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Robert’s Crystal Range Project – Year 2, 2020
Robert:
I guess I am jumping the gun a bit.
The nature of my activities in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California have changed dramatically over the past year, so it seems appropriate to start a new thread under a new format. How climatic change is impacting plants and ecosystems within the study area will be the focus of this new thread, however there will be plenty of photographs (plants and mountain scenes) that will be of interest to all of you that enjoy gardening.
Today, 16 December 2019 was snow survey day. I can gather estimated snow totals from the Internet, however there are very good reasons for manual observations. In our technological world, manual observations are often considered obsolete – old fashion. To start this new thread I will begin with a brief discussion of the benefits and advantages of manual observations. Despite the snow, I have some nice photographs for those not interested in the discussion.
I will continue the discussion in the next few days.
ian mcdonald:
A good idea Robert. I suspect that "official" figures are an average, rather than actual. I think that the plants in one area of the Cairngorm Mountains are retreating to higher ground.
Robert:
Hello Ian,
Fortunately I can often look at the raw data. There is a lot of economic pressure to “get things done”, so remote instruments and sensors are not checked or calibrated frequently. In addition, some instruments are not sensitive enough to measure small changes accurately. I have to deal with many of the same constraints, however frequent manual observations ameliorate much of this. In addition, with manual observations I almost always make detailed observations that provide a much more accurate assessment. Thanks to the pioneering work of Ed Lorenz, we can appreciate how small changes can result in large impacts. I am a stickler for details and accuracy. If there is going to be any hope to ameliorate the negative impacts of climate changes the significance of small ecological changes (which can turn into large changes) need to be better understood.
Hoy:
I am looking forward to your reports, Robert!
I have read that the Norwegian met. aims to develop models that can forecast the weather on every spot in the country. Now it is impossible to do this as the weather can be very different on each side of an island or in different fiord arms. The topography is too complicated!
Robert:
I promised a discussion on the merits of manual observations, so here we go.
A few days ago I conducted my weekly snow survey in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Although I can view public domain data from remote sensors over the Internet often the figures are estimates and occasionally inaccurate. As an example, a storm passed through our region a day or two prior to my snow survey. I monitor Sierra Nevada snow data daily over the Internet. The Internet data indicated that no snow had fallen at one of my monitoring sites. I knew that snow levels from this storm turned out to be higher than forecasted. However, I found it hard to believe that no snow had fallen, especially near the end of the storm. Sure enough, as one can see from this photograph, 8 cm of new snow had fallen from this storm.
There are a number of seasonal seeps in this area that have characteristics somewhat similar to the vernal pools found in the Central Valley of California. A number of unique plant species (some rare) can be found growing in close association with these seeps.
Accurate and precise (or realistically, precise as possible) data recording fluctuations in snow cover, soil temperature, soil moisture content, air temperature, precipitation type and amount, solar radiation, etc. are vital in interpreting the physiological, genetic, and other adjustments plants make to fluctuating environmental conditions.
Without manual observations, I would not be able to record the specific responses plants have to various forms of stress. As just one example, populations of some plant species will respond to changing degrees of vernalization. If the change in environmental conditions persists, the population can frequently adjust becoming a unique ecotype. How a plant species responses to vernalization sometimes has an epigenetic component. How transcription factors influence gene expression, as well as subtle physiological changes in plants are very much influenced by shifts in environmental conditions. All of these observations require detailed manual observations.
I spent most of my time on this day on Telephone Ridge. Many unique plant species, as well as specific ecotypes can be found in this area. Changes in forest management are threatening some species in this area, especially unique ecotypes of species in which the type form can be very common in other locations. These ecotypes are frequently completely unnoticed for what they are and can be easily lost.
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