AFFILIATIONS1. University of California White Mountain Research Station2. CalFlora Project3. USDA PSW Research Station4. Creekside Center for Earth Observations5. Albion College6. Scripps Institute for Oceanography7. Minnesota State University

Daniel W. Pritchett1, John T. Smiley1

Collaborating for climate change monitoring:GLORIA in the White Mountains

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ABSTRACTThe GLORIA project (Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments, established in 2001) is an international research effort to monitor effects of climate change on high peaks above timberline around the world. Collaborating with scientists and volunteers from the US Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, CIRMOUNT (Consortium for Integrated Climate Research in Western Mountains), and the California Native Plant Society, the University of California White Mountain Research Station (WMRS) established 4 long-term monitoring sites on summits in the White Mountains the week of August 13-20, 2004. Baseline vegetation and soil temperature data were collected following standard GLORIA protocols, which call for re-measurement every 5 years in perpetuity.

During this process several scientists expressed interest in expanding the project to sample for other potential ecosystem responses to climate change. To this end WMRS sponsored a "GLORIA field week" August 12-20, 2005, inviting scientists to the WMRS Crooked Creek station to collaborate on GLORIA-related projects. This lead to establishment of 3 more GLORIA monitoring sites as well as initiation of an annual butterfly survey and monitoring of periglacial geomorphic features near each GLORIA summit.

Interest continued to grow and in May 2006, WMRS sponsored a one-day workshop for researchers interested in GLORIA-related work. The outcome was a commitment by WMRS to sponsor another GLORIA field week and establish a "GLORIA Master Site" known as "WMRS-GLORIA”.

Twenty-seven researchers and volunteers participated in the second GLORIA field week, July 23-29, 2006. Multiple sampling protocols were used to gather data on organisms (macroinvertebrates to bristlecone pines), plant communities, and geomorphic features. Supported projects will extend the spatial and ecological scales of monitoring, help interpret results of standard GLORIA monitoring, and provide well-documented baselines for future re-survey. Among the hypotheses investigated are predictions that species distributions will change in a variety of ways in relation to topography and elevation, and that periglacial geomorphic features will show more rapid response to climate change than will species distributions. Local and national media covered the event. WMRS is archiving data sets and is committed to long-term support for WMRS-GLORIA projects.

FIXED AREA PLOTS Left: a diagram of the layout of the North Summit Area Sections (5 m and 10 m, outlined by yellow transverse lines) according to the standard GLORIA sampling protocol. The area of each Summit Area Section varies with the slope of the summit.

Right: a diagram of the layout of the modified GLORIA sampling protocol used in the White Mountains. The addition of a fixed area plot (10 m x 10 m, shown in pink) within each Summit Area Section facilitates comparisons between sites and calibration of ocular cover estimates.

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IMPLEMENTING STANDARD GLORIA PROTOCOL

Left: working on summit SME (Site 5). View is from the East 5 m Summit Area Section (SAS) looking downslope into the East 10 m SAS. Each of the 8 SAS’s are defined by aspect (N, S, E, W) and elevation (0 – 5 m downslope from the summit, and 5-10 m downslope from summit). The yellow paint on the rocks will assist in re-establishment of the sampling grid when the summit is monitored again in 2010.

2006 GLORIA FIELD WEEK Projects: Principal Investigators

GLORIA down-slope extension of vegetation monitoring: Ann Dennis2

Limber pine recruitment and demography: Connie Millar3

Plant recruitment across ecotones: Stu Weiss4 & Chris Van de Ven5

Microclimate survey: Stu Weiss4 & Chris Van de Ven5 Alpine meadow vegetation Survey: Linah Ababneh1

Butterfly census: John Smiley1

Alpine macroinvertebtrate survey: Jeff Holmquist1 White Mountains climate transect: Dan Cayan6

Periglacial processes and patterned ground formation: Forrest Wilkerson7 & Ginger Schmidt7

White Mountains treeline change: Linah Ababneh1

. Photo Lance Iverson

Limber pine recruitment within zone of former upper treeline, as evidenced by deadwood bristlecone pine. Photo Connie Millar

SOMETIMES LOW-TECH IS BEST

Above: butterfly census team.Above right: pennies in a 1 m grid to measure ground surface motion.Right: WMRS ecologist Jeff Holmquist throws a sampling quadrat.

TREELINE CHANGE IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. Above left: 1964; Above right: 2005.

2004 GLORIA sites1: WMT (4285 m)2: BAR (3975 m)3: RNA (3722 m)4: SHF (3258 m)

WMRS FacilitiesA: Summit Lab (4342 m)B: Barcroft Station (3801 m)C: Crooked Creek Station (3094 m)D: Owens Valley Lab (1252 m)

2005 GLORIA sites5: SME (3734 m)6: CWS (3612 m)7: PGS (3490 m)

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