vertical m below summit point aremarked as Upper and Lower summit areas, respectively. Upper andLower summit areas are each divided into 4 aspect sections giving a grandtotal of 8 sections. Within each section, plant species are identified andpercent cover estimated. For fine-scale sampling, four 3x3 m quadratclusters are created, one in each cardinal direction. The four cornerquadrats are sampled within each cluster using a decimeter grid. Atemperature datalogger is buried 10 cm deep in each quadrat cluser torecord hourly soil temperature. All data are submitted via the GLORIAwebsite to a central database.
Quadrat cluster
1White Mountain Research Station, Bishop, CA
2US Geological Survey, Bishop, CA
3CalFlora, 937 San Pablo Ave, Albany, CA 94706, 510-528-5426
4USDA Forest Service, PSW Research Station, Box 245, Berkeley, CA 94701
5University of California, Davis, CA
Frank L. Powell1 John T. Smiley1 Daniel W. Pritchett1 Angela Jayko2 Ann Dennis3 Constance I. Millar4 Kathren E. Murrell5
Rationale for GLORIA
Abundant data suggest the biosphere is undergoing rapid climatewarming and change which may continue indefinitely. Ecosystems ofthe alpine life zone are thought to be particularly sensitive to warmingbecause they are adapted to low temperature conditions. The alpine lifezone is the only terrestrial biogeographic unit with a global distribution,and in many countries high mountain ecosystems have experienced lessanthropogenic disturbance than those at lower elevations. For thesereasons, the alpine zone presents a unique opportunity for monitoringand analyzing impacts of climate change on a global scale. There arecurrently 29 established GLORIA summit monitoring regions on 5continents, with many more planned.
WMRS Crooked Creek Station (C)
1
1
B
2
3
C
4
A
D
LEGEND
1: WMT GLORIA site (4285 m)
2: BAR GLORIA Site (3975 m)
3: RNA GLORIA site (3722 m)
4: SHF GLORIA site (3258 m)
A: WMRS Summit Lab (4342 m)
B: WMRS Barcroft Station (3801 m)
C: WMRS Crooked Creek Station (3094 m)
D: WMRS Owens Valley Lab (1252 m)