Solving local, regional, national, and international air quality …nadp.slh.wisc.edu/conf/2010/posters/jovan.pdf · 2011-01-26 · 9Oregon State University, Dpt. Botany and Plant

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.