Managing Wet Meadows
in a Changing Climate
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
Sequoia & Kings Canyon NPs
Koren Nydick, Athena Demetry
NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program
Sylvia Haultain, Johnny Nesmith, Jack Oelfke
NPS Water Resources Division
Don Weeks, Marie Denn, Joel Wagner
“As a primary goal . . . the biotic associations
within each park be maintained, or where
necessary recreated in the condition that
prevailed when the area was first visited by
the white man.” – A. Starker Leopold, 1963
The NPS should protect “the functional
qualities of biodiversity, evolutionary
potential, and system resilience”
– Revisiting Leopold 2012
Wet Meadows at Sequoia & Kings Canyon NPs
Threats to Sierra Wet Meadows
Threats to Sierra Wet Meadows
• Land use changes (e.g.,
development, groundwater
withdrawal)
• Historic and present-day grazing
• Invasive plant and animal species
• Deposition of atmospheric pollution
• Foot traffic
• Climate change
Scenario
Potential Impacts
Much Warmer, •
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Drier
Warmer,
Similar
Precipitation
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Much Warmer, •
Much Wetter
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Rain-snow zone moves uphill, increased ratio of rain to snow. Snowmelt occurs earlier.
Drier wetlands dry out and shift to upland plant species with increase in bare ground.
Decrease in obligate wetland plants.
Erosion and gully-formation that channelize flow and dry wetlands.
Drying peat decomposes causing organic soil loss.
More invasion by non-native plants and more burrowing rodents.
Increased establishment of upland woody species into meadows.
Large wetlands become smaller. Small wetlands disappear.
Decreased habitat for wetland dependent species.
Increased fire frequency in wetlands.
Warming temperature pushes the rain-snow transition zone uphill and increases the
ratio of rain to snow. Rising climatic water deficit
The most vulnerable wetlands are negatively affected (for example, 3-5%).
While high Sierra snowpack increases, it declines at lower elevations. Rain-on-snow
events are more frequent and cause spikes in runoff and flooding. More summer rain
and lightning storms.
Wetlands already degraded with incised channels become further degraded with more
extensive and deeper gully systems.
Restoration of these degraded sites is more difficult
Growing season lengthens for wetland plants, productivity increases, and species
composition shifts
Wetlands in good condition are more resistant to extreme rainfall events and gain
biomass.
At highest elevations, existing wetlands expand due to more snowpack and warmer
temperatures.
Management Goals
• Maintain the extent & character of wet
meadows
• Maintain high biodiversity
• Maintain ecosystem functions and cultural
values
• Limit invasions
• Perpetuate natural processes
• Accommodate change at a slow pace
• Manage sustainably
• Learn from management actions
Potential Management Strategies
Non-intervention
Non-climate intervention
Persistance
Directed transformation
What would these look like on the ground?
• Non-intervention: no action
• Non-climate intervention:
e.g., removing invasive species
• Persistence:
e.g., removing trees from meadows,
altering hydrology locally, filling gullies
• Directed transformation:
e.g., moving vulnerable species,
vegetation of sites with species novel
to those habitats
Conceptual Cost vs. Ecosystem Change
What should we implement and where?
What should we implement and where?
What do NPS Management Policies Say?
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National Park Service Organic Act of 1916
Wilderness Act of 1964
General Authorities Act of 1970
Redwood National Park Act of 1978
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969
Clean Water Act of 1972
Endangered Species Act of 1973
Invasive Species, Executive Order 13112
Wetlands Protection, Executive Order 11990
Floodplain Management, Executive Order 11988
NPS Management Policies (2006)
NPS Director’s Memo (2012)
Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs Foundation Statement
What do NPS Management Policies Say?
What do NPS Management Policies Say?
Co-authors:
Don Weeks,
Koren Nydick,
Athena Demetry,
Sylvia Haultain,
Johnny Nesmith,
Joel Wagner,
Jack Oelfke
Images:
Erik Frenzel,
Evan Wolf