UC White Mountain Research Station brings GLORIA to the White Mountains
Frank L. Powell1 John T. Smiley1 Daniel W. Pritchett1 Angela Jayko2 Ann Dennis3 Constance I. Millar4 Kathren E. Murrell5
GLORIA Alpine Monitoring in the White Mountains, Eastern California
The GLORIA protocol
Rationale for GLORIA
In collaboration with the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station and the California Native Plant Society, the University of California White
Mountain 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 is
metavolcanic rock on the shoulder of White Mountain Peak at 4285 m. For each summit we followed the GLORIA sampling design and recorded baseline data on
plant species composition, cover, and frequency. Permanent monitoring plots were set up, and dataloggers installed to measure soil temperature. Measurements
are 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 GLORIA
protocol would be augmented with additional transects and sampling protocols, and with expanded scope to include animal taxa. For example, we hope to use
modified protocols on a parallel summit transect on the Reed Dolomite (carbonate) substrate common in the White Mountains. We may also remeasure the
GLORIA summits using alternative sampling protocols to facilitate comparison with other monitoring efforts.
In each GLORIA region three or more summits are selected along an
elevation gradient. They must have similar substrates and share as many
other physiographic attributes as possible. The maps and photos to the
right show the four GLORIA summit sites in the White Mountains. On
each summit, plots are centered around a permanently marked “highest
summit point.” Areas within 5 and 10 vertical m below summit point are
marked as Upper and Lower summit areas, respectively. Upper and
Lower summit areas are each divided into 4 aspect sections giving a grand
total of 8 sections. Within each section, plant species are identified and
percent cover estimated. For fine-scale sampling, four 3x3 m quadrat
clusters are created, one in each cardinal direction. The four corner
quadrats are sampled within each cluster using a decimeter grid. A
temperature datalogger is buried 10 cm deep in each quadrat cluser to
record hourly soil temperature. All data are submitted via the GLORIA
website to a central database.
Abundant data suggest the biosphere is undergoing rapid climate
warming and change which may continue indefinitely. Ecosystems of
the alpine life zone are thought to be particularly sensitive to warming
because they are adapted to low temperature conditions. The alpine life
zone is the only terrestrial biogeographic unit with a global distribution,
and in many countries high mountain ecosystems have experienced less
anthropogenic disturbance than those at lower elevations. For these
reasons, the alpine zone presents a unique opportunity for monitoring
and analyzing impacts of climate change on a global scale. There are
currently 29 established GLORIA summit monitoring regions on 5
continents, with many more planned.
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)
Upper summit
area (within 5
vertical m of
summit point)
Lower summit
area (between 5
and 10 vertical
meters from
summit point)
A 1
Quadrat cluster
1 A
This picture
shows the
SEupper and
SElower sections.
2
2 B
3
3
Species occurrences at the four GLORIA sites. The
GLORIA summit ID codes and numbers in the table below locate the
summits on the maps and photos to the right. Detailed analyses of
occurrences with regard to aspect and elevation and comparisons with
other summit areas are in progress.
GLORIA Summit ID: # summits
SHF RNA BAR WMT
(4) (3)
(2) (1)
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
?
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
B
C
4
4
C
View to the NW of the GLORIA summits region in the White Mountains. The distance from site 4 to
site 1 is approximately 18 km.
D
WMRS Summit lab (A)
WMRS Crooked Creek Station (C)
WMRS Barcroft Station (B) in winter
1
3
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
Researchers from the PSW Research Station and
California Native Plant Society volunteers eat lunch at
GLORIA site 2. GLORIA Site 1 is seen in background.
View to Southeast from GLORIA site 1. GLORIA site 3 is visible in the
middleground.