Developing Multi-Scale Inventory
Methods that Link Land Surface
Processes to Tundra Ecosystems and
Ecological Change
Arctic Change Conference, Quebec City, December 2008
EI and PCA Legislation EI Monitoring
Parks Canada Legislation
“Maintenance or restoration of
ecological integrity, through
the protection of natural
resources and natural
processes, shall be the first
priority of the Minister when
considering all aspects of the
management of parks.”
Section 8. (2) Canada National Parks Act (2001)
Ecological Integrity
“….’ecosystem integrity’ means, with
respect to a park, a condition that is
determined to be characteristic of its
natural region and likely to persist,
including abiotic components and the
composition and abundance of native
species and biological communities,
rates of change, and supporting
processes”.
Section 2. (1) Canada National Parks Act (2001)
EI Monitoring and Parks Management
SOPR
(5 years)
Scoping
Document
(5 years)
Ecological
Integrity Monitoring
National
SOPHA
Report
(2 years)
Annual
Implementation
Report
Management
Plan
(5 years)
EI INDICATORS by BIOREGION
The North
Pacific
Coastal
Interior
Plains
Great
Lakes
Quebec
Atlantic
Montane
Cordilleran
Forest
Forests and
woodlands
Forest
Forest
Forest
Terrestrial
Ecosystems
Tundra
Non-forest
Grasslands
Non-forest
‘Barrens’
Wetlands
Lakes and
wetlands
Wetlands
Wetlands
Wetlands
Aquatic
Ecosystems
Freshwater
Streams and rivers
Lakes
Lakes
Freshwater
(Lakes)
Native
Biodiversity
Glaciers
Islets/shorelines
Streams
Streams
Freshwater
(Streams)
Geology and
landscapes
Coastal
Inter-tidal
Great Lakes
Shore
Coast
Climate and
atmosphere
Marine
Sub-tidal
Marine
support for EI
Modeling, Monitoring and Reporting
Scaled down models
Climate models predict key changes
Refine Models/Program
Expert input
(State and transition) models identify potential
ecological effects based on modeled changes
Ecosystem inventories
Monitoring Program Design
Select focal ecosystems and EI measures sensitive to predicted changes
Implement Monitoring Program
Monitor park ecosystems at 2 scales – local and landscape/regional
Report State of the Park
Assess and report ecosystem and climate changes - refine models
Wapusk NP 2009
Ivvavik NP
2008
Torngat Mountains NPR
2008
Sirmilik NP
2010
Pilot Arctic National Parks for Terrestrial Ecosystem Inventories
Multi-Scalar Terrestrial Inventory
•
Goal to develop a cost effective terrestrial inventory approach
that is useful for establishing baseline conditions for park EI
monitoring and other park management needs – cost a major
issue
•
Merge ‘top down’ satellite-based land cover mapping with
‘bottom up’ air photo based TEM
•
Approach is to develop a multi-scalar product where;
–
Detailed TEM is completed in a focal watershed;
identify and characterize watershed Ecotypes;
establish ecotype – ecoprocess relations
– Merge TEM with SPOT5 data using ancillary data and
ecological rules to produce a park-wide PEM product
– link to arctic wide assessments, e.g., MODIS NDVI,
AVHRR biomass/LAI
TUNDRA ECOTYPES
1.
2.
C. membranacea Wetland
Shrub Tundra Zone
Subhygric Alnus crispa Shrub
Shrub Tundra Zone
tundra community composition
and structure changes across the
landscape in relation to changes
in ecological drivers
terrestrial ecosystem inventory
needs to identify, delineate and
interpret these changes to
capture tundra biodiversity
Vaccinium-Ledum Mesic Tundra
Dwarf Shrub Tundra Zone
Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping – Delineating Ecotypes
climate
change
By relating tundra vegetation
community composition and
structure to soils, landform, and
ecological process, we can predict
ecological change given different
climate scenarios – links to habitat
vegetation composition and structure
active layer
soils and landforms
Similar ecological conditions affecting Ecotypes results in similar plant
communities that can be classified into vegetation associations
E
c
o
t
y
p
e
Revised FGDC Hierarchy
Example
Upper Level
Level 1 – Formation Class
Cryomorphic Shrub and Herb Vegetation
Level 2 – Formation Subclass
Polar Tundra Shrub and Herb Vegetation
Level 3 - Formation
Polar Dwarf Shrub Tundra
Mid Level
Level 4 – Division
North American Dwarf Shrub Tundra
Level 5 – Macrogroup
Southern Arctic Dwarf Shrub Tundra
Level 6 – Group
Southern Arctic Dwarf Shrub Tundra –
Edmonson Plain
Lower Level
Level 7 – Alliance
Dwarf Birch-Labrador tea Alliance
Level 8 – Association
Dwarf Birch-Labrador tea- Arctostaphylos
Association
Zonal Ecotype
Shrub Tundra Zone
Zonal Classification
1.
2.
Ecotype composition and structure on
equivalent average (zonal) sites
changes with elevation as climate
changes
This relationship is used to identify and
delineate major changes in bioclimatic
and lifezone
B glandulosum-V. uliginosum Mesic Shrub
Zonal Ecotype
Dwarf Shrub Tundra Zone
V. uliginosum – L. decumbens Dwarf Shrub
Zonal Ecotype
Arctic Alpine Zone
Alpine Rhacomitrium lanuginosum
Periglacial
Processes
solifluction
glacial melt effects
Ecotype classification and
mapping relates composition and
structure of tundra ecotypes to
key periglacial processes
high centered polygons
C. bigelowii Subhygric
Ecotype
R. lanuginosum Mesic Ecotype – Alpine Arctic Zone
Coastal (Estuarine) Ecotypes
Potential changes in :
• sea level
• freshwater flows
• salinity and conductivity
• sea water temperature
• marine and freshwater sedimentation
Carex ursina Salt Marsh
Deschampsia-Agrostis Brackish Meadow
FLUVIAL ECOTYPES
Fluvial processes determine community
composition, structure and function
1.
2.
3.
flood frequency and phenology;
flood duration, and;
amount and composition of sediment
A. crispa– S. planifolia
high fluvial terrace
E. latifolium low Fluvial terrace
Riparian
Ecotype –
Stream Reach
Classification
inventory provides
spatial link between
tundra riparian
ecotypes and stream
reach habitats
Interaction of EI Indicators
GLACIERS
stre
a
lo
ep
gi
ag
c
re
e/
gi
de
m
tr i
e
t
us
adva
nce/
in
reces
pu
s
ion
local
ts
clima
t es
TUNDRA
PF seepage
nutrients
mi
npu
ts
effec
ts
org a n
ic inp
uts
se
hy
dr
o
s
s input
d et r i t u
m
t
el
r
te
a
w
LAKES
tidal
STREAMS
stream inputs
lake outputs
MARINE
COASTAL
WETLANDS
PREDICTIVE ECOSYSTEM MAPPING
•predictive ecosystem mapping (PEM) links TEM to mediumscale SPOT5-based mapping using relationships between
ecotypes and selected ancillary data (Decision Tree approach) to
extend ecotype mapping to entire park and GPE using satellite
imagery
•DEM data
• soil wetness
• slope, aspect, elevation
• landscape segmentation, cost analysis
•Ecological rules for ecotypes
• elevational boundaries, limits of arctic alpine ecotypes
• aspect limitations, e.g., north facing nivation ecotypes
• proximity rules, e.g., riparian ecotypes
Visual Comparisons
TEM vs. PEM (for pure TEM polygons only)
TEM (upper Firth)
PEM (Decision Tree)
Monitoring Strategy (1)
Arctic National Parks
Focal Watersheds
• Park staff select watershed as an example of an interactive and
dynamic ecological arctic ecosystem that includes all park EI
Indicators, has management significance, and is feasible to
access over the long term
• Focus majority of park monitoring effort within focal watershed;
2nd stage to entire park (mostly by remote sensing)
• PCA to maintain suite of core ground and RS EI measures for
focal watershed that meet objectives of park co-managers and
research partners (“What is the state of park EI?”)
• Research partners provided with logistic support, detailed
baseline inventories, and ongoing monitored baselines to inform
and facilitate ground-based research
Monitoring Strategy (2)
Arctic National Parks
Strong Emphasis on Remote Sensing
• large parks in remote areas with high access costs means
RS data has the potential to provide useful information on
ecological change at an acceptable cost
• 2 key RS programs for Arctic national parks
– IPY funding to develop operational methodologies to conduct
terrestrial ecosystem inventories
– ParkSPACE PCA partners with CCRS and uses GRIP/CSA
funding to develop operational EI measures for Arctic parks
• Key to optimize monitoring information by linking long
term plot data to RS data
Ecotypes – ‘Mapping EI’
biodiversity
Ecological
Integrity
1.
2.
3.
plant species lists – α diversity
link to fauna – Habitat Suitability
abundance and distribution of
terrestrial communities – β diversity
1.
ecological site processes that control
the distribution and function of
terrestrial communities, e.g., seepage,
flooding and sedimentation, erosion,
wind, nivation, cryoturbation
disturbance, succession/retrogression
fragmentation/connectivity
ecological
processes
2.
3.
Typical Toposequence of Terrestrial Ecosystems
Southern Arctic Ecozone – Edmondson Plains Ecoregion
Saxifrage esker
Riparian Shrub
Cottongrass Tussock
Sedge-Horsetail
Mesic Dwarf Birch
permafrost
Pendant Grass
Ecological processes determine
ecosystem boundaries
persistent
growing
season
seepage
mean high spring
flood level
Cottongrass Tussock
Sedge-Horsetail
Pendant Grass
mean summer
lake level
Focal Ecotypes
•
•
ground sampling is expensive and park area large and ecologically
variable – cannot sample all of this variability on the ground
approach to focus ground sampling into 2-3 ‘focal ecotypes’
selected to track most important local-scale ecological change
1.
2.
3.
4.
select focal ecotypes to best reflect predicted change in
ecological drivers, esp climate for arctic parks, e.g., zonal
tundra ecotypes, sub-arctic forest ecotypes at treeline, mesic
shrub ecotypes, wetland ecotypes
for each focal ecotype, develop a parsimonious suite of
conceptually-related EI Measures that can be feasibly
monitored in the long term
replicate focal ecotypes to develop robust experimental
designs that establish park-wide ecological trends in EI
Measures; provide basis for inference to focal watershed/park
(use ecotype mapping inventories)
link measures to remote sensing based EI Measures, e.g., active
layer and soil temps link to NEST (Zhang et al 2003)
Focal Ecosystems
EI Measures in Long Term Ground Plots
changes in floristic
composition, alien
species, and relative
species dominance
frost tubes/ buried
thermisters measure change
in active layer depth and
ground temperatures
Decay sticks measure
change in annual rate
of soil decomposition
Surface thermisters
measure snow duration
Cottongrass Tussock
Landscape Scale EI Measures
Tundra
•
Change in area of tundra ecotypes
• Change in tundra vegetation biomass/LAI
• Change in tundra growing season length
• Change in tundra snow phenology
Freshwater
• Change in lake ice phenology
• Change in river ice phenology
• Change in lake surface area
Wetlands
•
•
•
•
Change
Change
Change
Change
in
in
in
in
area of wetland ecotypes
wetland physiognomy/structure
wetland vegetation biomass/LAI
wetland snow phenology
Tundra EI
Indicator
Models
Measures
Data
Concerned
Healthy
Local Level
Tundra EI
species (α) diversity, species
relative abundance, alien
invasive species, soil
decomposition, active layer
depth, soil temperature, soil
arthropods, small mammals
Critical
ASSESSMENT
Landscape Level
Tundra EI
tundra community (β)
diversity, tree line shifts,
shrub increase, tundra
productivity (NDVI/NPP),
snow depth and phenology,
Thank You
Donald McLennan
([email protected])
Sergei Ponomarenko
([email protected])
Parks Canada Agency
Hull, QC