Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Blogs and Diaries => Topic started by: Robert on December 17, 2019, 05:52:28 AM
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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This time of year this seep appears completely unassuming. I have been gathering data at this site for some time now. Subtle changes in environmental conditions can have a profound impact. Without manual observations the small details are frequently missed.
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This Ponderosa Pine, Pinus ponderosa, was quite alive and seemingly healthy 6 months ago. Its death would not concern me, however many trees and shrubs are now dying in this area. The range of species impacted is particularly troubling. Delayed reactions to the stresses associated to the severe drought several years ago can occur. I frequent this site and will monitor the changes closely. A number of very unique and very specialized species and ecotypes are found near this site.
So very much would go completely unnoticed and unrecorded without frequent manual observations and attention to details.
At a later date, I will update and report some of the noteworthy current climatic events. There has been very little cold weather to date and a new record is possible this year. I am also progressing on the day 8 to 14, then out 30 day forecast model. Although the model suggests the possibility of cold weather this winter, conditions in the eastern Pacific may prevent this.
More on our climate and the Sierra Nevada flora later.
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I continued my snow survey yesterday, 20 December. This survey was conducted at higher elevations, 5,500 to 6,000 feet (1,676 to 1,829 meters).
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I was shocked by the general lack of snow cover, especially on the south facing slopes. On average I recorded 30 cm of snow cover, despite the fact that precipitation amounts are running about average. I could have easily driven into the site, however I choose to walk the last 2 miles. 50 years ago, when I would visit my father’s cabin during the winter, it was never easy to walk into this site, unless drought conditions prevailed. 50 years ago snow accumulations would have been far to deep for walking except with snowshoes. Now with climate change, the situation is much different. Snow levels are rising. Over the last few years there have been periods during the winter when there has been no snow cover.
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My activities on this day underscored the value of manual observations. The estimated snow cover for this area posted on the Internet was over twice the amount I observed.
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This managed site is slated for a complete alteration of the ecosystem. Based on tree ring analysis this site was forested 300 years ago. About 150 years ago, livestock was grazed at this site. Over time livestock grazing ended and the site was abandoned. During the 1990’s the private owners logged off the marketable timber and sold the property to the U.S. government. As usually happens after logging, a dense overgrowth of young conifers developed. This creates a dilemma for forest managers. For the health of the forest the conifers need to be thin, however additional logging perpetuates the cycle of excessive overgrowth.
At this site another approach will be tried. Here the young conifers have been hand cut and the slash will be burned. The idea is to transform the site into a meadow. Unfortunately, there are little indications that the site was a meadow during the past 300 years, except when livestock was grazed in the area. Given the impacts of climate change and the complete alteration of the surface energy budget the successful outcome of this approach may encounter additional challenges.
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At many locations there was no snow cover. Here Myriopteris gracillima can be seen growing from a rock crevice. During the past week, nights have been below freezing with temperatures reaching down to 18 F (-7.8 C).
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Sedum obtusatum ssp. obtusatum is another tough little plant that is thriving without reliable snow cover.
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Eriogonum wrightii var. subscaposum may look dead, however the plants are very much alive. This species too has a strong constitution and will survive without snow cover.
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Plants use anthocyanins for many purposes. When not in active growth photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) can create situations where plants are exposed to excess irradiance. As an example, the light dependent reactions of photosynthesis create a highly reductive environment within the thylakoid membrane and lumen. In such situation, anthocyanins, as well as other mechanisms, help protect plant cellular structures from damage. This mechanism is particularly helpful to plants during times of stress such as at snow melt in the spring or as in this situation where there is no snow cover during the winter. All the specimens of Eriogonum nudum I observed on this day were bright red with anthocyanins. Within the region, not all plant species are well designed to deal with irradiance stress during the winter, especially at the highest elevations.
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Sunny exposed sites had very little snow cover. There were on average only 5 cm of snow cover at this site.
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At the same site, there are areas with no snow cover. The plants species at this site are well designed to cope with little or no snow cover during the winter and spring. The sparse snow cover can create other stresses for plants and whole ecosystems. A thick snow cover will melt over a prolonged period of time during the spring helping the soil to retain moisture later into the growing season. With little or no snow cover late into the season a site can experience greater stress during the autumn due to insufficient moisture. Lack of a prolonged snow cover into the spring will impact the hydrology of the whole region.
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A nice view of Gerle Creek.
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There is a good snow pack at the higher elevations of the Crystal Range where most precipitation to date has fallen as snow. Rising snow levels are impacting the hydrology of the whole region. (Dis)Stress in the mid-elevation ecosystems can be seen everywhere. My data to date suggests that managed forest ecosystems are unstable and susceptible undesirable impacts. The data also indicates that unmanaged ecosystems are much more stable and resistant to the impacts of climate change. There is still a great deal of work to do in this regard, but progress is being made.
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Interesting report Robert.
I think several of the trees in your photographs look stressed and/or dying. Are attacks of bark beetles or other insects a problem when the trees are stressed?
What about the soil in the areas where it is no snow cover - does the soil freeze and thaw in a daily cycle? I would think such a cycle would be worse especially for seedlings that are easily uprooted, than lack of snow cover.
In areas where the regrowth of young trees is to dense, why not just remove a few of them at a regular basis? After a few years the canopy will enclose and the germination of new seedlings will diminish.
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Trond,
You bring up some excellent points.
> As you know, one will always find that a certain percentage of the trees in the forest are distressed. The questions are, is the percentage of distressed trees increasing, at what locations, and why?
> How mountain ecosystems are responding to winters with little or no snow cover is an interesting study. The shift to a pattern with little or no snow cover changes the dynamics in many ways. Heat fluxes in and out of the soil change dramatically. Dormant seeds are exposed to light, which in turn, with some species, may trigger untimely germination. As you mentioned, freeze – thaw cycles heave the soil and dislodge the roots of germinating seeds and young seedlings.
On the last point, I did not notice any newly germinating seeds or seedlings on my last snow survey. In xeric settings, the small seedlings that germinated from seed last spring have long deep root systems that keep the tiny plants well anchored in the soil. At the site of my previous snow survey, a number of native annual species have newly germinating seeds that have developed to the cotyledon stage. Lessingia leptoclada and Calycandenia truncata are two examples. I keep detailed phenological records linked to specific physiological characteristics and genetic markers. Currently, I do not have enough data to reach any conclusions, however I have noted how certain invasive species have a competitive advantage in certain ecological niches. As an example, Erodium cicutarium germinates immediately after the first autumn rainfall well before other native species. The seedlings are hardy to both a certain degree of cold weather and drought. They have the ability to make rapid growth under less than ideal conditions. I keep a phenological record of their progress. This species definitely is encroaching into new locations and displacing native species. At the previous location Erodium cicutarium has most likely been around for a long time, due to the decades of livestock grazing in the area. At other sites, the introduction of this species is fairly recent. Needless to say, a great of work still needs to be done.
> It is difficult for me to comment on forest management practices, since I am not involved with this and do not want to be involved. There are locations where selective thinning, as you suggested, has been done with very favorable results.
50 years ago there were still portions of the forest that had never been logged. Despite decades of fire suppression these climax forests were very stable and healthy. There were no thickets of young trees. Since this time all of these forests have been logged. Basically the logged forest was abandoned after all the large old growth timber was removed. Thickets of seedling conifers grew in the highly disturbed soil. After 50 years some of the larger timber is now being removed as well as the thickets of smaller trees. The smaller trees and slash are heaped into gigantic piles (at least 25 meters tall!) and burned. Without some type of alternative forest management this cycle will continue. In addition, there are many other undesirable impacts with this type of forest management and logging. Such practices seem illogical, however old practices seem to be entrenched. I have noticed that small, locally owned logging operations practice extremely good logging practices that ameliorate most of the undesirable impacts. What goes on with forest management is enigmatic and is something I want to stay far away from.
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Just ran my dynamic forecasting model (incredibly simple :o ). There are strong signals that January will be a wet month with below average temperatures, and low snow levels. Precipitation looks to be above average. AR activity appears to be minimal.
This is good news for us in Northern California if this indeed pans out.
Blessings to all. :)
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Yesterday was my first weekly snow survey for the 2020 season. The weather during the past week has been dry for the most part. Only .03 inches (0.76 mm) of precipitation was recorded at the lower elevations and little or none at the higher elevations. There was only a trace of snow remaining on the ground at 5,000 feet (1,524 meters). I took the opportunity to examine and record the current conditions on Peavine and Telphone Ridges. I will share some of my experiences over the next few days.
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With the ground free of snow cover; the soil is exposed to the cold night air. In shaded locations ice crystals had formed heaving the soil. This is not a favorable environment for germinating seeds and seedlings, but the ice crystals themselves were very beautiful. The freezing temperatures are not penetrating far into the ground. During the past week soil temperatures at 10 cm have average about 40 F (4.4 C).
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In an open forest with a high canopy I encountered a plentiful stand of Lilium washingtonianum ssp. washingtoninum.
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The lilies had produced an abundant seed crop that was dispersing itself throughout the forest.
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Eventually the forest opened at the canyon edge with excellent views of the American River canyon and the high peaks in the distance.
Precipitation totals to date are slowly falling below average. Our Sacramento home is at 78% of average to date, the farm 85%. At this mountain site the number of snow cover days stands at 24 compared to 32 days last year and fewer than 10 the previous year. It is encouraging that some of the high elevation sites still have average snow-water equivalents in the snow pack.
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I spent a good portion of the day examining the flora in this andesite chaparral plant community. Many unique species and ecotypes can be found in this environment. I study the whole area in general, however I also have specific plots that I study in detail.
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There were large stands of Indian Manzanita, Arctostaphylos mewukka ssp. mewukka, which grew in this hot dry habitat. A similar species, A. viscida ssp. viscida, White-leaf Manzanita, was also seen frequently in this habitat.
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Gold-back Fern, Pentagramma triangularis, was seen growing at the bases of many large rocks and boulders. This site is near the high elevation limit for this species.
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Poa secunda ssp. secunda breaks its summer dormancy in the late autumn or early winter and makes rapid growth. Many other native perennial grasses were also coming into active growth. In addition, cool season grasses such as Bristly Dogtail Grass, Cynocurus echinatus and Cheat Grass, Bromus tectorum, both invasive species, were germinating abundantly.
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Lichens grew prolifically on rocks in this harsh environment. At this stage of the project lichens are of secondary importance, but I do keep a generalized listing of the species seen.
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At one location the view of the Crystal Range was quite impressive.
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This ancient Canyon Live Oak, Querucs chrysolepis, was also very impressive.
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Despite the freeze thaw cycles and heaving of the soil a number of different native annual species are beginning to germinate. The green cotyledon seedlings are those of Lessingia leptoclada. The darker cotyledon seedling (upper center) is Lupinus. It is difficult for me to determine the Lupinus to the species level at this time, but they are most likely L. nanus, or perhaps L. stiversii.
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I surveyed the chaparral environment for some time before working my way down into a densely forested ravine. Here Ranunculus occidentalis var. ultramontanus was well into its new season growth.
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The ravine had very steep slopes. When I finally arrived at the opposite crest of the ravine I entered a new area of chaparral. Here I found Yerba Santa, Eriodictyon californicum, growing among the other chaparral species. The plants were growing near the high elevation limit for this species.
Since visiting this area a few days ago there has been light to moderate snowfall in this area. More snow and much colder temperatures are forecasted.
Until next time…
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Nice to see some photographs of a sunny landscape, Robert! I know you would like more precipitation though. Here it is the opposite. We have rain almost every day. Got a glimpse of the sun yesterday (and down to freezing temperature during the night) but today we are back on the track with wind and rain.
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Hello Trond,
I enjoy hearing about your current weather conditions. Here in California we are moving into a cooler and wetter weather pattern. Today we have overcast skies and some rain showers at the lower elevations and snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
It sounds like you are having windy conditions. I am currently quantifying how local (study region) surface wind speeds and patterns may be changing. There are some theories about how winds patterns may change in the future due to climate change. Obviously long-term data will be needed, however it is an interesting aspect of climate to examine. Thank you for the New Years message. I will address this topic and much more very soon.
Now for ideas on perspective that I hope everyone will appreciate:
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In the past I have shown this chart (average annual temperature 30 plus years @ farm) with its linear trend line.
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Here is the same chart using a polynomial trend line. I like to analyze data in different ways to gain different perspectives from the same information.
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I am attempting to find a new perspective to gardening. I have discontinued the use of anthropogenic fixed N fertilizers (directly or indirectly) and am attempting to use exclusively biologically fixed N through the use of leguminous plants, especially California native species that fit into this category. In this case, I am allowing Vetch (not native) to grow in this pot full of Narcissus sp. I am keenly aware of the impacts of anthropogenic fixed N on the Earth’s ecological systems and am willing to find new plant combinations that incorporate biologically fixed N and pleasing plant combinations. This is my version of perspective and being open to new ways of using old established methods in different ways.
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Robert,
I hope you get a lot of rain/snow! We could do with colder weather here. No signs of that at the coast. The danger is that plants start to grow (many already have) and that we get cold weather later in the season. In the north they still have below zero C so all the precipitation come as snow.
Although private gardeners can grow plants without much anthropogenic fixed N I think this so far is impossible if you shall feed the still growing population of the world. Intercropping is difficult with heavy machinery! Maybe it will be possible to genetically modify non-legumes to fix nitrogen.
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Hello Trond,
I conducted my weekly snow survey today. My timing was prefect. A weak storm pasted through the region this morning dropping about 2 cm of new snow. The weather was clear when I arrived at the survey site. The snow quickly melted or vaporized via sublimation. This did not last long as a new set of storm clouds quickly moved in.
Yes, I do hope that cooler (perhaps what would be more typical for you) weather arrives in your part of the world. Here temperatures are running about average for the first two weeks of January, precipitation has been well below average. The weather is forecasted to change. A very wet storm is forecasted to arrive over the next few days with much below average temperatures. Beyond this we will see what changes arrive. It could be very interesting. Recently, the MJO has been extremely active; much more active than I have seen it for a very long period of time, September of 2019 came close. Check out the Pacific Meridional Mode index. It is very high, as well as the Arctic Oscillation index. It is well over +4! I will be very curious to see what tomorrows STTs look like. There are a lot of extremes out there right now.
It might be interesting to have an open forum discussion on how the Haber-Bosch process transformed agriculture and how the current magnitude of the N deposition and denitrification issues are impacting the planet today (It did touch on this topic last year). It is projected that the use of anthropogenic fixed N will increase by 50% in the next 20 to 30 year to keep pace with the ever rising human population on Earth. I do know that efforts are being made to genetically modify crop so that they can fix their own N. In addition, there is research investigating the possibilities of designing some form of artificial/semi-biological nitrogenase.
On a sad note I was just informed that the Western Monarch Butterfly might become extinct by this time next year. There are only 600 to 800 remaining butterflies, not really a viable population. For me this heart breaking.
Anyway, over the next week I will report on today’s outing.
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My first destination for the day was one of a series of seasonal seeps that are found in the area. The previous week this seep had been moist, but with no seeping water. Numerous seedling of Lessingia leptoclada, Cynosurus echinatus were germinating and growing in the moist soil. If the wet weather continues, these seedlings will quickly die off in the flooded portions of the seep and the remaining seedlings will form a ring on the drier ground surrounding the seep.
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There are a number of larger rocks that edge portions of the seep. Here I found the first seedlings of Madia glomerata germinating.
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The last fire to burn through this site occurred in 1990. Despite the lack of fire, some seedling regeneration is taking place. Pictured is a young seedling of Arctostaphylos mewukka ssp. mewukka. After a fire, this species generally regenerates from a burl found partly below the surface of the ground. There is clear evidence that this occurred after the last fire. Other Arctostaphylos species are obligate seeders (no burls) and are very dependent on fire for propagation. It is necessary for fire to occur at proper intervals. If fire occurs too frequently the seed bank in the soil will be exhausted and there will be no new flowering-seed bearing age plants to produce a new generation of seed. Without fire, very few new seedlings will grow and there is the possibility that other species will proliferate and come to dominate the ecosystem. Acrtostaphylos viscida ssp. viscida is another Arctostaphylos species found at this site. After the fire, dormant seed of this species germinated prolifically.
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A number of perennial species can be found in their vegetative state this time of year. Eriophyllum lanatum var. grandiflorum is one of them and is found frequently at this site.
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A few Soap Plant, Chlorogalum pomerdianum, were breaking their summer dormancy – forming new rosettes.
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Is the western monarch a separate subspecies? I have read that it is only one species as the eastern and western population interbreed and both populations overwinter either in Mexico or in California.
Without Haber-Bosch I think a lot of people had starved!
A lot of both wild and garden plants have started growing here also. January seems to be one of the warmest ever!
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Hello Trond,
I will have to look into the Monarch butterfly issue more, however I think that it is only the California race that is facing extinction.
Yes, I could not agree with you more. The Haber–Bosch process was one of the major contributors (there are others) that helped facilitate the exponential growth in the human population since ~ 1900. Without massive inputs of anthropogenic fixed N, agricultural production would most likely crash. Unfortunately, the planetary limit for N has been well exceeded with major consequences currently playing out. Currently, carbon limits get much of the attention, however we are currently in uncharted territory with the planetary N cycle.
Through N deposition, unmanaged ecosystems are being top loaded with N. Nitrogen is generally a limiting factor with many unmanaged ecosystems. It is well known that N inputs into N-limited ecosystems have very destabilizing effects. Biomass production increases while biodiversity decreases. Alien invasive species frequently have a competitive advantage in these situations. Gardeners may want to pay attention, as this has implications regarding wild species that, may or may not, be available for horticultural development in the future, as well as a dwindling gene pool to draw upon to create improved and diverse new plant varieties.
This is only part of the N issue. Denitrification of soil nitrate is also a major issue, especially when anaerobic conditions prevail. With all soils there are generally periods of time when anaerobic conditions exist, or compartments within the soil structure that are anaerobic. Although there are soil microorganisms that have various reductase enzymes to reduce NO3, ⇒NO2, ⇒NO, ⇒N2O to N2, the release of N2O into the atmosphere is still a major issue, especially considering N2O is 300 times more potent as a GHG than CO2.
Here in the U.S.A. the planetary crisis regarding the nitrogen cycle gets zero press attention. The general public has no idea what is going on in this regard. The magnitude of this issue is staggering. As I progress with this diary I will attempt to demonstrate how alterations to the N cycle are impacting the ecosystems that I study. In most instances, there are additional contributing factors. Isolating nitrogen’s contribution within an ecosystem’s processes has challenges, but there are methodologies can give reasonable results.
Now to continue with my last outing…
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Later in the morning, there were still a few lingering clouds from the cold front that passed through earlier.
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Now that cold weather has arrived, winter senescence has set in with many perennial species. Eriogonum prattenianum var. prattenianum can look, well dead, this time of year. The majority of the leaves have fallen and the remaining leaves that were a beautiful gray during the growing season are now brown.
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There are a number of annual Phacelia species that grow in this area. Phacelia imbricata ssp. imbricata is one of the perennial species. Much of the ridge is a thermal belt. At colder site farther up the mountain Phacelia imbricata is generally replaced by the silvery P. hastata.
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The Crystal Range was white with snow. Precipitation has been below average for much of January and the Sierra snow pack is now falling below average at most locations.
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I had ample time on this outing to visit a local spring. Here Asarum lemmonii grows abundantly in the perennially moist soil. Much of the site was covered with snow, so there was not much of an opportunity to observe most of the fascinating low growing perennial species that grow at this site.
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The snow depth varied depending on exposure and the forest management. Much of the area on the right side of this photograph had the brush and lower branches of the remaining conifers removed by a mechanical brush-clearing machine two years ago. This management practice alters the surface energy budget to an extent that new ecosystem patterns emerge. Plant distribution is altered and biodiversity is greatly reduced. Many invasive plant species now occupy niches once filled with native species. Rapid and permanent changes to ecosystems have been frequent occurrences in the past. The worlds of John Muir and John James Audubon disappeared in 20 to 30 years.
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The sunny skies did not last long. By early afternoon storm clouds began to arrive as the next frontal system approached.
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A non-native invasive species, Redstem Filaree, Erodium cicutarium, was introduced to this portion of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the 1850-60’s when livestock grazing was introduced and the American River Canyon became a major transportation route between California’s gold fields, the Central Valley and active transportation hubs in western Nevada. This species is now well established and found extensively throughout this portion of the Sierra Nevada. At this site, the Erodium is now growing so densely that all the native species have been displaced. Other invasive species such as Dogtail Grass, Cynosurus echinatus, and Skelton Weed, Chondrilla juncea, are among the other invasive species to find a niche at this site.
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Fortunately there are still many native species. Monardella odoratissima is robust and grows large enough to coexist with many of the invasive species in this area.
The storm clouds continued to build, the wind increased in speed and the temperature began to drop. The first snowflakes began to fall signaling me that I was a go time to head home.
Until the next time…
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Robert, E. cicutarium is a native plant here. It grows on sand.
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Hello Ian,
Are there attempts to control or eliminate North American invasive plant species at your patch? Here in California many invasive species were introduced when the Spanish first started to colonize California. There have been many later accidental introductions. Some attempts are still made to limit the spread of some invasive species, but generally with very limited success. Some recent arrivals are particularly noxious. I certainly hope that these can be eliminated. There is also evidence that climate change is creating favorable conditions for established invasive species to colonize new habitats that were once unfavorable environments for their growth.
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Robert, the main alien species on site are himalayan balsam, Impatiens glandulifera, on wet areas and new zealand pygmy weed, Crassula helmsii, in some water bodies. Nothing has been done to remove them.
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Hello Ian,
It is unfortunate that once invasive species get established they are generally very difficult to eradicate.
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Snow survey day. 21 cm of snow, but it will not last long. There is warm air advection from the SW. we might get some precipitation tomorrow, but after that it looks like a spell of above average temperatures.
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Robert,
The Erodium is native here but a very modest species. It never grows in abundance. We have our share of foreign invaders but they create problems mostly in disturbed areas like road verges. It has not been any major invasive species in natural habitats. A couple lupins, L. perennis and nootkatensis, have spread a lot in some places. They were introduced to stabilize sand dunes along the railway (which they did)! The himalayan balsam is considered an invasive species and forbidden to trade but it is common locally in moist sites. Locally some efforts are done to remove it but it doesn't help much I think.
Regarding N deposition some concern has been uttered about clear montane lakes with little algal growth. Many of them show signs of eutrophication but I haven't heard or read anything lately. 50 years ago it was acid rain, now it is CO2.
Here is a nice plant I spotted on Sunday. Probably Huperzia appressa. Edit: Possibly H. arctica H. selago is very common here but I haven't noticed this before.
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Hello Trond,
Huperzia appressa is an interesting species and appears quite attractive. I was not familiar with this species and needed to do some research to learn something about this species. It appears that it can be found on both sides of the Atlantic. Thank you fro sharing the photograph. The species is quite striking, as it contrasts well with the surrounding plants.
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So pleased you are continuing to share all this with us, Robert. And thanks to Trond for your insights from Norway, too!
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Hi Maggi,
Thank you for the encouraging words. 8) I appreciated this very much. I may be busy, but I enjoy writing this diary and have no desire to stop writing. I experiment a bit with the content, making an effort to make it relevant for as many as possible. As for the forum, it is time for me to make a financial donation. It is from both our financial contributions and participation that the forum is successful and will continue to be successful. In this forum, we all have a valuable asset.
I injured my leg this week while climbing in a tree (pruning). I am not 20 any more! :-[ No snow survey this week. My leg is starting to heal and I feel sure that I will be able to get out next week.
Yes, I agree 110%. I enjoy Trond’s postings about his part of Norway. Perhaps it seems everyday to him, but I find it very fascinating. Thank you Trond. 8)
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While waiting for my leg to heal I can report on our current weather and climate here in our portion of Northern California.
January was a dry month with below average precipitation and above average temperatures. The average temperature for the month was 46.87 F (8.26 C) at the Placerville farm. This was 1.83 F (1.02 C) above the 40-year average; however considering the standard deviation for the month of 2.30 the above average temperature was not extreme.
Precipitation was well below average for the month. We are currently running at 73% of average precipitation for the season to date (through 31 January 2020). The snow pack in the Sierra Nevada is also running below average, however this varies from site to site. Most location at or below 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) have no snow cover at this time and the snow pack between 5,000 and 5,500 feet (1,524 to 1,676 meters) is diminishing rapidly. Currently we are experiencing much above average temperatures, which is increasing the rate of snowmelt, and sublimation.
It is difficult to forecast the future precipitation trend. The GFS forecast model for the next 7 days has been a bit inconsistent especially for day 7. This is not unusual for the winter months. At this time precipitation looks to be below average for the next 7 days. Beyond this point there are conflicting trends in both the atmospheric and oceanic dynamics. My bet is that dry conditions will continue as the strong East Asian jet stream is frequently disrupted and weakened as it moves eastward past the dateline. The cooling SSTs off the west coast of North America are supporting a strong southwestern flow at times, however it is very questionable if this flow will sag southward to influence our weather here in Northern California.
My leg is healing. I hope to be out again soon reporting on our native plants and how they are responding to our ever-changing weather.
Until the next time…
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Thank you for your kind words, Maggi!
And also thanks to you Robert, for your interesting reports from your corner of the world. Sorry to hear that you hurt your leg. Hope you soon are fit for walking!
Here we have had the warmest January ever in many parts of Norway. Typically, in Oslo where the temperature has been measured since 1816 the monthly average was +2.7C. The normal is -4.5C. The precipitation was well above average.
But yesterday we had the first snowfall (well sleet actually) in a year here where I live, and it accumulated a little. We got 5cm before it turned to rain.
Caltha palustris soon in flower despite the snow yesterday.
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Hi Trond,
It looks like spring might arrive sooner than later in your part of the world. Here the weather is currently swinging between very high temperatures and very low temperatures. It has also been very dry. There is no meaningful precipitation in sight and we are falling farther and farther behind average precipitation to date.
My leg has healed enough where I was able to do my weekly snow survey yesterday, 6 February. I will have to report on this later. Work is getting both extremely interesting and enjoyable, but also very demanding. I will report on yesterday’s survey activities when I can. I do have some photographs to share and although the plants are dormant for the most part, there is activity. More on this later…
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I just processed the photographs from my last snow survey. There is a story to tell, however it may be a week before I can write things up. We shall see.
Also, there is an increasing likelihood that the storm track will move such that we will start getting stroms dropping out of the Gulf of Alaska. Good news for us.
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Glad to hear your leg is healing!
Here is what we are expecting tomorrow, no lack of precipitation here. It is more like a very wet fall than a spring.
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I think you understand the symbols!
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Hi Trond,
Can you send us some of your precipitation?
Our precipitation totals are rapidly falling well below average. To date, 9 February, I have recorded 341.88 mm of precipitation at the Placerville farm. This is 66% of average to date.
I currently have about 15 years of precipitation data from 6,700 feet (2,042 meters) in my study area (Sierra Nevada Mountains). Here snow water liquid equivalents are at 47.19 cm, with 1.19 meters of snow on the ground. This is 80% of the 15-year average to date. I am working on recording the remaining portion of the data set for this site, which dates back to 1972. With the complete data set, this set of figures will have a greater degree of accuracy.
Currently the 7-day GFS forecast is not encouraging concerning precipitation for our region. There are indications that the pattern could change and cold storms out of the Gulf of Alaska could arrive in the next 10 to 20 day period. If this pans out it would be much welcomed! Beyond this point there is a possibility (maybe 20% - 25%) that an atmospheric river may develop and send a great deal of much needed precipitation to our region. As of today, other important atmospheric conditions need to change for this to become a likely scenario.
We shall see what happens. In the mean time, our weather is rapidly changing between cold below average temperatures and warm above average temperatures. Currently we are about 1 F below average for the month of February. The large swings in temperature look as if they will continue for at least the next 7 to 10 days.
8) Yes, i think that I understand the symbols. ;D
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Robert,
if I could I would gladly send you our precipitation for the next month!
This is the precipitation for the wettest days in January 2020: 399.6, 365.5, 292.2, 259.5, 249.5 mm/day (24h). (Data from Bergen)
The berries still cling to the shrub on this Vaccinium vitis-idaea (tyttebær!) despite all the rain.
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The spring here is a very slow process. According to the definition of winter we use here (the average temperature below 0C) we never have proper winter at the west coast of Norway. This year the average for January has been between 5 and 6C. February is usually the coldest month though. So far the average is about 5C.
This shrub, Abeliophyllum distichum, shouldn't flower before April!
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This shrub, Abeliophyllum distichum, shouldn't flower before April!
A similar situation here in Western Germany - Abeliophyllum distichum (and Forsythia ovata) in flower!
My five year old grandson told me recently: Why don't we have some snow? I don't know what to reply.
Gerd
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Now I am recovering from the flu. :P
At least things are getting better.
I can understand Gerd’s dilemma as to how to talk with his grandson. I have been working with mathematical climate models lately. The science behind climate change is extremely complex and the bottom line is that we really do not know what the future impacts might be regardless of what we do, or not do, on the Earth. We are in uncharted territory.
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This is an answer from my wife:
A good simple explanation of climate change is that planet Earth has the flu. Just as we have fever and chills, and other symptoms when we have the flu, the Earth is having the flu. We get the flu from viruses, but planet Earth has the flu from the unhealthy things we have put in the air, soil, and water, and from the unhealthy things we do on the planet such as eliminating forests. Sadly, many of our activities that are unhealthy for the planet were not intended to be so. Agriculture—farming the land for fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes, and livestock such as poultry, cattle, sheep, and goats—was intended as a good to feed us. However, we have not always done things in a healthy way. In fact, some of the forests are disappeared now because we cleared them in order to feed all the people.
Just as our parents, or the doctor may tell us what to do to heal from the flu, we are told we need to act on climate change before it is too late. This is a misleading statement. It is never too late to act on climate, but “too late” is a subjective statement that is confusing. It is much more accurate to state that we do not know what the future impacts of climate change will be on Earth. We do not have a parent or a doctor to tell us what will indeed happen or what to do to help the planet heal without creating a great deal of suffering for many people. It was our intent to reduce the suffering of hunger that created some of the problems we see.
An older child can have a more complex explanation, one geared for their level of understanding. The dilemma will remain, for we are indeed in unknown territory. As part of his work, Robert has been working on mathematical climatic models this winter. Even with a simplistic model, changing large-scale land use practices (albedo) and the emissivity of the atmosphere alter the surface temperature. With complex mathematical models, outcomes need to be congruent with observable facts. We do not fully understand the complex web on our planet and our role. A carbon neutral world is a theory. Even if implemented, there could still be runaway climate change because of such impacts as destroying the Earth’s tropical rain forests, the melting of arctic sea ice, and the doubling of atmospheric N2O levels via agriculture, etc. At present, we fear that the choices we see that we can implement involve drastic changes without guarantees, and great suffering. The real cost of climate change is hardship for many life forms, including people.
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Robert,
glad to hear you are recovering from your flu. And let us hope the Earth doesn't end up like another Venus.
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Today was a snow survey day. Earlier, after a day or two of somewhat near record breaking high temperatures for this time of year, the weather has settled into a warm and persistently dry pattern. The few storms dropping from the direction of the Gulf of Alaska have been very weak by the time they have reached California. In our region, at the best they have produced some cloudy skies. A cut-off low is forecast to develop in the vicinity of Southern California later in the forecast period. At the best we will get some cloudiness and perhaps a few light rain showers over the Sierra Nevada with this system. The overall pattern is persistent and has elements that are self-perpetuating. Eventually the pattern will break down, but the question now is when? And will there be sufficient precipitation to end our precipitation season without beginning a new sequence of drought in Northern California?
Today’s snow survey brought me to Loon Lake, elevation 6,410 feet (1,954 meters). The road is ploughed into Loon Lake during the winter, however much of the snow around the lake has melted. As an example, since 1 February 25% of the snow pack at Loon Lake has melted (liquid equivalents). To date, precipitation amounts are running about 60% of average in our region. It will take a great deal of precipitation during March and April to get us back to the seasonal average. In addition, there is no guarantee that if abundant precipitation arrives in March and April that it will fall as snow in much of the Sierra Nevada (e.g. ARs with high snow levels).
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Down on Peavine Ridge (5,125 feet – 1,562 meters) there is basically no snow. There are a few traces on very shaded north slopes, but other than that there is no snow. At 5,250 feet (1,600 meters) the snow will be gone by tomorrow. If the current weather pattern persists in a week or 10 days there will be no snow at 5,500 feet (1,676 meters).
Since temperatures are warm and there is no snow cover at many locations, even around Loon Lake, I have some photographs of plants to share with you over the next few days.
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As stated in my pervious posting, my weekly snow survey brought me to the Loon Lake area. From the upper portion of Chipmunk Bluff, the vista toward Tells Peak is impressive. The higher peaks are clothed with a good carpet of snow. There is still 5 feet (1.5 meters) of snow on the ground with a liquid equivalent of 25.32 inches (643.13 mm). To date, this is about 60% of average.
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From the previous photograph, this is the view looking down the mountain. Chipmunk Bluff is a south-facing ridge and as you can see there is no snow.
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In the distance to the southwest Robbs Peak, 6,686 feet (2,038 meters), is still clothed with snow. On Robbs Saddle, 5,659 feet (1,725 meters) – left side of photograph – there is only 16 inches (40.64 cm) of snow on the ground.
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A good portion of Loon Lake is still frozen. The ice is still thick enough where there were a few brave ice fishermen out on the ice. There was a steady wind of 30 mph (13.41 m/s) making conditions feel very icy.
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This is another view over Loon Lake to the east-southeast into the mountains and wilderness.
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Robert,
it looks great although snow is lacking.
Here we have more than enough snow in the mountains. We have had bad weather for some days and the roads and even the railway across the mountains were closed. One of the main roads have been closed for several days, the last time that happened was in 1993. They are using dynamite to remove the extremely hard packed snow.
The railway is blocked:
https://gfx.nrk.no/OExeplINAwpvz16xcXatwQesDmqDmrXVMeS89Y7SImug.jpg
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As stated in the earlier postings, the remaining snow pack on the north facing slopes surrounding Loon Lake look impressive. However, the south facing exposures have little or no snow cover. The lack of snow cover provided plenty of opportunities to observe plants.
Tells Peak (upper right) is a dominant landmark in this area. Brown Mountain (center left) is white with snow. This dark brown basalt plug is also a prominent landmark.
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Rock ferns were frequently seen in many of the snow free rock cervices. Myriopertis gracillima was one of the most common in this area.
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Another commonly seen rock fern was Pellaea bridgesii.
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Penstemon newberryi var. newberryi can appear distressed immediately after snow melt. Many of the P. newberryi observed must have been free of snow for some time, as they appeared to be in a photoactive phase. Cold temperatures and high levels of solar radiation can be very stressful for alpine plants. Alpine species have a number of physiological mechanisms to adjust to these conditions.
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Eriogonum umbellatum var. torreyanum is a mat-forming variety of E. umbellatum. As one can see, the foliage is very attractive during cold weather when high concentrations of anthocyanins in the leaf tissues turn the leaves bright red.
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I was very pleased to find Eriogonum lobbii growing at this site. I traversed the site looking for other specimens but did not find any. I hope to return after complete snowmelt to record the range and disposition of this population at this site.
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Sedum obtusatum var. obtusatum is another frequently seen species in seasonally dry cervices.
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Francis Lake is located in a crease of the mountain surrounding Rocky Basin. Much of the lake was still covered by ice. When I was young, Francis Lake was a favorite destination, well hidden and a bit out of the way. It was a great place to go swimming on a hot summer day and there were plenty of fish to catch (before swimming!).
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Another view of Francis Lake.
As you can see, there is not much snow on the south facing slopes.
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In this photograph, Rocky Basin can be seen to the left.
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This is a good view of the metamorphic rock that dominates the ridges above Francis Lake. Juniperus grandis and Pinus jeffreyi are the prevailing coniferous species on this ridge.
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Huckleberry Oak, Quercus vaciniifolia, thrives in the summer hot – dry environment of the south facing exposed ridges.
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Arctostaphylos nevadensis thrives in the same environment. The polished chestnut bark of this species is quite striking as the plants creep over the surrounding boulders.
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Ceanothus arcuatus is yet another low spreading species recurrently seen in this area.
Hi Trond,
We could certainly use some of your impressive precipitation totals and mountain snow. Here in Northern California, February has been extremely dry. There has been no precipitation at our Sacramento home during February. If the month ends without precipitation (which is forecasted to occur) this will be this driest February in the recorded weather history of Sacramento, back to about 1850. The “Little Ice Age” ended ~ 1850 and now we have moved into a new climatic phase. In light of climate change, our current dry weather event could be significant. The underlying patterns and impacts need to be studied closely. In addition, I see no indications that there will be a significant pattern change in the next 30 days. When dealing with chaotic nonlinear systems I guess anything is possible 30 days from now, however I believe it is important to make the attempt to improve forecasts of general long-term trends.
Yesterday’s high temperature at the Placerville farm was 76 F (24.4 C) and tied the record high for this date (21 February) set in 1988. More high temperature records may fall in the coming week.
I will have more to report in the next few days.
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Beautiful vistas and nice plants, Robert. Although I suppose you wished it was more snow!
According to YR you will get some rain in a week (not much I'm afraid).
https://www.yr.no/place/United_States/California/Placerville/long.html?spr=eng (https://www.yr.no/place/United_States/California/Placerville/long.html?spr=eng)
The weather pattern seems to change a little here now. The wind has turned more easterly which means colder weather and snow in the east part of the country. Here the strong wind has disappeared and the weather is calm but a little colder. Not much more sun though.
Not much snow in the hills here either!
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A common liverwort here is Frullania tamarisci.
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Hi Trond,
Yes, we could use rain. It appears that there will be no precipitation in Sacramento this February. This will be a new record. Currently, our precipitation total to date at the farm stands at 13.46 inches (341.88 mm). This is 56% of average to date. At least we are slightly ahead (not by much) of the seasonal totals during the drought years of 1976-77. Around here there is talk of a “March Miracle” (a March precipitation miracle that has salvaged a dry fall-winter season. This has happened in the past), unfortunately I do not see any type of March Miracle this year. If anything, the dry weather pattern appears that it will continue. There are a number of feedbacks that will most likely increase the likelihood that our dry weather will persist for another 14 to 30 days. This does not mean that we will not get any precipitation; it just appears that precipitation will continue to be well below average.
In addition, our temperatures have been well above average. Today’s (25 February) high temperature at the farm in Placerville was 74 F (23.3 C). The record high for this date is 80 F (26.7 C), which was set in 1986. We will have a few more days of well above average temperatures before things cool down again – and a slight chance of precipitation in the Sierra Nevada.
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I conducted my weekly snow survey yesterday. As you can see from this photograph there is not much snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. With the warm temperatures the snow, especially at the mid elevations, is almost gone and the remaining snow is melting quickly. I have to admit that I do not like drought conditions, however it is exciting for me to record and understand how the plants and the various ecosystems respond to the extreme conditions. I have witnessed a number of droughts in this part of California, however this is the first time I have been in the position to record detailed and specific data as to how plants and ecosystem respond. For me it is exciting and is keeping me very busy. I am not sure if this is a sick or healthy way to look at the situation. ;D :-\
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As I stated in my last posting, I conducted my weekly snow survey yesterday. There was very little snow at the mid-elevations (plus or minus 5,500 feet – 1,676 meters). What a difference between this season and last!
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Last year I was first able to access the site on 18 April. It was necessary to hike several miles over the snow to gain access. This pond (pictured) was still frozen over with ice at this time and did not become ice-free until 1 May. This year I easily drove to my usual staging site, which requires passage over a rocky dirt track, which is frequently flooded during snowmelt.
I keep detailed notes on water levels, flow rates, water temperatures, soil moisture content, pH, incoming solar radiation (short wave), OLR, snow cover, sublimation rates, and many other detailed atmospheric and environmental statistics for all of my study sites. Something as simple as dose-response curve can be used to create a very simple plant-environment interaction model, which can be amazingly useful. Extreme events as we are currently experiencing provide very useful data. So despite the fact that I do not like or want to see drought / anomalous heat events, the current conditions do offer a unique opportunity.
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Many seeds are now germinating (mostly annual species). It will not be unusual to see this first batch of seedlings destroyed by a late snow event or extreme cold temperatures (generally well below 19 F, -7.2 C). Additional seedling will continue to germinate as the season progresses, although individual species often respond differently.
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Some species can respond very differently to early snowmelt. Pseudognaphalium cansecens has broken into active growth with the warm days, despite hard freezing temperatures every night. Other hardy species are still dormant with no signs of active growth or emergence.
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Last year on 18 April, this site was completely flooded and surrounded by banks of snow. This year there is only this small area of standing water full of Juncus saximontanus coming into active growth.
Now to see what the month of March will offer. A storm is forecasted to arrive this weekend. With limited moisture, the storm may or may not produce precipitation on Saturday night – the last day of February. We will see if the February precipitation record is broken (i.e. no rain for the month). At least we will see cooler temperatures. In the mean time, my primitive forecasting model (not to be confused with the application of so-called “primitive equations” – horizontal motion, thermodynamic energy, etc.) does not forecast much change in the current dry pattern over its extended period (about 14 days, really stretching it 30 days).
Stay tuned. :)
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Got 2 inches of snow yesterday (Thursday) but it has melted now (Friday evening). This winter (December, January, February) has been the mildest ever. But it has also been one of the wettest in many parts of the country. In the mountains and in the north that means a lot of snow! The hydroelectric power is also very cheap now due to all the precipitation.
The down side is that main roads and railways have been closed for days due to blizzards. The next weeks seem to be better though.
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Hi Trond,
Thank you for the climatic report. I am always interested! 8)
A cold but moisture starved storm moved through Northern California last night and today. We had a trace of precipitation at our Sacramento home, however the month of February pasted without measurable precipitation setting a new record for the driest February – no measurable precipitation. There was snowfall in the Sierra Nevada Mountains today (1 March). Although the new snow depths seemed impressive the mixing ratio was low, so the water content of the new snow was also very low. With another round of above average temperatures forecasted for this coming week, the new snow will quickly melt and sublimation rates will be relatively high. In addition, the older remaining snowpack will continue to melt.
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I was in the Lyons Creek Basin the other day before the storm arrived ~ 6,600 feet (2,012 meters). The snow in the photograph may look impressive; however there was open ground without snow cover and the total snow depth was well below average for this date. Without snow cover a number of plant species were in active growth (it was still February!). I will report on some of my findings as I can. I will be conducting another snow survey tomorrow. This should prove to be interesting too.
Until then.
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If possible, I will try to fill you in on some of my activities over the past week. I have been very busy.
I will try to put my snow survey in the Lyons Creek basin into perspective and address the critical nature of our current water/precipitation situation. The last storm that pasted through our region a few days ago did nothing to alleviate the dry conditions in Northern California. Our current precipitation total stands at 13.47 inches (342.14 mm), which is 52% of average precipitation to date. Our current precipitation total is comparable to the totals during the extreme drought years of 1975-77. To put this in perspective, during our last multi-year drought, 2011-2015, the driest year was 2014-15 with a seasonal total of 20.82 inches (528.83 mm). Our current precipitation total is 65% of the 2014-15 season. The 1975-77 drought years were much drier than 2014-15.
As we stand right now we need the so-called “March (precipitation) Miracle”. Unfortunately, I see no change in the current weather pattern that will bring about a March Miracle. On the contrary, many facets of the current weather pattern appear to be self-reinforcing (feedback loops). The current dry weather pattern consisting of a split Jetstream, an unfavorable storm track out of the Gulf of Alaska, and cut-off lows developing off the Southern California coast currently seems very entrenched. We are not getting any help from the current Trade Wind pattern in the eastern Pacific, or the wind patterns and resulting Ekman drift along the coast of North America. Creating a simple model based on basic physical concepts such as hydrostatic balance (there is nothing static about the atmosphere or any rotating spherical fluid – liquid or gas – but the concept is still very useful), the pressure gradient force + Coriolis effect – geostrophic balance – both the ocean and the atmosphere, can go a long way toward creating a generalized forecasting model. There are some faint hints that something might change beyond day 7 in the current forecast, however the current dynamics do not support any major change into the next 7 to 14 day time period. Time is running out. Statistically, unless the precipitation pattern changes significantly in the next 14 days, the likelihood of continued dry weather increases dramatically.
Another critical issue is the current status of the Crystal Range / Crystal Basin hydrosphere. For example, on 29 February I recorded the flow depth on Lyons Creek at 15.0 cm. Last year the flow on 25 April was 66.5 cm, which decreased to 15.5 cm on 29 July. Currently there is not enough remaining snowpack to significantly increase this flow level. Unless a great deal of snow arrives soon, Lyons Creek will run dry in many locations during the summer season.
Precipitation totals over the next 30 to 60 days will be critical. The current prospects and projections do not look favorable, but things can change. If the present pattern continues, how unmanaged ecosystems respond to a 1975-77 drought pattern will be important to record and watch. Much has changed in the 40-plus years since 1975-77 (additional radiative forcing from GHGs is a big one). In addition, there are still indications that impacts from the 2011-2015 drought years are still playing-out.
I have additional photographs share of the plants and their response to the current conditions. The plants in unmanaged ecosystems are amazingly resilient and I have years of data and experience with them in this region. However, there do appear to be thresholds beyond which the system begins to become over stressed and potentially unstable. There is a still a great deal of work to do. Quantative empirical field data needs to concur with models and other possible explanations need to be examined before any preliminary conclusions can be reached.
Stay tuned.
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Interesting to read your reports Robert, although a bit sad to hear of the drought.
It is the contrary here. Although it is the warmest winter (Dec-Feb) ever measured the glaciers have grown for the first time in 20 years due to all the snow. While the precipitation has fallen as rain in the lowland it has fallen as snow in the mountain. In the south the winter has been 5C warmer than the 1960-90 "normal". (A new "normal" 1990-2020 will be used from now on but it is not 5 degrees above the old one!)
The temperature is now more "normal" and thy even had a heavy snowfall in Oslo. The forecast for next 10 days also looks more like the "normal" than earlier this year.
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From the mountain cabin today.
A bit more snow at this time of the year than in many years.
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Hi Trond
The average temperatures were 5 C above average during the December-February period. This caught my attention! :o Climate scientist predicted the possibility of increased precipitation - snowfall in the polar / boreal regions of the Earth quite a few years ago. Glaciers gaining size was one possible outcome.
For our region, another climatic prediction was that the winter storm track would shift northward. Southern California and the Desert Southwest would become drier and the Pacific Northwest would become wetter. Our portion of Northern California is in some unknown zone in between. The last 10 years have been drier than the 36 year running average. It is too early to determine if this will be a continuing trend. The decadal cycles in the Pacific Ocean may be involved as well as other oceanic patterns. Sorting these events from trends caused by climate change is frequently very difficult to determine. I have a graphic I will share later.
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On the last day of February (Lyons Creek Basin) there were germinating annual species in locations where the ground was free of snow cover. This is not unusual. Depending on changes in the snow cover, temperatures and the moisture content of the soil these seedlings may survive to bloom or fail to grow due to unfavorable conditions. Our high elevation annuals are very resilient. If this first crop of seedlings fails, additional seeds will germinate if conditions turn favorable again. In addition, a portion of the seed can remain dormant for more than one season and then germinate when favorable conditions return.
Trond,
The snow is beautiful and impressive. 8)
Some precipitation is forecasted to arrive in our region over the next few days. There will be snow in the Sierra Nevada. Unfortunately, this storm will not alleviate our drought conditions (precipitation amounts are forecasted to be low) and it is unlikely to be a prelude to a stormy wet pattern.
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Robert, I would expect that the early seedlings would take some freezing?
Annuals are uncommon in the mountains here and they normally don't germinate early even when snow is lacking. The soil is usually frozen. But your sun has greater impact than ours!
Where I live at the coast the average temperature was 3.9 higher but in the eastern parts it was 5.7 C higher. Other places were between these figures.
A Scots Pine with witches broom - in fact the whole tree is a witches broom!
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Hi Trond
Yes, some of the early germinating seedling (still in the cotyledon stage) can endure consistently freezing overnight temperatures. Over the past week, in the Lyons Creek Basin, low temperatures have been below freezing. It was 19 F (-7.2 C) on the morning of 2 March. It would be interesting to find the low temperature limit for these early germinating species. By the way, the pictured seedlings were most likely Navarretia leptelea ssp. leptelea. Dried remains of last year’s plants were found in close association with the germinating seedlings. I will follow up this spring with the definitive identification.
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The native species, Horkelia fusca var. parviflora, is one of the toughest perennial species in the Lyons Creek Basin. This species can endure extreme desiccating cold with out snow cover. During the late autumn, I have seen this species frozen solid in rock hard deeply frozen ground with no snow cover. Upon returning in the spring immediately at snowmelt I found thriving plants coming into new growth. I was expecting to find many black dead plants. I did not find even one! It is amazing to see this species still green after being buried by snow for months and then immediately go into active growth.
Phacelia hastata ssp. compacta comes through the winter looking good, however this species waits for additional cues before coming into growth. I did find one group of Potentilla gracilis var. parviflora coming into growth the other day. This is very early for this species. They were growing at the base of a rock, undoubtedly soaking in some extra solar radiation/heating. On the topic of solar radiation, over the past 4 days or so, incoming shortwave radiation in the Lyons Creek Basin has been peaking at about 815 Wm2 each day. To put this in perspective, the days have been clear and at this elevation the atmosphere holds much less water vapor.
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This is a good view of the trail into the Lyons Creek Basin with Pyramid Peak in the distance. There were not many areas free of snow at this time. Where there was open ground I did not find any of the usual early emerging perennial species in active growth. Ranunculus alismifolius var. hartwegii, and Viola bakeri are two examples of species that emerge quickly after snowmelt. Clearly they have not received the appropriate cues, yet. With snow cover, the 15 cm soil temperature is very stable at 32 F (0 C). Next season I hope to have a soil temperature data logger deployed in an area where the snow melts and recedes early in the season.
In a few locations the snow had melted away from sites where Lupinus lepidus var. sellulus, Eriogonum incanum, Eriogonum nudum, and Orthilia secunda were exposed. Early in the season immediately after snowmelt these species, despite looking somewhat “green”, will take a week or more before they begin active growth. This serves them well in a number of different ways.
Another winter storm is forecasted to arrive tomorrow. Although precipitation amounts are expected to be fairly light, snow will bury the plants again. They are well designed to survive these conditions. If the snow lingers the out come for the newly germinating annuals is in question. Stay tuned on this one.
Before signing off…
Currently, our seasonal precipitation total stands at 13.47 inches (342.14 mm). Just to reach the 2014-15-drought season total of 20.82 inches (528.83 mm) we will need an additional 7.35 inches (186.69 mm) of precipitation before the end of the precipitation season. Average precipitation for this remaining time period is ~ 9.35 inches. Despite a few storms passing through our region, the current prospects of reaching the 2014-15-drought season total are not good. Stay tuned on this one too…
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It looks like we are going to have a change in our weather pattern. The likelihood of significant rain, low mountain snow levels, and much below temperatures is encouraging. At this point any precipitation is welcome and will help, however the shift in the weather is unlikely to alleviate the drought conditions.
Cold temperatures and low snow levels will most likely impact our native flora. Many species have broken their dormancy and are well advanced in their growth. A few higher elevation annual species have even started to bloom. A killing frost could prune back some of the native deciduous species that are in active growth and some of the annuals may temporarily suffer. Such events are rare, but have occurred in the past. Unless something new and very unusual occurs with the weather the native plants will recover from the freezing temperatures and snow. At this point drought and a permanent trend toward a drier climate in the Sierra Nevada and California is much more of a concern. Statically there is a shift in this direction, however at this point it is difficult to differentiate whether this is due to climate change or decadal oscillations in the Northern Pacific Ocean, or a bit of both.
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Robert, I hope you get some rain and not too cold temperature!
This photograph shows what happened last spring at our mountain cabin. The winter was mild and the snow melted early. Then we got very cold weather for a couple of weeks. Almost all the plants were frost burnt. They sprout from the ground so during the summer most had recovered.
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Hello Trond,
I found your photograph and comments very interesting. 8) I am always interested in this sort of report. :)
Things have turned very busy for me. There is a great deal for me to comment on regarding climate change and the impact it has on gardening everywhere. I will get back to this diary as I can as there is much to report.
It looks like we are going to get a good dose of mountain snow and precipitation in the valley over the next week. This will not change the developing drought conditions, but it certainly will not hurt either. :)
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A bit of an update on our weather…
The precipitation totals from our last storm were impressive. The Placerville farm received 5.71 inches (145.03 mm) of precipitation. This is equal to the average precipitation for the whole month of March. The bad news is that our precipitation totals are still 70% of average to date and only 57% of average for the whole precipitation season. The good news is that another storm is forecasted to arrive early next week. This storm has the potential to produce an equal amount of precipitation in our region. The storm is forecasted to become cut-off from the general westerly flow, so it exact trajectory is difficult to forecast. All we can do is hope for the best.
Snow totals in the Sierra Nevada Mountains were also impressive. At the higher elevations of the Crystal Range there is now ~ 9 feet (269.24 cm) of snow. At locations such as Peavine Ridge, where there was no snow prior to the storm, there is now 2.5 to 3 feet (76.20 – 94.44 cm) of snow. Snow level also dropped to low elevations ~ 2,000 feet (610 meters).
It will be very interesting to observe the impact this snow will have on our local flora.
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On Telephone Ridge (~ 4,800 feet 1,463 meters), I took this photograph of Nemophila heterophylla in bloom a few days before the snow arrived. The plants are now buried under 2.5 to 3 feet (76.20 – 94.44 cm) of snow. At lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada this species can be routinely buried by late season snow when in bloom. However, the late season snow cover is generally of a short duration. How long the snow cover will remain on Telephone Ridge this season is unknown at this time. If the next storm pans out as forecasted there will be additional snow in the Sierra Nevada, including Telephone Ridge. The next storm is forecasted to be cold with more snow at the lower elevations. There is a possibility that we might get a mini March Miracle. The prospects of ending the overall dry conditions are still remote, however anything is possible.
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Parts of our Sacramento, California garden are gorgeous right now. The Sierra Nevada Mountains are currently blanketed with snow, so I will take this opportunity to share some photographs from our garden.
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Our goal is to have a beautiful garden. We are much more interested in having a beautiful display and a pleasant design to our garden. It is fun to grow unusual and interesting species; however growing a large collection of individual species is not our gardening choice. Desirable plants are allowed to seed around and many plants of a given species are frequently planted throughout our garden. In this scene Lupinus albifrons var. albifrons can be seen with Triteleia laxa in the foreground.
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In our garden, Triteleia laxa is one of the easier to please species. I have grown seedlings from various geographical locations throughout California. In our garden, there is enough genetic diversity that there is now an extended blooming period for this species. They put on a nice show, so this is a welcome addition.
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Eschscholzia caespitosa is a California native annual poppy species. It is getting well established in our garden now. I never sow seed, I just let the ripe seeds scatter on their own and enjoy the plants wherever they germinate and grow. This aspect of growing annuals creates a new tapestry of color each season, especially when other native annual species join in.
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Triteleia ixioides ssp. scabra is another native geophyte. Once again I grow many forms and a number of different subspecies.
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Lupinus albifrons var. albifrons looks great throughout the year. The large flower trusses are very showy and the silver foliage is attractive during all the seasons. I have very carefully attempted to duplicate its natural growing environment in our garden. Being attentive to its specific needs is critical for successful cultivation. Our efforts have paid-off well, as we now have strong, attractive, long lasting plants that have started to seed around in our garden.
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Your display looks great, Robert! It is like a mid summer blooming in a flower meadow here :)
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So summery! I love the yellow star with striking stripes at the back!
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Trond and WSGR
Thank you for the comments! :)
Our garden may look "summery", however temperatures have been well below average for the last 14 days or so. As you might imagine our "summer look" is very different.
Some more photographs to share while I have a chance... :)
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Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum is another easily grown California native geophyte. We grow a number of different forms in our garden. Lavender-blue is the most common flower color, however we grow white forms and I have seen pink flowering forms in the wild. Once again we grow plants from seed gathered over a wide geographical range. Our late blooming forms have flowering stems that are just beginning to extend beyond grow level. They will most likely be in full bloom in about 10 to 14 days, depending on the weather.
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Our stand of Camassia leichtlinii ssp. suksdorfii becomes increasingly impressive each season. It is a species that we will continue to spread throughout our garden.
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In our garden, lupines are our one of our favorite solutions to biological nitrogen fixation. California has a great variety of species, both annual and perennial. This is a very unusual variant of Lupinus benthamii (an annual species). A chance seedling germinated during the summer (very unusual!). The seedling survived the summer and began to grow well with cooler temperatures during the autumn. Late in the autumn it began to bloom and this specimen has been blooming non-stop since then. Needless to say, I will be gathering seed from this plant.
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This is a nice specimen of Calochortus amabilis getting ready to bloom.
We grow a number of Calochortus species in our garden. The genus seems to have a reputation of being difficult to please in cultivation. Yes, many species can be very exacting in their cultural demands. However, success can be achieved by a thorough understanding of how the various species respond to environmental variables. How a species responds to a specific monochromatic flux density of solar radiation, or seasonal heat fluxes within the top 20 cm of the soil (and many other environmental details) may not be what anyone wants to hear about, however it is through this type of comprehensive study and attention to details that has made cultivation of demanding Calochortus species (and many other demanding California native species) possible in our garden. Far too many cultivation myths have been created regarding the genus Calochortus that have no basis in scientific facts.
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This is a first generation hybrid seedling consisting of Ranunculus occidentalis var. ultramontanus as one parent. Nobody is likely to pursue this breeding pathway, however I enjoy the small bright yellow flowers held on long stems of many California native Ranunculus species. My goal is to create easy-to-grow hybrids that perform well in our garden, are long lived, and create the “look” that I desire.
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Trond and WSGR
Thank you for the comments! :)
Our garden may look "summery", however temperatures have been well below average for the last 14 days or so. As you might imagine our "summer look" is very different.
Some more photographs to share while I have a chance... :)
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Robert,
When the temperature "over there" is below average in spring it is more like our summer temperature I suppose!
Have you mentioned how big your garden is? Seems you grow a lot of plants!
The Lupin looks great as do the other plants too! I grow Camassia quamash in my garden and it performs well. Some perennial Lupins are banned here in Norway (Lupinus polyphyllus, nootkatensis and perennis). I think it is too late though. They have been grown for a long time and naturalized several places. Other Lupins are still legal to grow.
Crossing different Ranunculus species is nice. hope you get some interesting results!
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Trond
You have some interesting comments and questions I want to address. I will not forget! :)
I have one more posting after this one. It has the precipitation graphic that I mentioned in a previous posting. I will answer the questions with additional comments when I make the last in this series of postings.
Great to hear from you and others. Hope everyone is staying healthy! :)
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Work continues with several breeding lines. This is a photograph of newly germinating seeds of an advance generation Primula hendersonii line. Progress is slowly being made to extend the color range, and a number of other interesting characteristics.
For years I have been told that Primula hendersonii is impossible to grow in Sacramento. Not only do our plants grow, but also they thrive and multiply both by seed and division. This species is actually very easy to maintain and is long-lived. If attention is paid to the details their growing environment in the wild and these conditions are met in the garden, cultivation of this species is quite easy.
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Many more challenges need to be overcome to successfully cultivate Viola douglasii. These emerging plants are entering their fourth season. We are hoping for a successful seed crop this season. We are hoping that multi-generational plants will eventually become easier to cultivate.
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I have the same hopes for this third year specimen of Viola sheltonii.
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Pseudotrillium rivale is also thriving in our garden. The young plants bloom every season and set seed. We also grow a few other California Trillium species. They have not reached blooming age, however the young plants are very thrifty in their third and fourth year of growth in the garden.
Many of the western North American Erythronium species (not pictured) thrive in our garden. I was told that these were also impossible to grow in Sacramento. Well our plants have not heard the news. They thrive, multiply and set seed every season. Our first colony is getting a bit large now producing 20 to 30 flowers each season. Other groups grown from seed from a variety of geographic locations are now getting established, with a specific set of future breeding goals in mind. Next year I hope that I have time to post photographs when they are in bloom. I have posted photographs in previous seasons.
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I passionately grow California native annuals. Here is a nice colony of Leptosiphon ciliatus. This tiny species produces tiny, long tubed, up facing pink flowers.
New for me this year, are a few of our late season xeric annuals, Lessingia leptoclada and Calycandenia truncata. In our garden, combined with Madia elegans they have the potenial to extend our California native annual flowering season into September and October with minimal or no irrigation needs.
We have a lot to look forward to this season.
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Robert, I hope the snow melt, when it comes, brings much needed water to the area.
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Robert, I hope the snow melt, when it comes, brings much needed water to the area.
Hi Ian,
Yes, I too hope that we have a good snow runoff season this year. Unfortunately, our snow-precipitation outlook is not very encouraging at this time. I have projected a snow-precipitation trend into early June for our region. My modeled atmospheric-oceanic dynamics do not appear encouraging for any meaningful snow-precipitation events in this time frame. At this point our precipitation total at the Placerville farm is running 67% of average to date (27 March). I do not expect this percentage to change much between now and the end of my precipitation season, June 30.
Robert,
When the temperature "over there" is below average in spring it is more like our summer temperature I suppose!
Have you mentioned how big your garden is? Seems you grow a lot of plants!
Trond,
Our backyard garden plot is 21 x 16.5 meters, and the front is 16.5 x 8 meters, including a driveway/packing space. At this time only 35% is intensely planted, so there is a great deal of room for additional planting of small perennial type species and geophytes. I am wanting a beautifully designed garden that provides interest and color throughout the year. I am in no hurry and I am not interested in planting out just anything. Currently, I spend a great deal of time maintaining the 35% - wanting it to look pleasing. Each year Jasmin and I plan another new and small area to develop. This year it was a bulb bed on the hot, dry west facing side of our house. It is planted with appropriate Calochortus species, other California native geophytes, and a variety of California native annuals, with various xeric California Native perennial species. I am hopeful that it will start looking good in 2 to 3 years.
As for our recent temperatures –
At the Placerville farm high temperatures have been running 58-55 F (14.4-12.8 C) for afternoon high temperatures and 43-32 F (6.1-0.0 C) for morning low temperatures.
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Navarretia pubescens is another California native annual that we are working on getting established in our garden. This small colony can be seen growing at the base of one of our native shrub oaks, Quercus durata var. durata. To the right, in the foreground is another California native annual, Claytonia perfoliata ssp perfoliata. The Claytonia self sows itself without my help. The leaves are edible and make a tasty salad green, so I leave plenty in the garden to harvest and enjoy during the winter months.
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I do grow non-native species. The Ixia maculata hybrids are easy, can be weedy, but they do brighten the garden. Right now we are getting along okay, but I do keep an eye on them so that they do not get out of control.
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Geissirhiza radians is a real gem. The small cup-shaped flowers are beautifully marked. They are best enjoyed in a pot. Someday I hope to have a pot filled with this species.
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These are specimens of Bromus diandrus, an invasive weed here in California. The two specimens on the left are drought stressed; the specimen on the right is normal. In the drought stressed specimens the leaves and vascular tissues are filled with anthocyanins and have a purplish cast to them, not seen in the normal specimens. Examining the leaves under a microscope is very fascinating. Many plants species produce anthocyanins in a response to various environmental stresses (not just drought). In this case the production of anthocyanins is a function of drought stress and can be modeled very easily. This type of simple model can then be incorporated into other appropriate models, such as climatic models.
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A number of weeks ago I promised to post this graphic. The bar on the right represents our 34-year precipitation average at the Placerville, California farm. The bar on the left represents the average precipitation during the last 10-year period, 2009 to 2019. The 1.01-inch (25.654 mm) decline represents a 3% decline in our annual precipitation during this 10-year period, not a very significant percentage (California has its wet and dry precipitation cycles). If I consider the 150-year precipitation average kept in Placerville, which is an excellent proxy, close to the farm average, this trend represents a 4% decline in our average annual precipitation over this 10-year period. Factoring my projected precipitation total for this season, the decline then becomes close to 6%. This is a trend that I want to watch closely. Currently I am modeling projected annual precipitation totals out 10 years or so. I have some hypothesis of how this trend will develop based on other forecasting models and how native plant ecosystems might respond to future declines in the annual precipitation.
This is Fun stuff and is part of a method that allows one to progressively gain a better understanding of what is taking place.
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Robert,
you really have some beautiful flowers in your garden!
I wonder, what kind of rocks/sand do you have in the garden? It looks very volcanic. Is it just a kind of mulch?
Here are two plants flowering in my garden now. Neither are native though. Soldanella alpina and Shortia uniflora. We lack the typical native spring plant (Hepatica nobilis) here at the west coast.
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Regarding snow. This is from a ski resort not very far away. It is more than 11m of snow on the upper slopes but no skiers now due to the pandemic.
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Trond,
8) The plants you grow in your garden are very beautiful and very different from those that like to grow in our part of California. Thank you for sharing the photographs. :)
The photograph of the snow looks like the snow on Sonora Pass a few years ago when we had a great deal of snow in the Sierra Nevada. There was, more or less, an equal amount of snow. It was one of the few wet years in the past decade. If one removes 2 or 3 years of extremely wet years from the statistic of the last 10 years, it has been extremely dry in California. I believe this matches a forecasted climatic pattern shift for our region. This could be a worrisome trend and it needs to be watch and studied closely.
The native soil in our garden is a clay-loam, more or less, excellent class I farm soil. It seems a crime that class I farm soil is growing housing developments, but that is a different issue. To create suitable soil conditions for many of the plants we grow in our garden I use scoria (a volcanic rock) to aid drainage and diffusion of air into the soil. I also have raised beds, tubs, and other types of containers where I use different proportions of sand, scoria, clay, and organic material to grow specific plants under specific conditions. At one time I used one generalized soil mix for my entire container grown planting mix. This might have worked well for general commercial nursery plant production, but this did not work well for plants with specific and demanding needs. Now I modify my soil mixes to match the specific needs of each species. There are plants growing in pure sand, others in scoria and sand, and still others with a high percentage of clay. The results have been excellent. As a side note, I now never use nitrogen-based fertilizers, organic or inorganic. Many wild plant species are native to N limited ecosystems. Under my growing conditions, the addition of N, organic or inorganic, creates imbalances that are detrimental to the species I am attempting to grow. Biological N naturally derived from bacteria (sources in addition to the symbioses with legumes) has resulted in strong plants that are resistant to many forms of environmental stress. The plants may grow slowly, but they are very strong and well adapted.
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Hoy
I really love that Soldanella alpina! Exotic and fairy like!
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Robert
Geissorhiza radians is a really exotic gem! So unique. How long do they flower please? I might buy some seeds and have a go!
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WSGR
I have to admit that I do not know much about Geissorhiza radians. I have not grown them for a long period of time and I have not taken the time to research the species. From my observations, the species tends to produce multiple flower buds on each flowering stem, which open in succession as the previous flower fades. Through this process I am able to enjoy flowers for about 2 weeks, plus or minus, depending on the weather.
The foliage of Geissorhiza radians is unassuming and fine textured. Small spring annuals might combine well with them to create an extended blooming display in a pot. The species grows in our xeric garden. The bulbs receive no irrigation or moisture during our hot summer months.
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Many Pacific Coast Iris species are blooming in our garden at this time. This is Iris bracteata. They make a beautiful display in our garden and are well worth growing.
I have other Pacific Coast Iris blooming and will share a few photographs soon.
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Iris hartwegii ssp. hartwegii is another California native Iris that we enjoy in our garden.
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We continue to grow and make many selections of Iris marcosiphon. Their flower colors range from white through many shades of lavender, to dark inky purple. The above photograph from our garden is typical of plants as they are generally seen in the wild.
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Our hybrid Pacific Coast Iris are unremarkable, but produce an abundant crop of beautiful flowers each spring in our garden. We enjoy such simple plants.
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This is an example of Lewisia rediviva var. rediviva grown from seed I gathered in the Inner Coast Range Mountains of Northern California. Our plants remain bone-dry during their summer dormancy, and produce beautiful flowers each spring.
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The corvid19 outbreak appears to be slowing and peaking in our portion of California. We are still in lockdown (very necessary). Travel to the mountains is inappropriate at this time, however despite a busy schedule there is time to share a few more photographs from our garden.
The other good news from our part of the world is that a strong, cold, and wet storm system is forecasted to move into our area tomorrow bringing us much needed valley rain and mountain snow. There is the possibility that the storm will move down the California coast and just far enough to the west that we might not get the full impact of this storm. We will just have to wait and see what happens.
Enjoy the photographs! :)
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Now that I have gained some proficiency growing Calochortus albus, it is quite happy in our garden.
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Calochortus amabilis has been quite happy in our garden. They set seed and return every season. It will be a pleasure to increase this species and have them growing throughout our garde
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Although the covid19 situation continues to improve in our portion of California, the shelter-in-place/harbor-in-place order still remains in effect. I can continue to work on my project from home, however I will not be traveling to the Sierra Nevada Mountains until the shelter-in-place restrictions are relaxed.
Currently the snowmelt season has started in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The snow is melting quickly at all elevations, except for the highest terrain. There is more-or-less no snow below 5,000 feet (1,524 meters). The likelihood for significant additional snow given the current weather pattern and forecasted projections is low. We will very likely end the snow season in our portion of the Sierra Nevada Mountains at about 75% of average.
The current trends in the Pacific Ocean are very interesting. How these trends develop during the coming season will impact our summer weather and, of course, the plants and ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada. As soon as the covid19 restrictions are relaxed I will continue my work in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
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I will be visiting the Sierra Nevada Mountains tomorrow for the first time in almost two months and will be resuming my fieldwork. The last two months have been very productive (mostly mathematical modeling – botanical x atmospheric/climatic connections, fun and interesting stuff! – getting ready for the current season). The experience has helped me gain a great appreciation for independently financed projects. There are always challenges, however the freedom to make decisions free from the terms of a funding contract and the freedom to follow creative leads of my own choosing is invaluable.
Much of the snow has completely melted from the middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada (~ below 5,500 feet, 1,676 meters). The following week I will be visiting the higher portions of the Crystal Range to observe plants as they emerge from dormancy and new seedlings germinate and grow. Hopefully a minimal amount of early season data will have been lost this year. However, I am sure that everything will all turn out just fine.
As for the corvid19 virus… It is very difficult to determine how it will eventually play out in California. As for myself, and our family, we will continue to follow strict biosecurity no matter what direction the pandemic takes. Social distancing is not an issue for us since we never socialize anyway. Building strong natural immunity through good hygiene, regular exercise, and proper diet is the best that we can do. The outlook this season is excellent; another great season in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
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Robert, I'm bemused that you've named the virus "corvid". With my background in bird-watching and ornithology corvids is a fairly large bird family with crows, ravens, your blue jays etc. I wonder what's the connection :)
Its good to be able to travel up to the mountains. Open air is virus free. Walking by oneself far away from anyone is also not to worry. For those of us accustomed to move in open uninhabited country, there's hardly any danger at all!. Obviously the difficult part is getting there safe... ;)
I've started a seed ghetto of Irises. Iris bracteata that you have shown, has grown very nicely here. Is it a forest species? thus, it will prefer some part day shade? A few of the Pacific coast also have germinated. For I. macrosiphon I guess I will wait after our winter. Perhaps it needs a second chill before it germinates. I remember seeing pics of your of Iris hartweggii in semi-shaded position. All of these forest species are interesting for crosses with other sun loving irises to bring shade adaptation into garden cultivars. There are quite a few Irises to investigate up there!
Have a good outing
Arturo
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Arturo,
Thanks for pointing out the mistake.
What a hoot! ;D
We got a big laugh out of that one!
I wonder about the auto-spell check, I do cut and paste from my computer. I do not always catch all of the mistakes, or should I say remakes of certain words, especially scientific names. And then I have been know to make my share of strange mistakes too. My wife is avid with birds, so we both know about corvids; Crows, Ravens, Jays, Clark’s Nutcrackers, Magpies, etc.
Anyway, we had fun with this one. ;D
I will get back to you concerning our Pacific Coast Iris species, at least the ones I have experience growing and observing in the wild.
It is pleasant to hear from you and it is great to hear that horticulture is progressing well for you. 8)
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Robert,
Thanks for your words. My progress with your various wilder species is still slow. I have found that I learn best when I concentrate with a genus and try to get into the details of how to grow them until I complete the process. That means reaching blooming size, see them flower, collect seeds and start all over again. If successful, then I can say that I learnt enough about it so as to be able to maintain it in my yard. Of course once reached that stage new venues open, specially with the landscape aspects of it. That in itself is usually a challenge and it requires further work until I've got a worthy batch. Some of my initial Penstemon and Lewisia are getting close to that. So are some of my Primula, although the N.American species I've yet to be able to raise (i.e P.parryi). For the sake of keeping such a large genus under my attention I keep Dodecatheon separate from Primula. I've got some recently emerging shooting stars ( D.hendersoni) just emerging with my fall sowings. I'll place further effort this upcoming fall/winter/spring season inside my greenhouse so that I can regain lost time around annuals. In my garden schemes, I for-see their role very clearly and as you have clearly pointed out, you have such a variety up there!
In general terms, bringing your wild-flowers into cultivation here has proven more difficult than what I had imagined initially. However as I get to understand them better they are showing up their potential and I feel stimulated to pursue on that path. I also need to understand the seasonal routines better so that I can fit in my interests with my daily and seasonal farm /garden routines. I've been living for more than 20 years in a fairly isolated fashion very concentrated in my activities inside my property. So the lock-down has had almost no impact, but what is surprising is that reduced activities of others has provided further surrounding peace.Although, people all around the world are very worried of the economic implications, I wouldn't mind if part of the lock-down extends in time. Perhaps its time to rethink the difference of real basic economy, including a healthy relationship with nature, from this senseless pursuit of unimportant endeavours leading to the "economy" as understood by the (former?) world. I do hope that more people discover the profits of spending much larger portions of life in nature or cultivating their patch of land: long term musings product of a world-wide lock-down. :)
Arturo
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I had a successful outing the other day. Many plants were blooming and many photographs turned out well. I will post photographs slowly, a few at a time, as I can.
Arturo,
I have very similar experiences with plants. At times my progress seems slow or it appears I am not making any progress at all! Decades ago, I had an excellent teacher. He always told me that when it appears that I am not making any progress to persist, as these were the times that I would most likely make the greatest progress and receive clear insights. Another one of his admonitions was to stay focused (i.e. avoid the “Jack of all trades, master of none” syndrome – understand your limits). To make any meaningful progress, I have found it necessary to focus my attention on our local native plant species. I have found that the more intently I study our local native plant species; it has become obvious how very little in know about them. For example, I have been studied our local native Iris, Iris macrosiphon, for some time now. I have clones in our garden that exhibit flowers in a range of color from white, through various shades of lavender, to dark inky purple. This may seem impressive, but it is really nothing. With just this one species, there is still a huge ocean of knowledge that I have only just begun to explore. For example, there is such a great deal of work for me to do mapping and recording phenotypical genetic expression and physiological responses to a large array of variables such as solar radiation, temperature, pH, levels of N, P, macronutrients, micronutrients, water content (drought – flooding), both organic and inorganic toxins, etc. There is still a great deal for me to do regarding the understanding of the role of anthocyanins, xanthophylls (and other classes of carotenoids), fructans, etc. in plant physiology, especially our local alpine species. These are just examples. And, there are many local native plant species that I am very interested in understanding in greater detail. Progress is slow, but progress is being made. In my world, there is a direct connect between a keen understanding of a plant species and its successful cultivation, especially difficult to cultivate species. In addition, only a tiny fraction of the horticultural potential of our local native plant species has been tapped. Amazing and creative new plants are yet to be discovered, created, and introduced.
From what I understand about your climatic conditions, both Iris macrosiphon and I. hartwegii will likely be easy to cultivate. Be cautious with California native Iris species, such as Iris douglasiana, that have a range that includes regions near the coast. These selections may not be cold hardy in our area. Plants of this species with origins in colder areas are more likely to be cold hardy in your area. If you have any additional questions regarding our local Iris species I will do the best that I can to answer these questions.
Good luck with all your plantings. It appears that you are progressing well. :)
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Robert, you keep adding more variables that I should look into. ::) Far from being a burden it really stimulates my interest and strengthens my pursuit. Your higher ground Irises are really very interesting horticulturaly. My best understanding about the history of ornamental horticulture is around roses. The genus Rosa has many species in the holarctic, none in S.Hemisphere. Its horticultural history is fascinating and following the breeding history is part of my present preparation for planned crosses. The genus Iris is even wider in diversity, but most horticultural forms are derivatives of I. germanica ( which is really a cluster of Southern European species). These are classified as bearded but alongside, breeders have tried crosses with other beardless irises. That's where the California irises come in. I agree that their horticultural potential is almost untapped. Iris breeding is much more recent in breeding history . Stage one of this process is to get to grow these C. natives. Slowly I'll see how well they adapt to our local conditions. Then there are deliberate crosses to look into. Many are of small stature ideal for rock garden settings. Some adapted to semi-shady conditions but many well adapted to natural summer drought...a condition prevalent here and thus one of my target goals.
The Pacific coast Irises and derivatives of I.douglasiana of course interest me. There again I'm trying out stage one. I've become gradually convinced that my location is considerably more gentle climate wise, than the areas you describe. My area is much less extreme than your place in Placerville. For the time being until I understand their needs, they'll be pot guests. These can be brought inside during hard frost in winter, so at least at the seedling/ young plant stage they can get pampered. Later when my pots are filled with specimens I can let some try out our natural winter conditions. That would be stage 2. Pacific coast Irises have stunning blooms and its breeding is quite advanced. Of course I would love to play that game, if I find that they adapt well to our local garden conditions. Some of those less hardy cultivars could gain hardiness backcrossed with wild clones from the higher altitude Iris douglasiana. Once again a myriad of opportunities untapped!
I'm sure I'll take up your offer as my seasons enfold. When you are ready I will thoroughly enjoy your photos and surely many other questions will come forth. You live in a biodiversity hot-spot that could keep countless horts people busy for decades!
Thank you very much
Arturo
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A few photographs from my outing last week.
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Silene lanciniata ssp. californica near the South Fork of the American River, 3,625 feet (1,105 meters).
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Clarkia seedlings.
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Viola purpurea ssp. integrifolia on crest of Peavine Ridge, 5,125 feet (1,562 meters).
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Lewisia triphylla can be found in seasonally moist sites that bake dry during the summer.
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Catilleja applegatei ssp. pinetorum
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Robert, you are lucky that you can drive to the countryside to study your wildlife. Here, the governments instructions seem to be interpreted different ways by different government organisations. The various Departments statements on the internet are ambiguous so that we don,t know if we are likely to be arrested and fined for driving to the countryside to walk and study our wildlife. On one site it says, don,t drive. On another site it says we can drive for essential reasons, such as shopping or for medication or work. On another site it says we can drive to an area to walk if the driving time to the site is less than the time spent walking at the site. Maybe the instructions are written by lawyers so that a lawyer needs to be employed to understand them?
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Ian,
There's no evidence that says that walking on your own out in the open you are under hazard either to yourself or towards others in reference to COVID19. If so, you wouldn't be breaking any law by doing so. Now then there's small letter writing that of course I don't now about that usually muddles everything up. Generally speaking lawmakers are urban dwellers and rules apply to their urban settings. As soon as one moves to the countryside ( more or less developed, even a small farm like mine), one has no real dangers unless there's direct contact with other (possibly infected) people. This is also a general rule applicable anywhere in the world. I'm blessed to move about inside my farm freely. I wish and hope that I could share that blessing with others...perhaps that type of awareness will make people re-assess their priorities and the movement back to the land regains momentum. I decided that in the mid 80' and I never regretted it a bit! In the beginning of the 20 th century 90% of world's population was rural. In some countries ( like here) its exactly the opposite just now , this achieved within a century. The country was a very wealthy place in the world then. Can it be related to that?. I honestly think so. Nowadays technology is so pervasive that even in the most remote areas one can have access to Internet. Rural life no longer implies a backward life style...
( these are rural musings of a not so restricted but lock-downed farmer/gardener) ;D ;D
Arturo
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Arturo, I read recently that for its size, England is the most densely populated country in the world. It,s getting worse not better.
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Who knows?, perhaps this pandemic might start a new wave of positive redistribution of the world's population. After all New world countries tapped on immigration to build their present demographics. Personally, I wouldn't mind a few new neighbors from abroad at all! My back fence ranch owned by a single family ( of German ascent) is 60000 hectares. It is so big that Bariloche's international airport is completely surrounded by it! The owner's are typical absentee landlords. Their nearest outpost, to my home is at least 700 mts. away and shelters a gaucho cowhand and his family. The rest is just uninhabited open Patagonian steppe with a few range cattle and horses.
( I don't work for any real estate... ;D)
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Ian,
The guidelines for safely and biosecurity concerning the corona virus have been somewhat inconsistent in the USA. As time has progressed the inconsistencies and frustrations of the citizens are increasing. Personally, I have desired to cooperate with the guidelines for the common good of everyone. My personal policy will be to maintain strict biosecurity standards, most likely, well beyond what is being recommended by the various governmental agencies. I am not worried about contracting or dying from the virus, however I feel a strong commitment to keep other people safe and healthy. I do not want others to be harmed by thoughtless or insensitive behavior on my part.
My absence from the Sierra Nevada has been more of a personal choice. I feel sure that I could have continued my activities without upsetting the authorities. However, as stated above, I wish to do my part to ameliorate the difficult situation with the COVID19 virus. I have put this time to good use. For example, I have been working on a 30 to 60 day long-term weather forecasting model. It is a very complicated task (an understatement) and would be best described as a learning tool where I can continually improve and keep active many skills in mathematics and atmospheric science. These are also skills that I use to better understand the plants and ecosystems that I study in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, so there is an application toward botany and horticulture if one wants to pursue these things in this manner. Anyway, I have done my best to make the best of the situation.
More photographs from my outing last week.
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Eriogonum prattenianum var. prattenianum is a xeric species with beautiful gray foliage. The creamy yellow flowers will emerge later in the season.
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Lewisia triphylla is quite ephemeral. They emerge from the ground early in the spring, bloom, set seed and then quickly go dormant until the following spring. At this site, there will not be enough time to study this species in detail this season.
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A unique ecotype of Primula hendersonii is found on Peavine and Telephone Ridges. Unlike many other populations of Primula hendersonii in our area the populations on Peavine and Telephone Ridges are very fertile and set seed most seasons. This ecotype, of course, has other unique characteristics that distinguish them from the type species.
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Sanicula tuberosa is a very common early blooming species in this portion of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
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Viola purpurea ssp. integrifolia is commonly seen on the crest of Peavine Ridge. This species is frequently seen growing in full sun. Heat fluxes in and out of the soil throughout the season are important considerations when attempting to understand the behavior of this subspecies.
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Robert
Your lovely Primula ( Dodecatheon) clevelandii has germinated very well this fall here. They are being kept under cover this winter since I really don't know much about their growing strategies. I would expect that by the time your wild plants set seeds the terrain gradually dries up until most spring plants either go dormant or die ( if annuals) I ask myself if the ease of fall germination is to overcome lack of summer moisture. I expect thus many of your annuals or herbaceous perennials may pass winter at a small seedling state covered by leaf mulch or snow. am I correct?
Eriogonum is another genus that ought to adapt well here....they combine well with xeric Penstemons.
Arturo
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Hi Robert,
I appreciate your consideration of others in curtailing your activities.
It's wonderful to see your flora springing alive again,
cheers
fermi
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(Attachment Link)
Viola purpurea ssp. integrifolia is commonly seen on the crest of Peavine Ridge. This species is frequently seen growing in full sun. Heat fluxes in and out of the soil throughout the season are important considerations when attempting to understand the behavior of this subspecies.
Robert,
It seems this viola grows in volcanic substrate - do I spot this correctly?
Another question is - would you please let me know what heat fluxes in and out of the soil means concerning cultivation of this
tricky species?
Gerd
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Gerd,
To answer your first question, yes, in our region Viola purpurea ssp. integrifolia is found on soils based on andesite, a volcanic igneous type rock. Much of Peavine Ridge consists of an ancient andesite Lhar. Andesite is quite common in our region. In our region, other subspecies of Viola purpurea can be found on soils based on metamorphic rock (such as schist and other metamorphic rocks) and plutonic igneous rock (granodiorite in quite common).
The answer to your second question:
I am attempting to describe the energy flow (heat conduction) through the soil on an annual and diurnal basis and how this impacts the flora. As an example, on Peavine Ridge (~ 5,000 feet, 1,524 meters) during the wintertime (December through March) soil temperatures at 10 cm rarely fall below 37 F (2.8 C). The top 5 cm, or so, can routinely become frozen, especially if there is no snow cover. However, during the winter the conduction of heat 10 cm and below is upward toward the surface. The caudex and dormant buds of some species (such as Viola purpurea ssp. integrifolia) are found at soil depths below 7 cm and are protected from hard freezing temperatures even during times when there is no snow cover.
In the Lyons Creek Basin (~ 6.700 feet, 2,042 meters – the lower end), soil temperatures at 15 cm routinely remain at 32 F (O C) during the wintertime (with snow cover). During periods of time when there is no snow cover, soil temperatures at 15 cm can drop as low as 28 F (-2.2 C) for brief periods of time. Because heat conduction is upward during the winter, these soil temperatures are generally of short duration. Viola purpurea is not found at this elevation.
During the summertime, on Peavine Ridge, soil temperatures at 10 cm can rise as high as 110 F (43.3 C) on a hot sunny afternoon. Needless to say heat conduction is downward during the summer. Temperatures at 15 cm can be as much as 10 F (5.6 C) lower during the same time period, and as one goes deeper the soil temperatures cool further. In addition, during the summer the top 20 to 30 cm of the soil are quite dry. All of this impacts the growth and behavior of the native plants in this region and has applications in our gardens if we wish to succeed in growing these plants. Concerning Viola purpurea and other species, I frequently use a simple dose-response curve to measure the magnitude of the effect soil temperatures have on these species at different elevations and ecosystems. This is helps me determine the optimal soil temperature range during different seasons for species such as Viola purpurea. This turns out to be quite important with many species.
I wish that I had an easier answer to your second question. Believe it or not this is the simple answer. There is actually a considerable amount more that I do.
Arturo,
I do have some comments concerning your questions too. I will gladly get to this as soon as I can however there are a few other things that I need to get done.
Fermi,
I have not forgotten you either! Thank you for the kind remarks. I don not think that I do anything special, but I do hope that it helps a little.
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Robert, thank you for this extensive response.
As you said - this is a simple answer but it is not easy to adapt the conditions in nature to cultivation.
Especially the watering regime during summer will be a challenge.
Gerd
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Robert, it looks like there could be a PhD in your studies.
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Gerd,
I agree 100%, it is not easy to adapt conditions in nature to cultivation, however having a good understanding of conditions in nature can be very helpful toward finding a path toward successful cultivation of difficult species. I attribute my success with Viola sheltonii, to date, to a careful detailed study of their growing conditions in the wild. Growing this species in large tubs has helped ameliorate large swings in the soil temperature, both winter and summer. It has also been helpful in maintaining the proper moisture content of the soil during their dry dormant period during the summer and autumn. Controlling the water content and temperature of the soil during the summer months is vital in controlling microorganisms that frequently destroying the dormant growth buds and cause rot. Controlling rot appears to be more of a function of maintaining a “just” moist water content of the soil rather than drainage. My soil mixture purposely contains clay to achieve this type of moisture management.
Arturo,
Your statement “…many of your annuals and herbaceous perennials may pass the winter at a small seedling state covered by leaf mulch or snow…” is partly correct. At the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada Mountains (mostly the “foothill” region) this general idea applies well. There are always exceptions, but for the most part your idea holds true.
Concerning the timing of germination, as altitude increases the timing of germination also changes. It can be helpful to understand that as altitude increase the number of annual species decreases. At the highest elevations in the Crystal Range annual species are rarely or never seen. Where annuals are found near their altitudinal limit they are always spring germinating. Perennials at the higher altitude are also spring germinating. The vernalization/stratification process is essential for the successful germination of these species.
There are a few annual species that are found in the transition zone between the lower elevation life zones and the higher elevation life zones that will germinate, both, with the autumn rainfall/cooler temperatures and frequently with a delayed germination in the spring as the weather settles considerably. As an example, during the autumn or winter, a percentage of Erythranthe (Mimulus) bicolor, an annual species, seed will germinate and start growth. Frequently, but not always, a new set of seed will germinate after much of the snow and cold weather has ended for the season. This is a great survival strategy. During drought/dry conditions the early set of seedlings are much more likely to flower and set seed. If frost, snow, or other weather conditions destroy the first crop of seedlings, the later germinating seed will frequently survive to produce seed for the next season. I see this repeatedly.
I hope this helps with your understanding of our California native species.
Robert, it looks like there could be a PhD in your studies.
Ian,
Something more like Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek would most likely be more accurate, maybe Michael Faraday. :)
Now for the last of the photographs from last week.
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Ceanothus cuneatus var. cuneatus is at its high altitude limit on Peavine Ridge.
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Ceanothus prostratus var. prostratus is a beautiful mat forming species.
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The deep blue flowering forms of Ceanothus prostratus var. prostratus are especially nice. This species is generally very difficult to cultivate.
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This is a poor photograph, however the tiny flowering Collinsia torreyi var. torreyi is very beautiful when growing at its best.
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Viola sheltonii growing in the shade of Yellow Pine, Pinus ponderosa.
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This leaf of Calochortus minimus is full of anthocyanin. I visit this plant every season and it consistently displays this phenotype characteristic. Later as the weather warms more, the leaf will turn green. So far all of the Calochortus minimus that I have tested for anthocyanin contain some level of this substance, however the plant pictured is very unusual with this degree of concentration.
Also pictured are newly emerging plants of Viola purpurea ssp. integrifolia.
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A nice view of the Telephone Ridge and the canyon of the South Fork of the American River in the distance.
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Regrettably, I have been delayed getting out to do field work. Hopefully, I will be out in 10 days or so.
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I was able to visit the Sierra Nevada Mountains this week and have some nice photographs. I will share a few as I can in the following week or so.
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Still quite a lot of snow about!
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We have a very worrisome situation in our part of California. National Guard troops with loaded weapons on our streets, police helicopters, sirens, violence and chaos. I have never seen anything like this in my life! Needless to say no postings. We are safe, at least at this time.
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I was out again yesterday. Spring is in full swing in the mountains.
Nemophila maculata is in full bloom.
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Hesperochiron pumilus, a member of the Boraginaceae, is found in moist meadows.
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Viola bakeri (pictured) and Viola purpurea ssp. purpurea can be found, at times, in the same general area, however the two species occupy two separate and distinct habitat niches.
I still have photographs to share from my previous outing. Currently, I am participating in additional ecological projects where my attention is needed. I will do the best that I can is to post a few photographs on a regular basis.
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I was out in the Sierra Nevada Mountains for part of the day today.
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This is the annual Phacelia quickii in full bloom among granodiorite rocks. This is a very hot and dry environment.
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This is another annual, Diplacus torreyi. This species has a number of genetic markers that are helpful in understanding how plants are responding to changing variables, such as temperature, in their environment.
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Poa secunda ssp. secunda (pictured) is blooming throughout this site. Stipa occidentalis var. californica will be in full bloom in about 7 to 10 days.
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Here are a few more photographs from my last outing.
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This specimen of Calochortus leichtlinii has emerged through a colony of Sedum obtusatum ssp. obtusatum.
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Calyptridium monospermum is a very common species in our area. This xeric species is quite showy when in bloom.
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Castilleja pruinosa, is quite showy when in bloom. This species is only locally abundant in selected locations in our area.
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The tiny annual Hemizonella minima grows abundantly in dry sunny locations.
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Pellaea bridgesii is a common rock fern is our area. It is found predominantly at the higher elevations.
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Senecio integerrimus var. major is an early blooming species and is distinctively hairy.
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The annual Nemophila maculata can frequently be found growing in large stands that are extremely showy.
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This leaves of this specimen of Eriogonum nudum are still tinted red from abundant anthocyanin in the leaves. This is a very common feature of high elevation alpine plants.
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I occasionally encounter fairly large colonies of the annual Diplacus torreyi. Such colonies are very beautiful when in full bloom.
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This pond was created at the site of an old logging deck. The site was barren with little or no vegetation. Now it is a thriving habitat for many life forms.
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deliberately created? Will it have water in it all summer?
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Diane, I doubt that the loggers ever thought of generating a summer or even perhaps late spring pond. But unless the loggers had entered the area, it would not have existed at all. This photo of Robert actually shows some interesting sides of human intervention.As a former officer for conservation with our national parks, I was frequently faced with similar situations. The initial damage was done and loggers no longer kept an interest in the forest. Then ecological re-establishment would start. Not necessarily to the primeval condition though. A new set of habitats. Is this bad?: Difficult to make generalized statements. Sometimes actually it may mean the appearance of new niches and species that could easily disappear as consequence of fragmentation of ecosystems. Other times barren spots stay so for "ever???". Sometimes public pressure asks for human intervention with the purpose of restoring towards...??? Can it be achieved? not always. In spite of increased understanding of how (in this case) temperate forest ecosystems operate, we are still in the infancy of its knowledge. By collecting a wealth of natural data, Robert is providing the base material for systems ecologists as well as plant population biologists to have historical information side by side.
Arturo
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Hi Diane,
A detailed evaluation of this project is years away. Arturo covered many important points with his posting. I will add a few details that will hopefully provide more clarity.
This site was originally a private land holding dating back to at least the 1870’s maybe a bit earlier. The primary use at this site was livestock grazing. There is a second, much older, pond on this site that may, or may not, be man made. The land was sold to the U.S. Forest Service fairly recently (i.e. it became public land). Prior to the sale, the land was logged extensively during the 1990’s. The pond site pictured was one of several logging deck left behind by the loggers. During the ensuing years this logging deck was used by off-road vehicles as a playground for their activities. When I visited this site before the restoration work started the “pond” was a lifeless mud hole during the spring/early summer, and a dry barren lifeless depression during the late summer/autumn. The U.S. Forest Service has done a great job excluding the off-road vehicles. In addition, the Forest Service built a simple check dam using a few small logs to help the depression hold water/control water flow during the spring/early summer. This is the third year of this project and many life forms are returning to this formerly barren site.
Yes, the pond is dry, mid-summer into the autumn. The last I heard, additional alterations are going to be made to improve the overall hydrology at this site. As Arturo stated, depending on how these projects are undertaken, it can be debatable whether the projects should proceed as they are currently designed. From my perspective, some aspects of the project are imperative, others questionable. This site is a botanical “hot-spot”. From my perspective this diversity needs to be preserved. I have started a genetic survey of a number of species at this site and the preliminary data is extremely revealing. I certainly hope that any additional efforts to “restore”/alter this site take into consideration the unique genetic biodiversity of this site.
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The difficulty underlying how to operate with restoration projects is that we know so little of how does the ecosystem react to climatic change. In my youth, when I was a student of ecology, it was a common place fact that climate is more or less stable. Therefore ecological succession will occur once the disturbing factor is eliminated. ( in this case logging) . Time has passed and factually one finds that it almost never holds true. Now that we know much more about climate and its changing patterns, it is highly probable that the theory of ecological succession is untenable and not supported by facts. This derives into two different aspects. First, every primeval piece of native ecosystem ( in this case temperate forest) ought to be preserved from any further intervention. Far too much has already been altered to justify further degradation. Those are pocket remnants from which the basic genetic material can be retrieved. Second, the concept of restoration ought to shift from ecosystem restoration towards restoration of biological diversity. That is where population ecology jumps in. I'm glad that Robert recognizes that pond as a botanical hot spot. Both levels, ecosystems and populations ( and there's a third intermediate level that should be also considered that is community ecology) are liable to climate change. That is why I greatly value Robert's work when he is trying by all means to collect climatic data in such a detailed way, associated to the different plant species that he is using as indicators.
Arturo
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I would like to clarify a bit further from my last posting.
The site as a whole is a botanical “hot spot”, a blending of flora from lower, middle, and higher elevation life zones. Species generally associated with lower elevation life zones can be found with species generally associated with higher elevation life zones. It is a very unique situation occupying a relatively small area, at most a few square kilometers.
Currently, only a few plant species occupy the logging deck pond site, Juncus saximontanus (6 stamens), Scripus diffusa, and Hosackia oblongifolia var. oblongifolia. The much older pond is ringed with Carex vesicaria. There are scattered stands of Juncus occidentalis. The flooded bed of the pond is carpeted with Potentilla flabellifolia, which emerges when the water evaporates or drains away later in the season. Potentilla flabellifolia can be a strong indicator species and is frequently associated with stable unmanaged systems. I am strongly suspicious that the lower pond may be a natural pond, however other factors need to be taken into consideration. Whatever the case, it is certainly a much older pond with a completely different mix of plant species.
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Severe thunderstorms developing over the Crystal Range.
For the first time in over a month I was able to visit Peavine Ridge and down load data. I missed the bulk of the wildflowers this season but, as always, there were interesting things to see. I found a small group of Erigeron inornatus in bloom near a path I have been traveling for years. It is amazing that I missed this species, especial sense I have a long running detailed phenology of the species at this site. Oh well, I am glad I spotted the plants. :)
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Glad you are back in business, Robert!
I like thunderstorms :)
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Fun to see the species there, and interesting to hear details of projects etc.
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Hi Trond,
I will be a bit slow getting back into things. Dealing with the current situation in the U.S.A. is overwhelming, at least for me. There is so much that I have fallen behind on, and many challenges getting important things done. It is important that I understand my limitations and priorities.
Cohan,
Thank you for the comments. Much of what I am doing right now deals with how plants are responding to various atmospheric variables and creating atmospheric models. This is most likely not very interesting to readers of this diary. For this diary, I will stick to plant and landscape photographs unless someone expresses an interest in these topics.
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There has been monsoonal thunderstorm activity near the crest of the Sierra Nevada during the past week. This view to the west shows the clear, cloudless skies that prevail over the Central Valley of California during the morning and early afternoon hours of each day. Late in the day, high-level, mostly glaciated, cloudiness from the mountain thunderstorms often moves over the lower foothill region.
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Most sites are extremely dry in the mid-elevations of the Sierra Nevada (+ or – 5,000 feet). Pictured are the dried remains of Navarretia prolifera ssp. lutea.
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There were a few remaining plants of Navarretia leptalea ssp. leptalea with enough life to bloom.
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Drought induced senescence has set in with the rock fern Aspidotis densa.
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Lessingia leptoclada is a late blooming xeric annual. I have first generation plants established in our garden. I look forward to creating an improved line of this species with improved performance under garden conditions.
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There were a few plants of Pyrola picta blooming in the shade of a grove of tall Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi).
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Robert, Of the many variables I tend to overlook, there's one that I'm becoming more and more interested in: the topographical gradient; how steep is the inclination of the soil. This may be possibly the explanation of success or failure of many potential rock garden species. With important angles of inclination most of the water simply runs off with little infiltration and much less possibility of creating water logging. As my Lewisias have reached the size of planting outside I'm now growing then on slanted trays so that they are ready to be placed outside as if already growing slanted. We have had a very rainy/snowy winter this season and all indicates that it will continue so.
This could also explain the existence of xeric herbaceous species within the cover of bushes and trees. As we have exchanged before, I'm very interested in the microclimates where your wild species grow. Rain shadows is one, the sunny/shade position is another, now I,m adding this dimension. As I look my potted Penstemons, most are from rugged terrain. Imo all of them are garden worthy...I'm just too partial...Now growing them on is still a mystery although climatically my local variables seem to match quite well with the original sites. Some species seem to have a much wider ecological niche than others. Discovering these is part of the fascination of growing wild flowers that share so many members of this club.
Arturo
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Arturo,
This all sounds great. Keep us posted as to your findings!
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Robert-- the details of your studies might be a bit heavy for average readers, but it does sound like very interesting and important work in the overall implications... Fascinating to see those dry places.. my climate does not sound all that wet on paper, but since much of the precip comes in the growing season, and my average temps are not high, the net effect is much less dry ( and this year is wet, I haven't even watered seed pots all season-- just a few cuttings a few times).
Arturo-- examination of those microclimate issues is very interesting.. I think for the results to be really applicable, we also need to think about numbers of individual plants-- I try to plant out multiple seedlings when possible, since there is no information in general for growing non mainstream plants in my local climate and conditions, and less commonly grown plants often have little data of any kind available. That said, I've often said that I find plants will thrive in one bed and not in another that does not seem much different-- indeed there could be some really minor detail that is different, but also I think it can be individual plants-- eg you might see a stand of native trees here, and one or another may die in any given year, for no really obvious reason, and certainly not situational. So I guess you'd want several or more plants of each species planted in each site to get a better comparison.
As for Xeric and alpine plants, I've found by accident that certain plants will thrive better or remain smaller (this may or may not be 'natural' for the species, but may remind us more of how they *often* look in habitat) when soils are thin-- eg rock garden sections I've built (think moraine, rather than crevice) with rock, clayey loam and gravel where the soil component is never deep or uninterrupted by stone. Combined with slope, as you say, this could be helpful for plants which do not wish to be too waterlogged. I'd expect these shallower soils to have different heating profiles, and likely a different soil micro biota, besides moisture differences.
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Thank you Cohan for your input. I find growing wild plants a fascinating challenge. I live far too away from an ideal garden environment. My surroundings are barren steppe or brush covered terraces where invasive Rosa eglanteria has taken over. I do have a fairly consistent Mediterranean type regular summer drought and I have two types of soils on my small farm. One is a very poor almost pure sandy type and the other is also quite poor but silted up water logged ( only in winter- now) bottom land. This second type has some clay to it. I do have some areas where the underlying glacial moraine is close to the surface. There I can quarry for rocks and scree.
Around my house I have created risen beds with a mixture of my soils plus leaf mould and manure. I've added also clay that I've found while excavating a well. Somehow that is the closest I can get for a conventional garden soil. There I grow my roses, dahlias daylilies etc. My interest of trying out with wildflowers is aimed at creating gardens beyond the limitations of a conventional garden for areas that will have to accept little or no modification of the growing conditions. Plants that actually prefer poor soils are one of my goals. Penstemons, I recently heard from Kenton Seth, actually detest organic compost.: ideal! My Lewisias seem to love the recent volcanic sand that blew over our town from an eruption of the Puyehue volcano about 8 years ago.I've got places with 2 cm of it. Except in the water logged area I never had drainage issues, even this winter that is the wettest that I remember.
So this leads to another type of garden that my environment is particularly suited: the rock garden. I live in a fairly high elevation: above 800 mts asl. This also implies that my summer temps are cool in daytime, much more in the evenings. I should be able to grow alpines without too much worry about summer temperatures. Winters are not too cold because of my proximity to the Pacific ocean. Thus using the USDA hardiness zones I would qualify to something near zone 8.
My interest in the flora of California stems through comparison. That said at a first glance. But then comes sorting that information into practical procedures. Challenges appear at each corner. Like you so sharply pointed out, there's little or no information about growing species that are close to wild. Of course none from local sources. I'm an innovator in that sense. I do grow as many replicates as they happen to decide to grow. Then I also save seeds of those that have done well, so as to ensure the continuity of the species. By doing so I'm also making gradual garden selections that are adapted to my environment. Perhaps because of my botanical interest, I chose to study by Genus. I try to grow as many species within a genus ( ie: Penstemon, Lewisia, Aquilegia, Primula etc.)that I can lay my hands on and see which perform well here. I've organized my gardens in such a way that each represents some of my main ecotypes. For the waterlogged areas I'm thinking a bog garden with Irises, Primulas, and other wet loving species. The other drier parts a dry meadow garden and a moist meadow garden. Likewise with the rock garden: dry and moist. After 30 years of permanent growing things, my trees have reached sizeable proportions. Now I can consider a shade/forest garden both moist and dry. I hope this explains the breadth of my ( ever expanding) interests and projects... ;D
Arturo
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Arturo:
I visited San Carlos de Bariloche many years ago as part of a soccer tour with a famous American soccer team composed of mostly foreigners.
I'd love to see some images of your surroundings.
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Arnold, I'm just now in the midst of winter weather. Soon some images will follow. In fact they will show how close they are to some images posted by Robert. Most of my implanted trees are from that floristic region. They grow very well here. When I first bought my place it had just a few saplings growing hidden in my rose covered brambles. The cows had no access. When the bramble was removed they grew and became full sized trees. They are Maytenus boaria which is a natural native tree. That shows that my place was in the recent past an ecotone area between the forested west and open barren steppe on the east. My place lies closer to the eastern end. Perhaps you recall arriving to the open grassland surrounding the airport. I'm about half way between the airport and downtown. The only other native tree in my zone, called radal,(Lomatia hirsuta), a proteaceae relict from the ancient southern Gondwana continent!.Unfortunately large trees have been logged for its very beautiful grained wood used in cabinet furniture. There used to be a single specimen in my neighbor's land just beyond my fence. Both species are evergreen. I let those trees grow if they appear. However to generate the woodland aspect I need to incorporate both native and introduced species. I've discovered how well adapted is the genus Abies (firs) to my place so I've started an Abies collection. Hopefully some day I may end up with the full species spectrum of the genus growing here. One should bear in mind that my property is not that of an urban scale. There's room to play with trees... :). I've got two beautiful Quercus kelloggii that have originated from California. Now I've got a few more seedlings thanks to Robert's remittance of acorns. 8)
Arturo
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Arturo, fun projects for sure-- building habitats/ utilising (and creating) microclimates is the most fun part of gardening for me :) looking forward to pictures-- you will have to start your own thread with your projects, if you have not already.
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Cohan thank you...I've been pondering about a new thread with my various projects. I haven't reached that stage yet, but I suspect I will. Taking pictures is also fun if one has the available (internal) time for them. Different readers from different sources are nicely prompting me to do so. But still I'm way behind the actual work.... :-\
Arturo
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Robert-- the details of your studies might be a bit heavy for average readers, but it does sound like very interesting and important work in the overall implications...
Cohan,
This is a common complaint I hear even when talking with my neighbors about our garden here in Sacramento, California. I know that I have a lot of enthusiasm about my projects but clearly I need to tone things way back. When I get back to the Sierra Nevada I will try the photographs only method of posting and skip all my long winded stuff that is only of interest to me. :)
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Dear Robert - it may be that some of your musings, discussions and project details are found "heavy" by some readers - but I would remind you that it is perfectly possible for those people either to miss out this thread completely, or just enjoy the photos. It would be a great shame if those for whom your entire posts are of interest were to be deprived of the information contained therein.
8)
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Dear Robert - it may be that some of your musings, discussions and project details are found "heavy" by some readers - but I would remind you that it is perfectly possible for those people either to miss out this thread completely, or just enjoy the photos. It would be a great shame if those for whom your entire posts are of interest were to be deprived of the information contained therein.
8)
Robert, I would like to say that I agree fully with the lines above. Your contributions here are an endless source of information
which I won't miss.
Gerd
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From what I've understood with Robert's interest in climate at a macro dimension, it has made me think about my arboricultural endeavors. Trees take a long time to grow. Some of my firs ( Abies) only start producing cones after 15 or more years and only after attaining full height. My Abies grandis were planted in 1990 and I've had cones only in the past three years. This year I've harvested some seeds. I still have to find out whether they are viable.Local understory bamboo ( Chusquea couleou) which I have growing here is a monocarpic species that blooms every 20 or more years. No one has figured out what triggers that. Suddenly, dense understory dissappears and new niches appear. Mice heaven in one season and...a local viral endemic hanta virus epidemic...Bringing in the long term is a must and understanding its impact is mandatory.
Thanks to people that bring in other interests our understanding of systems improves. Even if some of what Robert writes elludes my understanding, I'm very relieved to see that he continues to study and report. Surely some others will understand what I didn't. It would be a pity to level downwards... :(
Arturo
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Robert, I agree with the recent comments about you continuing to inform us of your work. I am not in the least an academic (we were not allowed to take the most basic exam at our school) but the message of what you are achieving is clear. Keep at it.
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Robert,
I think you should write what you think is interesting for yourself! Some people will read it and some will not. And many will read some of it!
I am very impressed by what you do and mostly at your own too.
I read your comments but I don't comment always :)
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Maggi,
Thank you for the valuable admonition. All the comments are well taken, including those of Cohan. I sincerely believe that discussion of plant physiology and plant response to atmospheric and other environmental variables is invaluable toward a better understanding of the plant species that we cultivate in our gardens and is part of the key to unlocking the potential of many little used or difficult to grow species. It will be several more weeks until I am back out in the field again. I will continue my postings along these lines, minus a few things. A discussion of how I am using wind field kinematics is not likely to produce much interest. I will attempt to use good judgment, but please forgive me if my enthusiasm gets the best of me from time-to-time.
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Yes indeed, Robert, as others have assured you, it would be a shame to lose out on potential insights and the sharing of information in order to aim for 'average' interests ( I certainly would never suggest you do that, simply observed that many may not read or care about details, but they would never be your real audience). I always want conversation, connection and education from my online activities, and while there are many sites that focus only or mainly on photo sharing-- lovely and all, I always feel disappointed/frustrated when there is no explanation or discussion. Some days one may simply have a batch of photos which add to an ongoing series of words and images, but the overall project/thread/blog is much richer for having all the detail which you are noticing and feel is relevant.
This detail makes your thread a potentially valuable reference for some, and who knows what bits of interest or utility any other reader may find? :)
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Cohan.
All your comments are well taken! 8)
I have been in the process of reevaluating my diary and finding a better way to proceed. I “dodged a bullet” with my recent hospital experience. I see the need to reestablish balance and practice health. Progressing with my diary, minus some of the items pertaining to atmospheric science, is my desire. I like using the “Flowers and Foliage Now” – Northern Hemisphere to discuss progress with my tinkering with plants.
Currently Jasmin and I are settling back into our house. I hope remodeling is done forever! :P Outside, I am preparing the garden for the 2021 season – yes, a bit early, but many of the borders are in much need of work and are “devoid of flowers” as Monet would say concerning his garden at Giverny. We are also starting into a heat wave. Daily high temperatures have been about 100 F (37.8 C), however 112 F (44.4 C) has been forecasted by Tuesday. At this time the heat wave looks as if it will last 10 days or so. Time to get out into the garden and water.
Hopefully I will be out in the field again by the end of August.
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That's a heatwave, alright! We have Sun -Tues forecast at 29, 30, 27C which would tie our hottest for the year, (though last time we had a few nights at 13-15C and this time nothing over 11) and be the second longest stretch of 'hot' days ;) it's possible it may not even rain for several days, but I'll believe it when it happens...lol
If you can get beds ready for next season now, you are well ahead of the game :) My weeding currently is more like hacking through the jungle....lol
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Cohan.
Interesting weather report. Thank you for sharing the information.
Our hot weather is just getting started. Yesterday’s high was 102 F (38.9 C) and the low was 73 F (22.8 C). Not exactly good sleeping weather. So far the garden is holding up well, but the worst of the heat is yet to come. Fortunately our Sacramento home is close to the Sacramento River and high temperatures tend to run 5 F (2.8 C) cooler than surrounding locations a mile or two more distant from the river. Our only rain might be in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There is strong subtropical moisture advection in our region. Precipitalble water values are running over 1 inch in many locations and mid-level lapse rates are fairly high over the mountains. We will see what happens, especially if the 4-Corners High shifts westward.
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Sounds like some potentially dramatic weather! and not great for sleeping indeed... The highest likely overnight here is 16C/60F and that happens at most once or twice a year, usually.. this year we had those several days in the 13-15C overnight range, and no more forecast.. our highest this week now is 10C/50F and that is not on the warmest days... we've already been very near the freezing mark a few times..
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Robert,
Seems your hot and dry weather also generate wildfires, as usual. It's in the news here.
We had a nice June, then July came with cold weather and much rain. August has been better with nice, warm weather, although not record breaking. Unfortunately we have some fog at the outer coast, but a few miles inland they have close to 30C these days.
The electric power is very cheap now as the reservoirs are filled almost to the brim, some also above! This is caused by all the rain in July and the late snowmelt.
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Our weather continues to be unpredictable. The extreme heat is predictable, however the continued surges of subtropical moisture have been difficult for me to predict. My forecasting analysis continues to show the upper level low located at 53 N – 146 W and its accompanying tough to weaken and move northeastward. This is not happening or has not happened yet. This morning, at 1200 Z, the 4-corners high was located at 40 N – 114 W and was continuing to drive subtropical moisture northward into California. Last night at 12:30 am, local time, a line of thunderstorms moved through our area. We recorded only 0.03 inches (0.76 mm) of precipitation at our home. it was impossible to sleep with the humid air (humid relative to California) and high nighttime temperatures. The garden is almost devoid of plants now. The heat appears like it will continue for another 7 days or more. At 4:00 pm in the afternoon, local time, it appears as if more thunderstorms may develop.
Cohan,
We have no shortage of weeds. It seems to be a common dilemma.
When I was looking at the 0600 Z northern hemisphere 300 mb map this morning it appeared that strong high pressure was building in the direction of your region of Canada. Is the weather currently drier and warmer than it has been?
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Hi Trond,
Here are a few things that I would like to add pertaining to my last posting.
Here in our region of California, June and July both had average temperatures for the month. During the first 7 days of August we experienced much below average temperatures. This abruptly changed and now the average temperature for the month of August is running much above average.
I enjoy your weather – climatic reports. I always find them interesting. 8)
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Yesterday a low pressure system passed us. We got a lot of rain here in the mountains but not extraordinary. At my summerhouse they got 10 mm rain the whole day but a town nearby got >64mm in one hour! That's new all time record for Norway.
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it was impossible to sleep with the humid air (humid relative to California) and high nighttime temperatures. The garden is almost devoid of plants now. The heat appears like it will continue for another 7 days or more. At 4:00 pm in the afternoon, local time, it appears as if more thunderstorms may develop.
Cohan,
We have no shortage of weeds. It seems to be a common dilemma.
When I was looking at the 0600 Z northern hemisphere 300 mb map this morning it appeared that strong high pressure was building in the direction of your region of Canada. Is the weather currently drier and warmer than it has been?
Robert-- how humid is humid for you? Humidity is usually quite high here-- 50% to 70.80. often, and usually at 100% in the wee hours-dew in summer, frost in the colder seasons, more days than not. Of course when it is not really hot, it is less of an issue-- though there are usually a few sticky hours on warm afternoons.
We did have some warm days- the 16th to 18th were in the 29-32C 84-90F range days, but only one night over 10C/50F, and we had a few rainless days...lol Currently a mild thunderstorm with a fair bit of rain this morning-- long time since we've had a morning thunderstorm, since they usually form in the foothills west of here and drift eastward, so late afternoon is a more usual start time.
Always interesting to think of places with reversed growing season-- i.e. growing in the cool time of year rather than summer, here of course it is a short compressed season (though natives/alpines etc are in growth far longer than the frost free season), but we have no mid-summer slow down, and winter nothing grows except indoors!
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Yesterday a low pressure system passed us. We got a lot of rain here in the mountains but not extraordinary. At my summerhouse they got 10 mm rain the whole day but a town nearby got >64mm in one hour! That's new all time record for Norway.
Trond,
This is a very interesting tidbit of extreme weather data.
Here in California, the smoke is slowly clearing. I have been working on a very simplistic long-term weather model. This model extends out 30 to 60 days. Hopefully it will eventually prove to be effective in providing generalized long-term forecasts (30 to 60 days). Currently, this model is suggesting dry, below average precipitation, well into November and consistently above average temperatures for our region. This is all very experimental. In theory, such a simple model should not work, however I frequently think that the current complex dynamic-numerical models are too complex and frequently create their own errors in their attempt towards exactness. I am hoping that my much more generalized approach will provide accurate tendencies toward temperatures and precipitation. Precipitation amounts, even generalized, are much more difficult to forecast than temperature. I will see how this develops.
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Interesting Robert!
Do you use only "fresh data" in your model or do you also use historic data and old statistics?
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Precipitation amounts, even generalized, are much more difficult to forecast than temperature. I will see how this develops.
It will be interesting to hear how this goes, not great news for Cali if you are correct... certainly here precipitation forecasts by Environment Canada are iffy at best, much of the time.. we often see that there is a forecast several days out, and it will change multiple times as the date gets closer, often ending up back where it was originally forecast when the day comes-- or the forecast remains changed, but the actual weather matches the original forecast.... of course in thunderstorm season, it is impossible to predict precip amounts, since you can know there will be storms in the area, but no idea where they will hit, and it can be a downpour in one spot and nothing a half mile away..
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I have become a weather wizard locally out of need... Not even the various website predictors match amongst themselves when it comes to what actually happens on my property...Interestingly I can view Mt. Tronador from it, the highest peak around right on the border with Chile. The local natives ( Mapuches) viewed it and if there were clouds gathering around the summit, that meant invariable foul weather the next 24/48 hours. The shape of the clouds could indicate just a windstorm. Locally lenticular clouds (lentil shaped) indicate with about 24 hours notice imminent windstorms. Windstorms are mostly from the west, north-west. After wind we get some precipitation in spring-winter either rain or snow depending on the temperatures.
So my present weather savvy, is the most bizarre combination of predictive methods. ;D of which AccuWeather, WindGuru, Wunderground and Servicio Meteorológico Nacional are the Internet prediction providers. Every morning at breakfast we make the local assessment. We are progressing ( me after 30 years). We more or less guess right about 70% of the times... ;D
Arturo
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......
Every morning at breakfast we make the local assessment. We are progressing ( me after 30 years). We more or less guess right about 70% of the times... ;D
Arturo
Arturo, if you just say "the weather will be the same tomorrow as it is today" you'll be right almost 70% of the time - at least here!
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It started clear skied sunny this morning, now a haze is covering the sky, very faint and high cirrhus. Could we get rain later? Perhaps...now its too calm. No precipitation predicted in Wunderground, but yes cloudy....Once the day is over I can describe the historical facts... ;D
Arturo
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Interesting Robert!
Do you use only "fresh data" in your model or do you also use historic data and old statistics?
Trond,
It is my understanding that statistical averaging is most commonly used to forecast seasonal outlooks – out 30 days or more – at least here in the U.S.A. I do not use this method. I use an average as a starting point and then use inputs (questions) to derive rates of change with upper and lower limits. The upper and lower limits need to be within reasonable statistical parameters, however I am not using statistical averages to determine the rate of change.
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Robert-- how humid is humid for you? Humidity is usually quite high here-- 50% to 70.80. often, and usually at 100% in the wee hours-dew in summer, frost in the colder seasons, more days than not. Of course when it is not really hot, it is less of an issue-- though there are usually a few sticky hours on warm afternoons.
Cohan,
You raise some interesting inquiries. I do have some answers. I will get back to this shortly.
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The local natives ( Mapuches) viewed it and if there were clouds gathering around the summit, that meant invariable foul weather the next 24/48 hours. The shape of the clouds could indicate just a windstorm. Locally lenticular clouds (lentil shaped) indicate with about 24 hours notice imminent windstorms. Windstorms are mostly from the west, north-west. . ;D
Arturo
Arturo,
I get very excited when I see lenticular clouds, or cloud formations created by gravitational waves. I guess I am just some sort of science nerd. ;D Yes, lenticular clouds are generally formed when a stable air mass is forced over mountains, generally by strong winds. When the air mass is forced over the mountains the air parcels reach the LCL near the crest and cloud formation takes place. When the air parcels sink after crossing the mountains a wave pattern is frequently created (gravitational waves). Parallel rows of clouds are frequently seen as the air parcels reach the LCL at the crest of each wave. Sometimes other clouds formations can be seen from the turbulence created on the lee side of the mountains. This is very cool stuff. 8) The neighbors think that I am crazy when I point out and get excited about cloud formations crated by gravitational waves. :P Thank you for sharing.
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Cohan,
I looked over the data from my data recorder at our Sacramento home. These are some relative humidity, temperature, and dew point readings from 17 and 18 August:
17th - 2:00 pm RH 31%, T 101 F (38.3 C), Td 65 F (18.3 C)
5:00 pm RH 37%, T 96 F (35.6 C), Td 65 F (18.3 C)
Midnight RH 46%, T 85 F (29.4 C), Td 62F (16.7 C)
18th - 3:00 pm RH 31%, T 102 F (38.9 C), Td 65 F (18.3 C)
5:00 pm RH 34%, T 100 F (37.8 C), Td 67 F (19.4 C)
If you are interested, you can use the Ideal Gas Equation, plus or minus, some other calculations to determine the exact amount of water vapor in the air, but this does not make sleeping in this type of weather any easier. ;D
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Cohan,
I looked over the data from my data recorder at our Sacramento home. These are some relative humidity, temperature, and dew point readings from 17 and 18 August:
17th - 2:00 pm RH 31%, T 101 F (38.3 C), Td 65 F (18.3 C)
5:00 pm RH 37%, T 96 F (35.6 C), Td 65 F (18.3 C)
Midnight RH 46%, T 85 F (29.4 C), Td 62F (16.7 C)
18th - 3:00 pm RH 31%, T 102 F (38.9 C), Td 65 F (18.3 C)
5:00 pm RH 34%, T 100 F (37.8 C), Td 67 F (19.4 C)
If you are interested, you can use the Ideal Gas Equation, plus or minus, some other calculations to determine the exact amount of water vapor in the air, but this does not make sleeping in this type of weather any easier. ;D
Those are some warm temperatures for night-- wouldn't take much humidity to further reduce the body's ability to cool off :( Today is supposed to be mostly cloudy, this morning was cool and windy, only around 16C/60F at noon... we've had frost warnings and I'll need to start cutting firewood very soon- though some drier weather would help.. (I usually like to wait till most of the wasps have died off, to minimise the risk of disturbing nests when dropping dead trees or moving fallen ones!though they weren't numerous this year...)
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cohan, I wonder if by any chance you are talking about Vespula germanica ( the yellow jacket) which has been introduced here a century ago and have become a real nuisance here specially the latter part of summer and all autumn until hard frosts kill adults. I'm also curious if anyone has found climate correlates with these varmints. We have years when they are more plentiful.
Arturo
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Hi Arturo-- I'm no expert on the species, but we have a number, all natives as far as I know (here is one reference: http://www.insectsofalberta.com/wasps.htm we have for sure the big bald faced hornets, and one, probably more species of yellow jackets, since we have both ground and arboreal dwellers, besides many types of tiny -even inconspicuous wasps), and I do not consider any of them to be pests here, since they are natural to this environment, and do important work in controlling other insects, pollinating etc. I don't find any of them to be aggressive or bothersome, I think people who are trying to eat outdoors have more problems, or sitting about with sweet beverages that the wasps like--I don't generally do those things, other than eating berries and fruit when it is ripe- but that does not involve having the food stationary to attract wasps, and my coffee or tea is in a thermos with little or no sweetener, and not sitting open...lol I also feel (based on people complaining) that wasps may be more aggressive in urban settings-- something to with territories or population pressures? Last year (year before?) we had a dryish/warm spell in mid to late summer and a terrific population of wasps, bees, etc-- you could hear a buzzing just going into the yard in many places, without really seeing anything particular. I had water out for birds, and I always make sure to have sticks/stones etc in the water so insects can also use it and get out, but I felt I needed more for the insects at that time. I put flat bucket lids on the ground in a few places near garden beds, and put water on them when I was outside-- this was very shallow, so the insects could take water and walk back out, no risk of drowning. These lids were very busy in that weather, bees, butterflies, but wasps above all. At times I was kneeling on the ground weeding rock gardens, with a lid right by my feet, I was never bothered by the wasps which were there in good numbers.
In this climate, there are absolutely weather correlations to population, I don't know if there are also other factors involved, but they definitely prefer warmer, drier years-- I would guess that may be especially important early in the year when colonies are establishing, but it may be important later on too.
When I mention being hesitant to disturb nests, that is obviously when they could be upset-- the only times I have been stung since moving back in 2007 were once when I surprised a nest in a hole in the ground , and once when I moved an old lawn mower that I did not realise had a nest under! I was only stung once or twice each time, they did not pursue very far.. I've been more careful since then ;)
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Cohan,
I thought you were afraid of disturbing the nests of solitary wasps! Not afraid of being stung of course but afraid of killing their larvae.
Arturo,
Vespula germanica wasn't seen in Norway for many decades. Now it is back but I haven't heard people are bothered by it - not more than by other stinging wasps.
Robert,
I think I wouldn't have slept much with night temperatures above 20C! When we had close to 30C at daytime (18-20 at night) earlier this summer I was glad I could just take a bath in the sea when I wanted! (The sea was 20-22C) :)
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Trond,
Right now our main issue is the thick smoke - day and night, day-after-day. :P The smoke impacts the garden plants. For example, the pole beans are covered with spider mites. I think that there are more spider mites than foliage. Beans are not the only plants impacted by the smoke. I see no end to the smoke and hot weather appears to be pending. Maybe we can get some of the rain that David Nicholson wrote about in his recent posting. It would be welcome here and would help put out the forest fires.
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Cohan,
I thought you were afraid of disturbing the nests of solitary wasps! Not afraid of being stung of course but afraid of killing their larvae.
It is always a concern when digging especially in piles of soil or other materials, that I might be disturbing some creatures, but nearly impossible to predict :( I do now try to finish any soil work before it gets very cold, since I have occasionally run into hibernating frogs-- I try to put them back, but who knows if I get it right? so I try to be done earlier...
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Trond,
Right now our main issue is the thick smoke - day and night, day-after-day. :P The smoke impacts the garden plants. For example, the pole beans are covered with spider mites. I think that there are more spider mites than foliage. Beans are not the only plants impacted by the smoke. I see no end to the smoke and hot weather appears to be pending. Maybe we can get some of the rain that David Nicholson wrote about in his recent posting. It would be welcome here and would help put out the forest fires.
Must be tough to have that much smoke on an ongoing basis! We've had some very smoky spells in recent years with fires in Alberta and B.C. though nowhere near, but I don't think any lasted so long as to have a major impact on plants! This year was wet in much of AB and B.C. so there has been no smoke to date... I guess there are some fires now in B.C...
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This is my first day out in the field in many weeks. The smoke is not too bad here in the higher terrain. I just checked the data logger. 66 F at 8 am on Peavine Ridge, elevation 5,125 feet. It is so very dry this season. Most of the plant ID is via dried remains. I will be off to Lyons Creek after finishing my work here on Peavine Ridge.
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Robert,
Hope you get some decent rain soon but it doesn't look like you will for a while. We have been spared wildfires this summer as July mostly have been wet. Most glaciers have gained mass this summer, the first time for many, many years. What has fallen as rain in the lowland has fallen as snow at the peaks and highest parts of the glaciers.
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Hi Trond,
We had one fairly smoke free day two days ago (27 August), now the sky is filled with dense smoke again. I heard that this August has been the warmest on record. My records do not indicate this, but still this August has been very warm with well above average temperatures, both high and low temperatures.
Traditionally cooler weather arrives about 15 September. The rainfall season traditionally gets started on average about 15 October. Cooler temperatures will be welcome and clearly some rainfall, minus any thunderstorm activity (the lightning just starts more wildfires).
I have some nice photographs from my last outing. Right now work is demanding, however I will get the photographs labeled and some posted soon enough.
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Northern California has been experiencing day-after-day of dense smoke. Stagnant, hot, and dry conditions are persisting as we move into our late summer early autumn weather pattern. Typical for this time of year, the K-index is frequently negative indicating the generally dry state of the atmosphere. In addition, I recorded the second highest average monthly temperature for the month of August at 78.26 F (25.7 C). The record was set in 1986 at 79.80 F (26.6 C). Most likely the dense smoke reduced daytime high temperatures enough to avoid a new high temperature record for the month of August.
On Wednesday of last week I was fortunate to have somewhat smoke free conditions when I visited the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Typical for this time of year conditions were extremely dry in most locations. The relatively dry precipitation pattern this past winter-spring and the continuing trend toward fewer snow cover days each winter has intensified the stress on the mountain ecosystems. Precipitation was approximately 84% of average this past season and the number of snow cover days were 88% of average.
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This time of year I spend much of my time examining dried plant remains. For me this is a very interesting process and can reveal a great deal of information about each species. In this photograph, the two specimens of Eriogonum prattenianum var. prattenianum are still in leaf. The dried remains of Elymus multisetus can be seen rising through and around the Eriogonum. In addition, there are many dried remains of the native annual Navarretia prolifera ssp. lutea.
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Eriogonum prattenianum var. prattenianum is a xeric species with striking gray foliage.
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The foliage of Arctostaphylos mewukka ssp. mewukka can vary in color from gray-green to a very intense silvery gray. The large berries of this species are noteworthy.
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Pictured are the dried remains of Viola purpurea spp. integrifolia.
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Here is a closer look of the dried remains of Viola purpurea ssp. integrifolia. This perennial species remains viable by protecting its dormant growth buds deep under the surface of the soil. This time of year the 10 cm soil temperature averages 87 F (30.6 C) with a daily high temperature averaging 105 F (40.6 C). At 15 cm the average soil temperature is 80 F (26.7 C). The intense solar radiation not only heats the soil but also drives moisture from the soil. I have recorded a considerable amount of data regarding the tolerance this species has to many environmental stresses. The data is quite revealing and I hope to discuss this comprehensively in the future.
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Allium campanulatum is just one of many bulbous species that inhabit this site.
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The xeric annual species, Calycadenia truncata, generally grows abundantly each season. The dry conditions this year have certainly contributed to their diminished numbers, however I observed multiple environmental stresses during germination and the cotyledon/early seedling stages of their development. Many seedlings failed during this critical phase in their development.
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The xeric annual Lessingia leptoclada suffered even greater losses during their early season development.
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There was a great deal that I wished to accomplish, so I recorded the data I needed to record and then moved on to higher terrain on the mountain.
There is more to post concerning this outing..... :)
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Robert, I was reading carefully your recent report and was wondering about the soil temperature profile for many of your summer drought plus heat species. I just happen to have at hand a few packets of Eriogonum and Allium that are going to get their stratification. I'm slowly learning and understanding your species array. In your post you mention about a strategy of keeping dormant buds underground.
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Here is a closer look of the dried remains of Viola purpurea ssp. integrifolia. This perennial species remains viable by protecting its dormant growth buds deep under the surface of the soil. This time of year the 10 cm soil temperature averages 87 F (30.6 C) with a daily high temperature averaging 105 F (40.6 C). At 15 cm the average soil temperature is 80 F (26.7 C). The intense solar radiation not only heats the soil but also drives moisture from the soil. I have recorded a considerable amount of data regarding the tolerance this species has to many environmental stresses. The data is quite revealing and I hope to discuss this comprehensively in the future.
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Allium campanulatum is just one of many bulbous species that inhabit this site.
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Have you searched how deep under in average do plants keep their underground dormant buds? How deep does A.campanulatum grow under? The site of those photos were taken at what elevation? Would that depth change as elevation rises? Higher up it would be cooler and also slightly less dry. This would give me a clue of how these species might behave here. I'm still trying to figure out to what nearest level is my place equivalent to. Your plants are very good indicators and also they provide the breadth of their niche. Your detailed observations in your various sites are invaluable in that sense. Thank you!
Arturo
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Arturo,
I appreciate your questions. This posting gives me an opportunity to make an important correction concerning my previous statement regarding Viola purpurea. Concerning your questions, I do not have much information regarding the depth at which Allium campanulatum bulbs are found. Over the years, I have dug around a few (like fewer than 10) Allium campanulatum plants and have found the bulbs at the depth of 3 cm to 6 cm. The bulbs I examined were found at various altitudes. No information was recorded, but I do remember the general depth at which they were found. In our region, Allium campanulatum is found growing at an altitude of 1,500 meters to > 2,100 meters. I just do not have information regarding a change in bulb depth with altitude or exposure to solar radiation. The altitude of the site where I photographed the dried Allium campanulatum plants was 1,550 meters. Variables such as soil type (structure, texture, drainage, pH, mineral content, etc.), lack of competing vegetation, exposure to solar radiation, and the moisture cycle throughout the season are extremely important considerations regarding their cultivation.
Now I wish to correct my statement concerning the depth of the dormant growth buds of Viola purpurea. Once again, I have examined the depth of very few dormant growth buds. The few I have examined are generally only 2 cm to 4 cm under the surface. My previous statement should have read that the roots penetrate deeply into the ground to find moisture during their dormant season. I apologize for my error.
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Before I move on with this posting, I would like to share this photograph that I forgot to add in the last posting. On the right is a beautiful silvery form of Arctostaphylos mewukka ssp. mewukka contrasting next to a very good specimen of Arctostaphylos patula. Acrtostaphylos viscida ssp. viscida also grows in close proximity. I frequently observe plants that I suspect are hybrids, however with my low-tech methodology this is difficult to prove. Both A. patula and A.viscida are diploid, 2n=26. A. mewukka is tetraploid, 2n=52. Providing there is a good degree on chromosome homology hybrids between these species are possible. Testing suspected hybrid offspring to see if they are sterile would be a good starting point, but would not necessarily prove anything. Some hybrids may be fertile. Attempting artificial hybrids at my home garden is also a methodology that I am pursuing. Fun stuff! ;D
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I spent the remaining portion of the outing in the Lyons Creek Basin. My starting elevation was 6,725 feet (2,050 meters). Over the last few days I have been assembling and analyzing the August metrological data from various sites throughout the Crystal Range region. August was a hot month and most stations recorded record-breaking temperatures. For example, a site within the Crystal Range at an elevation of 6,700 feet (2,042 meters) recorded an average monthly temperature of 62.10 F (16.7 C), breaking the old record of 61.10 F (16.1 C) set in 2017. 62.10 F is 3.81 F (2.1 C) above the 15-year average for this site, a significant deviation from the average. Needless to say there were plenty of signs of drought and heat stress as I surveyed the area.
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Where there was adequate moisture the autumn blooming Symphyotrichum spathulatum var. spathulatum was seen in bloom.
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Based on the characteristics of the plants in this area, I strongly suspect that the majority are the diploid form, 2n=16, of this species. This species performs quite well in our Sacramento garden and I have a very active breeding program with this species to improve its performance in our garden.
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Agrostis humilis is one of many Poaceae frequently seen in this portion of the Crystal Range/Basin. Quite often it is seen dry and straw-brown along trails. This stand was very lush for this time of year and for such a hot, dry season.
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The lower portion of the Lyons Creek Basin consists of a series of many moist, semi-xeric and xeric meadows. The xeric meadows can be quite barren. Allium campanulatum, Calyptridium monospermum, and Eriogonum incanum are common species found in these seasonally xeric meadows. The pictured meadow is more semi-xeric, inhabited with Lupinus lepidus var. sellulus, Hokelia fusca var. parviflora and Pedicularis attolens, as well as a variety of Poaceae.
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Ragged Daisy, Eurybia integrifolia, is another late blooming Asteraceae frequently encountered in this region. Despite the tattered appearance of the foliage and flowers this is a species that I enjoy considerably.
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For the most part most of the Solidago elongata had finished blooming for the season.
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The berries of the shrubby Lonicera conjugialis are very attractive. This deciduous species is commonly seen in semi-shaded sites in the lower portion of the basin.
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Bromus carinatus is another of the many Poaceae seen in the lower portion of the Lyons Creek Basin.
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With adequate moisture throughout the growing season Veratrum californicum var. californicum will flower and set seed.
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Optimal growing conditions are frequently not met and Veratrum californicum var. californicum is often seen collapsed and drying before they can produce flowers or seed.
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Rough Bentgrass, Agrostis scabra, prefers moist meadows.
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Castilleja miniata ssp. miniata is a very common Paintbrush species in this region. Both the red and less common yellow form is found in the Lyons Creek Basin.
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The inflorescence of our native barley, Hordeum brachyantherum ssp. brachyantherum, shatters at maturity, which is typical for this Genus.
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Robert,
You mention that the temperature increases and the snow cover period and precipitation decrease but what about the growing season?
Many perennials will probably suffer but annuals can possibly get a long enough growing season each spring and/or fall. Here, both the spring and fall growing season has been prolonged to the benefit of many plants. So even if the summers should be getting drier many plants will have enough growing time. This summer has been very good for the farmers in S Norway growing cereals. Some are getting all time high yields.
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Trond,
These are some very important questions and you are bringing to our attention important observations. There is overwhelming evidence that the emissivity of the atmosphere is increasing. This is impacting our gardens and is also impacting all life on this planet (NOW), not that life on this planet is going to end anytime soon. If only considering the impacts to gardens and gardening this is a topic that would be helpful to discuss. I have a large amount of data that strongly suggest climate change is now having a major impact on our regional ecosystems. Translating this information so that it is practical to gardeners will take me a considerable amount of thought and time. It will probably be best to discuss this topic a little bit at a time. Later today I will answer your questions with simple answers – there is the rest of the story that is important to tell too – but as I have stated this will require much more thought and time. :) 8) 8) 8)
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Hi Trond,
I have 30 years of growing season records (number of frost free days) at the farm in Placerville. Over this time period the growing season has lengthened by about 10 days. This statistic is a bit misleading. For example, this spring the date of the last frost (32 F – 0 C or below) was 2 April. The month of February was extremely dry and warm. Many plants, such as fruit trees, broke dormancy and started to bloom and grow. There were only a few days with very light frost before 2 April. On the night of 2 April the temperature dropped to 29 F (-1.7 C). This is not very cold, however because many plant species had tender new growth they got “hammered” hard by this frost. Even many native plants were in growth and suffered damage. Events like this have occurred in the past, however events like this are much more frequent with climate change.
I have only 15 years of records at our Sacramento home. Here the growing season has lengthened by 16 days. This is another misleading statistic. For the first 10 years frost occurred every year, so there was a beginning and end to the frost-free period. Now we do not get a killing frost every season. There might be light frost on the ground, but at 2 meters above the ground it might be 33 F. We often worry that there will not be sufficient chilling hours for our fruit trees. I have also started a breeding program for certain bulbs that I enjoy that need winter chilling. Tulips are a good example.
At some point, it might be good to discuss how the increasing emissivity of the atmosphere is impacting the climate of our planet. It is fairly simple to demonstrate using very simple mathematical modeling. A basic understanding of radiative transfer, Wein’s displacement law and the Stefan-Boltzmann constant is all that is needed. Things are, of course, a bit more complicated that this, however such a basic model clearly demonstrates how changes in the emissivity of the atmosphere can alter the temperature of the planet. CO2, NO2, CH4 create a great deal of radiative forcing in our atmosphere. Water vapor is extremely abundant in the atmosphere, however it often acts more as a feedback loop than a forcing agent. There is some new research that is shedding new light on the role of water vapor in this regard. More for me to read!
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The last 24 hours have been very interesting here in our portion of Northern California. Yesterday late in the day dense smoke from the Creek Fire shrouded our region (see satellite image below). By morning, the next day, the cars, streets and landscape were dusted with ash as though there had been a volcanic eruption.
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Satellite image of Creek Fire – slightly below center with smoke plume extending northward toward Lake Tahoe and into northern Nevada and western Utah.
The forecast for 6 September (today) was for high temperatures to range from 110 F (43.3C) to 105 F (40.6 C). This forecast seemed reasonable, however if the dense smoke persisted the high temperatures might be 5 to 10 F lower. As it turned out enough smoke cleared to set the stage for record breaking high temperatures in our area.
A few examples:
> The Placerville farm, 105 F (40.6 C) – This tied the record for the highest temperature recorded during the month of September (over a 38 year period).
> The Placerville farm – the average temperature for 6 September 2020 was 11.37 F (6.3 C) above 38-year average for this date.
> Our Sacramento home, 106 F (41.1 C) – This is a new record high temperature for the month of September.
> Our Sacramento home, 72 F (22.2 C) – This ties the highest low temperature for the month of September.
> Eastern portions of the greater Sacramento area, 111 F (43.9) – Ben Bolt and Rancho Cordova, both between our Sacramento home and the Placerville farm.
The current forecast for the next few days are for more extreme heat, a windstorm (just what we need considering all the active wildfires in California :P ), and then more heat.
Tomorrow I will get back to posting the remaining portions of my last outing.
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Hi Trond,
I have 30 years of growing season records (number of frost free days) at the farm in Placerville. Over this time period the growing season has lengthened by about 10 days. This statistic is a bit misleading. For example, this spring the date of the last frost (32 F – 0 C or below) was 2 April. The month of February was extremely dry and warm. Many plants, such as fruit trees, broke dormancy and started to bloom and grow. There were only a few days with very light frost before 2 April. On the night of 2 April the temperature dropped to 29 F (-1.7 C). This is not very cold, however because many plant species had tender new growth they got “hammered” hard by this frost. Even many native plants were in growth and suffered damage. Events like this have occurred in the past, however events like this are much more frequent with climate change.
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Robert,
We are used to mild winters here at the west coast and sudden frost in late March and April but this may increase as you say. The area with such kind of climate will also extend both along the coast and inland. Last winter you also had to go much higher to find protective snow cover (and skiing possibilities, especially in the south-east parts of Norway.
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The last 24 hours have been very interesting here in our portion of Northern California. Yesterday late in the day dense smoke from the Creek Fire shrouded our region (see satellite image below). By morning, the next day, the cars, streets and landscape were dusted with ash as though there had been a volcanic eruption.
Satellite image of Creek Fire – slightly below center with smoke plume extending northward toward Lake Tahoe and into northern Nevada and western Utah.
The forecast for 6 September (today) was for high temperatures to range from 110 F (43.3C) to 105 F (40.6 C). This forecast seemed reasonable, however if the dense smoke persisted the high temperatures might be 5 to 10 F lower. As it turned out enough smoke cleared to set the stage for record breaking high temperatures in our area.
A few examples:
> The Placerville farm, 105 F (40.6 C) – This tied the record for the highest temperature recorded during the month of September (over a 38 year period).
> The Placerville farm – the average temperature for 6 September 2020 was 11.37 F (6.3 C) above 38-year average for this date.
> Our Sacramento home, 106 F (41.1 C) – This is a new record high temperature for the month of September.
> Our Sacramento home, 72 F (22.2 C) – This ties the highest low temperature for the month of September.
> Eastern portions of the greater Sacramento area, 111 F (43.9) – Ben Bolt and Rancho Cordova, both between our Sacramento home and the Placerville farm.
The current forecast for the next few days are for more extreme heat, a windstorm (just what we need considering all the active wildfires in California :P ), and then more heat.
Tomorrow I will get back to posting the remaining portions of my last outing.
I would not like such temperatures! My limit is 30C. I have experienced 42C in Cyprus once and could bear it though. I remember it was better moving and sweating than to sit down. But how the heat is felt depend on the humidity also I think.
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It was another day with dense smoke in Northern California. A strong north wind event is possible tomorrow, 8 September. With all the wildfires, this is the last thing we need. Although temperatures will likely cool from record levels during the remaining portion of the week, they are very likely to remain well above the seasonal average.
Now on with the posting…
This is an example of a semi-xeric meadow, however this season it is very dry.
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The lower portions of Lyons Creek were dry, and much of the higher portions were reduced to a trickle. This is not an unusual occurrence; the lower sections of Lyons Creek frequently become dry late in the season. What is alarming is that lower sections of Lyons Creek, on average, are becoming dry earlier in the season and the late season stream flow is declining in the upper sections of Lyons Creek.
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The fruit of Sorbus californica is very attractive. As the season progresses the fruit will turn bright red if birds or other creatures do not eat them.
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Senescence was setting in early on this specimen of Sorbus californica. A combination of carotenoids and anthocyanin generally account for the autumn coloration of leaves and the pigmentation of flowers.
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Viola bakeri frequently replaces Viola purpurea in cold air basins such as the colder portions of the Lyons Creek Basin. I am not sure of the exact environmental circumstances involved in their habitat preferences, however in general Viola purpurea has a clear preference for sites that are warmer and more protected during emergence in the spring. In addition, I am finding increasing evidence that Viola bakeri and Viola purpurea can form natural hybrids in the wild. Viola bakeri is octopliod 2n=48; and Viola purpurea can be diploid or tetrapliod, 2n=12, 24. As in the genus Dahlia, it is theoretically possible such combinations are possible. Most likely the answer is already known, but I will be looking into this anyway.
There is more for me to post over the next few days. :)
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Robert,
We have a little creek close to our mountain cabin. Usually it dries up during high summer (the source of the water is snowmelt) but this year this happened only for a few days in August.
In the first photograph of Sorbus californica it looks very similar to our Sorbus aucuparia but in the second it doesn't. Anyway it looks quite attractive.
Here is a photo from my garden (2018), this year it has no fruits.
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Trond,
Thank you for sharing the photograph. The berries on your Sorbus are very attractive. 8) I enjoy the Genus Sorbus immensely, especially our native species! They are very difficult to cultivate in the hot Central Valley, and even the lower foothills. They can survive but they do not look very attractive after our long hot summers.
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Calamagrostris canadensis var. canadensis is found in moist locations and is always indicative that abundant moisture is available. It is a widespread species throughout much of North America.
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Phleum alpinum, Alpine Timothy, is founded in high elevation mountain meadows. Occasionally, Cultivated Timothy, Phleum pretense, is seen. It is an escapee from when the high mountain meadows were used as cattle range. Orchard Grass, Dactylis glomerata, is another escapee frequently encountered in our region.
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The bright red berries of Sambucus racemosa var. racemosa, our Red Elderberry, are very attractive. This is our common high elevation species. From the Central Valley floor into the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada Blue Elderberry, Sambucus nigra var. caerulea, is another commonly encountered species.
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Viola glabella is one of several moisture-loving Viola species found in our portion of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Many of the plants I encountered on this outing were very drought stressed. I will be very curious to discover which plants survive the dry conditions and why.
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Aconitum columbianum is our only native Monkshood species in California. It is yet another moisture loving species. Pictured is variety viviparum distinguished by its conspicuous bulblets found in the leaf axils of the inflorescence.
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Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen, has very beautiful white bark. I enjoy immensely the sound of their fluttering leaves as a breeze flows through them. This species is very difficult to grow at lower elevations. To achieve the same effect, I grow our native Fremont Cottonwood, Populus fremontii, in our Sacramento garden. The seeds just blow in from the Sacramento River and germinate in our garden. I maintain a small grove in a container as a giant “bonsai”.
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Trisetum projectum is one of my favorite mountain grasses. I encounter it frequently at the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. Stipa occidentalis var. californica is another fairly common Poaceae in our portion of the Sierra Nevada. It is generally found in much drier terrain. Deschampsia ceaspitosa ssp. caespitosa, Hair Grass, and Glyceria elata, Manna Grass, were two other Poaceae I encountered on this trip. Both are moisture-loving species generally found near stream banks.
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I was pleased to find some high elevation forms of Viola purpurea. They are not uncommon at the higher elevations, however they have a very strong preference for warmer sites, especially at the higher elevations.
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This meadow was extremely drought stressed.
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Artemisia douglasiana is a drought tolerant species, however these were very stressed by the dry conditions. Even if senescence sets in early, they are likely to survive for another season.
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There are plants that I visit year-after-year. This is part of a large colony of Antennaria rosea that I survey each season. They are very drought stressed, responding as they did during the drought years of 2011 to 2015. I have an increasing amount of data that suggests that many of the mountain ecosystems in our area never recovered fully from the 2011 to 2015 drought. I will have more to report on this in future postings.
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The flora changes dramatically as the trail ascends rapidly into the sub-alpine belt.
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Juncus parryi is frequently encountered in these sunny, dry, rocky, high elevation habitats. I enjoy the brown late season color of this cespitose species.
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With Cryptogramma acrostichoides, senescence sets in as the dry summer season progresses. This deciduous nature is one of the distinguishing characteristics of this species. Cryptogramma cascadensis is also seen in our area, however C. cascadensis is “evergreen” and is always found in mesic habitats.
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Arctostaphylos nevadensis is often found creeping and scrambling over rocks.
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When conditions become extremely dry Pellaea bridgesii dries and goes dormant for the remaining portion of the growing season.
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This specimen of Pellaea bridgesii is not as drought stressed and is still “green”. It is sharing its space with Eriogonum incanum.
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To end the postings of this outing, here is a last look at Eriogonum incanum. This species is quite common in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, at least in our region.
Until next time… :)
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Robert,
It really looks extremely dry! Is there no morning dew either? Do some of the plants rely on dew? I think of those stille a bit green among all the "dead"looking ones.
I am at the summerhouse now and here it is also dry (nothing like over there though). A few small showers have wetted the surface but below 4cm the soil is bone dry. This is in contrast to almost every other region in Norway were it is very wet!
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I am well aware , from personal contacts, of the fires raging in W California, Washington and Oregon - where half a million people have had to be evacuated - and at last our UK news is mentioning the fact - I'd have thought the scale of these fires was such that it might be further up the news list ( though goodness knows, the criteria for inclusion seems odd enough from around the world, most days). I believe there are more than 100 fires burning in 12 States. This must constitute an environmental disaster, surely?
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though goodness knows, the criteria for inclusion seems odd enough from around the world, most days
If it's not celebrity or political gossip, it goes to the bottom of the list. Panem et circenses.
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Maggi,
I hope this posting addresses some of your comments.
Trond,
I will answer your questions in another posting. It is kind of a yes and no answer.
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I was up on Peavine Ridge the other day. Day-after-day of dense smoke and ash has cast an eerie and unnerving feel to the land. We have been contending with long periods of dense smoke and ash for at least a month now.
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The smoke is frequently extremely dense frequently turning day to evening and obscuring the sun.
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New fires are breaking out even before existing fires can be contained. The devastation in Talent, Phoenix, and Detroit, Oregon is comparable to what occurred in Paradise, California during the 2018 Camp Fire. Towns near Portland, Oregon have been evacuated, as well as many towns in Northern California.
The extreme and destructive wildfires are just one of many indications of how anthropogenic climate change is impacting our region. The adverse and detrimental changes to our regional hydrological cycle, also initiated by anthropogenic climate change, will likely prove to be much more injurious to society and the environment. In addition, the cumulative effect of all the many small changes brought on by climate change will likely become overwhelming.
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As I survey specific sites, I continuously record how various plant species are responding to a variety of stresses.
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This Creeping Snowberry, Symphoricarpos mollis, is struggling to deal with the dry conditions and periods of extreme heat. Smoke too impacts many species. This is very apparent in our home garden, however this is also observed in some wild populations.
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Another worrisome trend is the spread of invasive, noxious plant species. Skeleton Weed, Chondrilla juncea, is just one of many non-native detrimental species that continues to extend its range throughout our region. Many of these non-native species contribute greatly to increased wildfire danger. For example, non-native annual Poaceae have taken over much of the native bunch grass/native annual wildflower habitat throughout California. These non-native annual Poaceae create an immense fire danger and help fuel rapidly spreading wildfire. This is a huge problem with, currently, no easy solution.
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Of course, many California native species are well adapted to dry summertime conditions and periodic cycles of extended drought. Here Lilium washingtonianum ssp. washingtonianum has set a good seed crop despite the dry conditions and periods of extreme heat.
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This specimen is quite drought stressed. Despite the adversity it is producing a seed crop and will survive to bloom next season.
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Acmispon americanus var. americanus is a native species that is undeterred by drought or extreme heat. This specimen, and its nearby companions, seemed quite vigorous and was blooming well.
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Not all drought tolerant native species respond to dry conditions favorably under all circumstances. This example of Arctostaphylos mewukka ssp. mewukka is showing signs of drought stress. This situation is not unusual.
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This specimen of Acrtostaphylos mewukka ssp. mewukka is much more stressed. This too is not an unusual situation. I continually monitor a number of specific sites repeatedly every year for unusual changes and patterns.
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Arctostaphylos patula exhibits drought stress differently from other Manzanita species in our region.
Well, I have come to the end of this posting. Climate change is impacting our native plants and their habitats in many ways. For the most part, many changes appear to be transient in nature, however there is increasing evidence that this trend is shifting. In addition, there is also evidence that the pace of change is accelerating. Stay tuned.
Until next time…
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I had lots of your posts to catch up on...lol-- lots of interesting plants, esp the Arctostaphylos, a very interesting genus to me... we have A uva-ursi, and I have some in the garden too, and the now Arctous species (in the mountains, maybe North, also) which I really like. I'd like to try some of the other species/natural hybrids that make it to at least z4, some day...
The fire situation in western U.S. has been very sad to hear about, especially if those who say to expect more and more until many areas now forested re-establish as savannah, are right :( years of smoke and destruction to come... AB has not seen much fire this year, since it has been generally cool and wettish. The last couple of days have been chilly, overcast and hazy, no idea what the haze is composed of or where it is from.
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Robert,
It really looks extremely dry! Is there no morning dew either? Do some of the plants rely on dew? I think of those stille a bit green among all the "dead"looking ones.
I am at the summerhouse now and here it is also dry (nothing like over there though). A few small showers have wetted the surface but below 4cm the soil is bone dry. This is in contrast to almost every other region in Norway were it is very wet!
Trond,
I found your question quite intriguing.
Do some of the plant species (xeric meadow species) rely on morning dew for survival? The simple answer is most likely no, however I truthfully do not know for sure. I have no doubt that whatever dew might form on their foliage, that a certain percentage is absorbed directly through their leaves. This cannot be much as during dry conditions the plants in the xeric meadows get extremely stressed. In addition, the atmosphere has less capacity to hold water vapor as altitude increases.
What especially intrigues me is that I am in a position to log the appropriate data and calculate how much potential moisture might collect as dew in xeric meadows, semi-xeric meadows, and mesic meadows. Using a modified form of the Ideal Gas Equation and solving for kg of water vapor per meter-3 (obviously from the surface to a height of x number of cm above the surface of the ground) one could come up with a good estimate. I am finding that many plant species have very strong habitat/niche preferences and this might shed some light on these preferences. In addition, I see other useful applications for this relatively simple process.
Now that the basics have been established, I am getting a broad overview of the processes taking place at the various sites that I study in detail. The specifics will require much more time and effort to ferret out. However, even at this early stage of development in the project I see clear horticultural applications, especially if one is interested in plant breeding. Given the impacts of climate change in our region, for me this is a top priority – breeding superior, highly adaptable plants that can thrive in a home garden regardless of the changing environmental conditions.
The fire situation in western U.S. has been very sad to hear about, especially if those who say to expect more and more until many areas now forested re-establish as savannah, are right :( years of smoke and destruction to come...
Cohan,
The wildfires are tragic, however in California the impacts of climate change on the hydrologic cycles will eventual create much more distress for society and the environment. Cape Town, South Africa was the first major city to (nearly) exhaust their water supply during drought conditions. I will not be surprised at all if cities in California are the next to experience such water shortages – and most likely this situation will be much worse.
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Cohan,
The wildfires are tragic, however in California the impacts of climate change on the hydrologic cycles will eventual create much more distress for society and the environment. Cape Town South Africa was the first major city to (nearly) exhaust their water supply during drought conditions. I will not be surprised at all if cities in California are the next to experience such water shortages – and most likely this situation will be much worse.
I often think of an article some years ago in National Geographic, which suggested that the American West had been populated during an aberrantly wet period, which is ending, and the implication was that, barring some serious adjustments to lifestyle and water use/sourcing, it was simply going to become much too dry for the large populations now there...
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Cohan,
All the climate scientists I know are, generally, alarmed by the climatic/environmental changes taking place in the American West. Climatic computer models have been forecasting these events for some time now. It is difficult to stay current with all the latest research, however there are indications that the rate of change may be accelerating. Water vapor is extremely abundant and could be a strong feedback, the oceans are absorbing and holding increasing amounts of heat (energy), and the emissivity of the atmosphere continues to increase. We could be in for a wild ride in the next few decades.
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Trond,
I found your question quite intriguing.
Do some of the plant species (xeric meadow species) rely on morning dew for survival? The simple answer is most likely no, however I truthfully do not know for sure. I have no doubt that whatever dew might form on their foliage, that a certain percentage is absorbed directly through their leaves. This cannot be much as during dry conditions the plants in the xeric meadows get extremely stressed. In addition, the atmosphere has less capacity to hold water vapor as altitude increases.
What especially intrigues me is that I am in a position to log the appropriate data and calculate how much potential moisture might collect as dew in xeric meadows, semi-xeric meadows, and mesic meadows. Using a modified form of the Ideal Gas Equation and solving for kg of water vapor per meter-3 (obviously from the surface to a height of x number of cm above the surface of the ground) one could come up with a good estimate. I am finding that many plant species have very strong habitat/niche preferences and this might shed some light on these preferences. In addition, I see other useful applications for this relatively simple process.
Now that the basics have been established, I am getting a broad overview of the processes taking place at the various sites that I study in detail. The specifics will require much more time and effort to ferret out. However, even at this early stage of development in the project I see clear horticultural applications, especially if one is interested in plant breeding. Given the impacts of climate change in our region, for me this is a top priority – breeding superior, highly adaptable plants that can thrive in a home garden regardless of the changing environmental conditions.
I suppose it is possible to calculate the amount of water kept in the air, but worse to calculate the amount usable for plants! But I have observed especially at my summerhouse where the climate is much drier than at home that the plants can get quite moist during the nights even without rain. Also rocks get very moist, even wet sometimes. This happens after warm days when the night is significantly colder. The greater temperature difference between day and night the wetter plants and rocks. I am sure some plants survive of this dew when it doesn't rain for weeks. Although many plants are helped by the dew some are better to take up the moisture.
I am sure this species Senecio viscosus, rely on dew. It often grows where other plants don't and even small seedlings survive where other dies when it is dry.
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Trond,
Thank you so much for sharing this valuable information. I hope that it helps readers (gardeners) understand the extreme contrast between the “dry” climate at your summer home and our xeric climate here in interior California. It is quite evident that, on average, the summertime dew point-relative humidity is much higher at your summer home than even our high elevation xeric meadows. I did a quick check of typical July dew points recorded on the edge of a semi-xeric meadow in the Lyons Creek Basin, elevation 2,000 meters. On average, during the coolest point in the morning the low temperature is still well above the dew point (2 meter temperature, 56 F, 13.3 C; dew point, 41 F, 5 C, 7:30 a.m.). Based on early morning observations this still, more or less, holds true within a few cm of the surface of the ground. When low temperatures do reach the dew point, the dew point is generally below 0 C. I also have hourly incoming short wave solar radiation data for this area. I did some quick math using the latent heat of sublimation in the case of frosty conditions and the latent heat of vaporization in the case of dew. During a typical morning, with frost or dew, in one our xeric meadows there would be little or no liquid water available to the plants. In addition, daytime ET (evapotranspiration) levels are extremely high. I have not calculated the Bowen ratio for this site, but it is most likely over 2.0 in the xeric meadows during the summertime. Of course, our mesic meadows are a whole different story and as one descends toward the Central Valley conditions become increasingly dry.
Cohan,
I have some information concerning our local Arctostaphylos species that I will share a bit later. The short of it is that without snow cover our two local high elevation species may not be cold hardy in your area. Forms of Arctostaphylos patula from Modoc County in eastern California may work. More information later... :)
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Robert,
What you say and what your calculations show is very interesting. I had suspected that at least the higher grounds would get at least some dew during nighttime, even in summer. I am used to dew in the early morning except in the warmest days in summer when the nights also stay warm (which rarely happens!). I understand that drought isn't the same here and there!
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Robert and Trond, I find this dew question fascinating. Here during our summer, our daytime temperatures hardly ever reach 30ºC. Night-time lows are cool dropping to 7ºC regularly. So our night-time temperatures are closer to the conditions you mention for your place in Norway. Yet similar to Robert's comments we never get dew in the mornings. This starts changing however in late March or early April. Then yes I start finding dew on my roses. Also by mid April I can find foggy dawns clearing by mid morning ( about 10 am or later). That adds to more ambient humidity. The ground however is bone dry by then. I'm awaiting a sprinkle, only if it were possible. This is when I find my conditions so similar to Robert's. I live in a similar latitude band as Robert however at a much higher elevation, yet my climatic conditions are so different. As a gardener I am permanently besieged in discovering how micro-climatic details affects each species I grow. Since any species is a compendium of present phenotype plus accumulated adaptation from its past biological history built in its genotype, delving into the mysteries of what grows well here becomes a detective's challenge.
I guess that is what explains my drive in picking up a genus ( i.e Penstemon or Edraianthus) and seeing how each species adapts to my conditions. Some will need extra gardening care , others none. For the time being, my trees from different parts of the world are good indicators. Many of them have originated from California, but also many from Eurasia. I have very few that are naturally native on my property: Maytenus boaria spontaneous, and possibly Lomatia hirsuta. The native Austrocedrus could have grown before it was cleared by settlers. The rest of the forest trees do grow only beyond 10 km west of my place.
I do want to thank you both about your comparative observations! This particular thread is a permanent challenge as each of us learn how to place our garden in an environmental comparison. I also want to thank Cohan for the same reason. I myself some day will look at the Arctostaphyllos group too. Next to trees, shrubs are also very good indicators. There again there are a few shrubs like Ceanothus growing in gardens near by.
Arturo
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I suppose it is possible to calculate the amount of water kept in the air, but worse to calculate the amount usable for plants! But I have observed especially at my summerhouse where the climate is much drier than at home that the plants can get quite moist during the nights even without rain. Also rocks get very moist, even wet sometimes. This happens after warm days when the night is significantly colder. The greater temperature difference between day and night the wetter plants and rocks. I am sure some plants survive of this dew when it doesn't rain for weeks. Although many plants are helped by the dew some are better to take up the moisture.
I am sure this species Senecio viscosus, rely on dew. It often grows where other plants don't and even small seedlings survive where other dies when it is dry.
The rocks in that habitat would also be important in channeling the dew-- this is a technique used by some in gardening in dry places where there is dew-- using rocks to channel moisture to roots, of course they also reduce evaporation.
I doubt in my locale there are any entirely dew dependent plants, but i do think it is likely a significant part of moisture for some plants, during drier spells-- the ground is often very wet here through much of summer in morning, not just a light dusting of dew, but quite wet, probably enough to get plants through 'drier' days. We reach our dew point more often than not, year round, of course it is frost in winter.
Robert- re: Arctos... I remember Alplains has listed a species or two, and they had at one point seed from a 'hybrid swarm' which were rated around z4 (I'm thinking patula and nevadensis, but would have to look it up in the list to be sure; Colorado provenance as I recall) ... I'm more z3 than 4, but I find those ratings are often conservative, and you never know until you try whether a plant has a bit more in its genetic capacity than what its current conditions suggest. I'm not doing any sowing currently, anyway, since I still have no idea whether I will be staying here longer term.
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Robert and Trond, I find this dew question fascinating. Here during our summer, our daytime temperatures hardly ever reach 30ºC. Night-time lows are cool dropping to 7ºC regularly. So our night-time temperatures are closer to the conditions you mention for your place in Norway. Yet similar to Robert's comments we never get dew in the mornings. This starts changing however in late March or early April. Then yes I start finding dew on my roses. Also by mid April I can find foggy dawns clearing by mid morning ( about 10 am or later). That adds to more ambient humidity...................
Arturo
Arturo,
It is interesting to read your description of your climate. I remember from my visit to Bariloche that is was very green in and around the town but very dry not far away from it. I can't remember if I registered morning dew! But we had very little rain on the tour.
BTW I have a small plant of Maytenus magellanica in my garden. It seems to like it here but last winter the deer found it and liked it also!
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Our clear skies lasted about a week and now the dense smoke has returned to our portion of Northern California. At least the smoke is reducing the daytime high temperatures. Without the smoke it would be extremely hot.
The next 10 days are extremely busy for me. I will post some photographs and detailed information as I can.
BTW – I am starting to calculate the Bowen Ratio and the actual water vapor content of the air, i.e. grams of water vapor/m3, for several sites in the Crystal Range. The preliminary results are very interesting. As I hypothesized during the peak summer months and early autumn the air is frequently extremely dry. In the dry meadows in the Lyons Creek Basin, if temperatures were to reach the dew point at ground level and dew was to occur there would be very little condensation. Of course, this does not apply to the moist meadows in the Lyons Creek Basin. On my last outing, a few days ago, now even the moist meadows are become very dry.
More later…
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The smoke is a real drag, unfortunately it seems this pattern is likely to go on (in the big picture) for a long time to come :( we had some smokey days here, nothing like it must be nearer the fires, of course, but enough that a co-worker was complaining it was affecting her breathing..
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Some days ago we had red sunsets and could smell smoke - from California. A few days later we had a gray sky and high air pollution. This time it was caused by wildfires in Ukraina and dust storms in Russia!
Robert,
No doubt, dry weather in California is much drier than dry weather here!
We have had much rain lately, to the benefit of fungi!
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Some days ago we had red sunsets and could smell smoke - from California. A few days later we had a gray sky and high air pollution. This time it was caused by wildfires in Ukraina and dust storms in Russia!
Robert,
No doubt, dry weather in California is much drier than dry weather here!
We have had much rain lately, to the benefit of fungi!
I don't think we get noticeable air systems from Russia,but maybe I just didn't notice! Most of our systems come from west, sometimes south, of course some notherlies in winter, esp. We were dry for a few weeks, after a rainy summer, so our fungi peaked earlier, the dry spell has been good harvest weather for farmers, now a couple of rainy days, hope it dries up again for firewood! Still above seasonal temps, more often than not, and no snow in Sept!
Hope you get some rain down there, Robert, but not so much at once as to cause floods!
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Cohan,
We frequently get air systems from east. I remember especially 26. April 1986 (Chernobyl disaster) and the following days. We got a lot of nuclear fallout due to easterly winds those days.
It can be very cold and dry in winter and warm and dry in summer!
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Currently my schedule is quite hectic through Monday. In the future, I have a considerable amount of interesting information and many photographs to post. Friday, I will be attending a USFS field trip. Retirement would be nice but is not possible at this time.
There has been a major shift in our weather pattern. Cool autumn-like weather has finally arrived. Prior to this point our temperatures have been averaging 10 F (5.56 C) above average. Unfortunately, any meaningful precipitation is unlikely at this time. It is so extremely dry and hot weather is forecasted to return in a few days! In the future, I will have more to write on this topic and how this is impacting our native plant communities. All the climate scientists whom I have talked with recently are extremely alarmed by the persistent dry pattern and the above average temperatures we have been experiencing over the last 5 years. A few days ago when I visited the mountains there was very little flow in the South Fork of the American River. The South Fork of the Rubicon River was completely dry in many places (I have photographs!). Our hydrological cycle is in crisis and there are indications that these changes are not transient.
As I can, I hope to keep readers current.
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Hi Robert,
the low precipitation is concerning!
We had a similar situation last year (and the preceding years!) and the east side of the country went up in flames! This year the La Nina effect should bring us more rain as it dries out your side of the Pacific
cheers
fermi
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Fermi,
The devastating wildfires that have ravaged Australia and the Western U.S.A., including California, are just one indication of how the impacts of climate change are changing climatic and ecological patterns on our planet. These climatic changes will impact our gardens, the plants that we grow, and how we grow them. I will be elaborating on this topic in the future.
I have also been closely following the development of the current La Niña in the equatorial Pacific. The relationships between the ENSO, MJO, and Indian Ocean Dipole are extremely interesting and have a strong influence on the planetary weather.
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I am glad to say, no smoke here, but we have seen both smoke from California and dust from Russia this fall!
This is just morning fog lifting by sunrise.
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Two photographs from the island of Jomfruland.
A cow and some mushrooms in the pasture. Very peaceful.
And the mixed forest of the south west part of the island. All the leaves have been blown away.
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Trond,
Thank you for sharing the photographs. I enjoyed the photograph with the group of buildings. It was a very pleasant scene that brought a smile to my face! :)
We had a few cool autumn-like days and now we are back to a very dry and hot weather pattern. I see no end to this stagnant pattern. A moderate to strong La Niña has/is developed and will likely persist through the winter. In addition, an active MJO has stalled-out, and has even retrograded slightly, creating strong upper level convergence in the eastern Pacific in the vicinity of California.
I have been programing my computer to calculate absolute humidity (a revealing piece of information pertaining to plants, both wild and in our gardens) from data entered from my various data recorders. The Clausius – Clapeyron equation is used, in part, to make these calculations. The exponential relationship between temperature and water vapor, as express by the Clausius – Clapeyron equation, is something that everyone on this planet may want to follow. If a strong temperature/water vapor feedback loop becomes established in the atmosphere the climatic consequences will be dramatic. There are some brilliant and well-trained minds working on this issue. Hopefully, the early warnings will be acted upon in a constructive way.
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This photograph was taken on 30 September. There was still plenty of smoke lingering from all of the wildfires in our area. I have a whole series of photographs to share from this outing. Hopefully I can get started with this after the USFS fieldtrip on Friday. I may have additional photographs from this event, but regardless, I cannot get started until Saturday at the earliest. In the end, this will all work out just fine! :)
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I am back from the USFS field trip. This was a very productive outing.
Retirement…
It is not going to happen. :o No 8)
On this trip we visited two meadow/wetland restoration sites in Eldorado National Forest, one site of which is very dear to me. The eastern portion of this meadow is very degraded and presents considerable challenges transforming it into a vibrant botanically diverse system. In addition, a third site was discussed in which I already have some involvement.
My on going research and having my finger in these other projects will keep me very busy. Why retire when there are such stimulating projects to occupy my mind? Anyway… this diary may experience some twists and turns as I endeavor to keep it horticulturally relevant. There are certainly plenty of plant related topics to report on.
Now on to the present…
The current record, and near record-breaking, temperatures continue. The good news is that a cooling trend has started and will hopefully continue for the next 7 days. I see no precipitation during the next 7 days. It is so extremely dry!
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This photograph was taken several weeks ago on Peavine Ridge. This site is typically very hot and dry during the summer and early autumn. The plants species are very well adapted to these extreme conditions.
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However, there is much evidence of drought stress in this system.
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In this photograph, one can observe the drying, brown lower foliage on Bear Clover, Chamaebatia foliolosa. This is a normal occurrence, but clearly I am monitoring the stress response of the species at this site. The light brown dried plant in the foreground center is Galium bolanderi. Some plants of this species have retained some green functioning foliage while others are completely dormant. This is a typical drought response of many of our xeric California native species.
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One very fascinating fact at this site are the vernally moist seeps that host an interesting array of plant species some of which are rare and endangered.
Too be continued…
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It certainly looks very dry, Robert! Although I appreciate sun and dry weather, especially during the summer months, I also appreciate very much some decent rain after a dry week. 2018 was an exceptional dry year here and I don't want another one .
This year 2020 has been different from the previous ones. The glaciers have not retreated as much as they usually do during summer (all of them have had a negative mass balance for many years). This is due to much snow last winter and a very cold May. However, nobody thinks this is a new trend but if we get a couple more winters like 2019/20 some glaciers will expand again.
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Trond,
Your report on the glaciers in your region is very interesting. Cool weather, snow, and glaciers sound good to me. Although our daytime temperatures have backed off from record to near record high temperatures it is still unseasonably warm. Cooler weather will arrive however I see no precipitation in the next 7 days.
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Today, I did a whirlwind, cursory survey of Wilson Meadow.
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Conditions are extremely dry and it is very evident that the flora is drought stressed.
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The main creek channel of Wilson Creek is deeply incised and the water table has dropped considerably. It is my understanding that the stage 0 restoration methodology will be used to reset the floodplain elevation of Wilson Creek. During periods of high snow melt runoff and flooding the creek flow will be spread over a much larger floodplain. The flood and snowmelt flow will spread over the expanse of the meadow and through many lesser channels such as the one pictured above.
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Excessive water flow will be further slowed and sediments captured by plant species such as Salix orestera as pictured in this photograph.
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Here Salix orestera is pictured in one of the smaller channels. Additional materials will be used in these smaller channels to further slow and spread the flowing water. If implemented properly, the native vegetation can be used very effectively to slow and spread the flow of water and capture sediments. In addition, the native vegetation can, and will, sequester carbon. Fertility and nitrogen levels will rise within the meadow system.
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Despite the extremely dry conditions I found a few Gentiana newberryi var. newberryi in bloom.
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I look forward to the successful implementation of the restoration plan. It is my hope that additional steps are taken to increase the floral biodiversity of Wilson Meadow. There are fairly simple and effective methods that can increase the biodiversity. I will see what happens over the next few years. There are many talented and skilled people involved in this project. I am very optimistic that there will be a successful out come.
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We are having plenty of rain here in the new area. Hope you get some soon Robert.
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Yes, the stagnant weather pattern is now beginning to shift. I do not see any precipitation yet, but now that things are finally shifting our weather could change abruptly.
I will start posting photographs from a previous outing soon. Lots of work lately and some of the university stuff is opening up for me again. More study! More work! Oh well. :)
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Yes, I hope your weather pattern changes soon but Yr says sun and warm weather the next week (would be a nice summer week here if we had weather like that). The rainy weather pattern continues here but it is rather mild though.
Good luck with your studies!
The foliage of this Norway maple is still almost green (but wet!).
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Trond,
There has finally been a major change in our weather. Temperatures have cooled considerably. Currently no rain is in the forecast for our area, however the weather pattern is changing quickly. We will hope for precipitation, but first we must endure a major desiccating north windstorm. Everything is so dry.
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I took this photograph of Stipa lemmonii var. lemmonii several weeks ago. I have since returned to this site. The flora is extremely drought stressed and will now have to endure a desiccating north windstorm.
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Aspidotis densa is generally dry this time of year in the mid-elevations of the Sierra Nevada.
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This specimen of Penstemon newberryi var. newberryi is extremely drought stress and is not likely to survive to grow next season.
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The South Fork of the Rubicon River has been reduced to a trickle.
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… And portions of the South Fork of the Rubicon River are completely dry
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Robert,
Glad to hear your weather is cooling. Hope you get some rain soon. We have the opposite situation. Rain is steadily pouring down. All creeks, lakes etc are filled to the brim.
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Reading of yet more fires in Northern California - and power cuts as well - not good.
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Hello Maggi,
Yes, I guess it is our turn, here in Northern California (and Western North America), to take the brunt of the anomalous weather. The firestorms that ravaged Australia last year were truly tragic. Drought, extreme heat, and firestorms are not the only intense weather events people are enduring on this planet. Climate change is severely impacting Alaska and many other places on the planet in a variety of ways.
Our electric power was restored only a few hours ago. It is so dry! Today in Placerville (in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains), the relative humidity was only 12.20%, with a dew point of 14.15 F (-9.9167 C)! This is not a rare for the western slope, however it is still extreme. To put things in perspective this amounted to 2.117 grams of water vapor per m3 of air. Tomorrow morning I will check on the data from the Sierra Nevada.
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I took this photograph of Lyons Creek a few weeks ago. Last year at this time, this portion of Lyons Creek was still flowing with a trickle of water. Sadly, the dry portion of the creek extends quite a few miles up stream. This is very similar to what I observed during the drought years, 2011 into 2015.
I am working very hard to come up with solutions to ameliorate these situations, at least on a meso-scale (gamma meso-scale – not many km). I have a very long way to go, however I have also made progress. Recently, I at least received validation from one of my advisors to continue my independent research even if it is not taken seriously at this time. I have been assured that if I continue to refine and confirm and then reconfirm my findings somebody will eventually be interested. I guess this is my retirement – and a labor of love.
Anyway, I will continue to report on the flora of the Crystal Range and the Crystal Basin.
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Keep at it Robert, the doubters always think they know best. As a colleague of mine said, you don,t see much from an armchair.
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Hi Ian,
Yes, I definitely will continue my research. Fully independent research has some advantages. Basically, I can follow any lead that I find pertinent and have a lot of room for creative thinking without the constraints of a research/grant contract. There are many extremely talented professionals that are constrained by the dictates of the company or the terms of a grant. I have a lot of freedom to do as I please, but then I have the challenges of self-financing my pursuits. I bet most would find me fanatically self-motivated, but then this is what I like to do.
Back at your old “Patch”, I gleaned many valuable ideas from your answers to my questions and following your diary. I was always amazed at the resiliency of the flora and fauna at your old Patch. It seemed that you were frequently reporting about a species that was near the edge of existence that found a safe refuge and niche at the Patch. I will very curious to see what your new location has to offer.
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Cohan,
We frequently get air systems from east. I remember especially 26. April 1986 (Chernobyl disaster) and the following days. We got a lot of nuclear fallout due to easterly winds those days.
It can be very cold and dry in winter and warm and dry in summer!
Not a good time for Easterly winds! We sometimes get southeast systems in winter, which can be some of our coldest, oddly..
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Any signs of moisture yet? Seems inevitable there will be some serious flora changes.
Our dryish warm fall took a serious turn mid-month and we had snow snow and more snow. Now that it's warmed up again, we are having rain rain and more rain...lol trying to get out and cut wood in not too wet breaks, mostly going for dry standing wood, as anything horizontal is soggy... Next few days are supposed to be sunny, but they tend to forecast sun in advance that gets chipped away as it gets closer..
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Hello Cohan,
There have been some major changes in the weather pattern, however rain is still elusive. There has been a very persistent high pressure system in the eastern Pacific shifting any rainy weather into the Pacific Northwest. Yes, it is extremely dry! Absolute humidity calculated from my data recorders in the Sierra Nevada is averaging ≈ 1.5 grams / m3 over the last few days. Some days the total has been < 1.0 gram / m3. The free atmosphere has been equally dry. The last measurable precipitation in the Sierra Nevada was on 18 September and the last meaningful precipitation was on 13 June. Of course, the Eastern Sierra Nevada did receive some monsoonal moisture during the summer. Their precipitation totals are slightly higher.
As for major shifts in our flora… Unmanaged sites are frequently extremely resilient to rapid change. I monitor such things extremely closely and I do not see many indications that a major shift is occurring. Transient shifts are more or less to be expected. This situation could change. I am currently analyzing a pronounced shift in the long-term climatic pattern in the Sierra Nevada. I have a reasonable idea (theory) that explains this shift, however I want to very carefully analyze all the data from a number of different perspectives. i.e. I am in no hurry and want to make sure that I have analyzed everything correctly. As for managed sites, they are a completely different story.
BTW – Dynamic numerical forecasts (the basis behind media forecasts) are fairly accurate out 4 maybe 5 days. With stable weather more, with changeable weather maybe less. Read up on the pioneering work of Ed Lorenz and Chaos Theory to get an idea of what forecasters are up against. I can do a fairly accurate forecast out 3 to 4 days via wind field analysis using Taylor Expansion. Actually, one can be somewhat accurate just eyeballing vorticity, stretching deformation, shearing deformation, etc. Since I am more focused on how climatic variables impact specific plants and plant communities I frequently do not put much effort into 7-day forecasts. Longer-term forecasts are much more relevant to my projects.
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I was up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains the other day. Yes, it is extremely dry and unseasonably warm. Today’s, 31 October, high temperature tied the record for this date. I am sure some high temperature records were broken in our region.
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In this photograph one can see the lingering smoke in the Central Valley and the lower portions of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
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We are getting a tiny amount of autumn color. Anthocyanins are pronounced in this specimen of Quercus kelloggii. Yellow coloration due to carotenoids is more frequently observed in this species. This year most of the leaves are turning brown and will cling to the twigs into the spring.
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At this site, the population of Eriogonum prattenianum var. prattenianum is very drought stressed. This is a tough species; at this time it is very likely that most of the plants at this site will easily survive the dry conditions.
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Castilleja applegatei var. pinetorum is growing out of the center of this specimen of Eriogonum prattenianum. This Castilleja species is also very resilient to drought.
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The (Environment Canada) forecasts for this area (where we rarely have really consistent weather for any length of time at any season) tend to be better on temperature than precipitation-- looking at a few days to a week out, the temperature forecast will change twice a day, in the end usually within a few degrees C of the original forecast, not always, of course. Precip is worse-- they often start with a stretch of sunny days forecast with the clouds progressively creeping in as the days get closer, precip added later. Forecast rain often doesn't happen; snow is usually more and more often than forecast.
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Hello Cohan,
You are spot on! Yes, it is much more difficult to make accurate 7-day forecasts for precipitation than for temperature.
Currently we are experiencing record to near record high daytime temperatures. The good news is that it appears that there will be cooler temperatures and some precipitation during the next 7-day time period. The dynamics are not perfect, but I will take whatever we can get.
Right now I am in a race to gather the last bits of data and make end of the season observations - flora/plant communities - from the high elevation sites in the Sierra Nevada before deep snow accumulations occur (maybe wishful thinking this year – I have my reasons for not going along with the NWS seasonal forecast for above average precipitation and below average temperatures.) Once snow and winter conditions set in I can spend the winter analyzing and modeling the information.
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I think the weather forecast here is rather good, both regarding temperature, precipitation and wind. (These days they can say rain every day, and be right!) In fact they often hit the time of the day when the rain starts top on.
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Hello Cohan,
You are spot on! Yes, it is much more difficult to make accurate 7-day forecasts for precipitation than for temperature.
Currently we are experiencing record to near record high daytime temperatures. The good news is that it appears that there will be cooler temperatures and some precipitation during the next 7-day time period. The dynamics are not perfect, but I will take whatever we can get.
Right now I am in a race to gather the last bits of data and make end of the season observations - flora/plant communities - from the high elevation sites in the Sierra Nevada before deep snow accumulations occur (maybe wishful thinking this year – I have my reasons for not going along with the NWS seasonal forecast for above average precipitation and below average temperatures.) Once snow and winter conditions set in I can spend the winter analyzing and modeling the information.
Yes, any precip is better than none, hope you get more!
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Cohan,
We have finally received some rain and mountain snow. Precipitation totals are still below average. Conditions are currently favorable for additional precipitation during the coming week.
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I was out the outer day before the first significant snowfall fell in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
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It is always pleasant to be in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
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This small grove of Aspen, Populus tremuloides, will be encouraged to grow and colonize this site.
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4 years ago this barren area, the site of a logging deck back in the 1990’s, is now being recolonized by vegetation and wildlife. Rough Bent Grass, Agrostis scabra, can be seen growing in the right foreground, with dense stands of Bulrush, Scirpus diffusus, and Juncus saximontanus/ensifolius complex to the left. Much of the central portion of this site is still barren of plant life.
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Rough Bent Grass, Agrostis scabra, is recolonizing much of this old logging skid trail.
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Robert,
Glad to hear that you have gotten some precipitation! Hope you get a lot more.
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4 years ago this barren area, the site of a logging deck back in the 1990’s, is now being recolonized by vegetation and wildlife. Rough Bent Grass, Agrostis scabra, can be seen growing in the right foreground, with dense stands of Bulrush, Scirpus diffusus, and Juncus saximontanus/ensifolius complex to the left. Much of the central portion of this site is still barren of plant life.
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Why is the central portion still barren do you think? Is it a kind of pollution there, like oil or diesel spill? Or does it just take time, lacking the pioner species for that kind of soil?
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Hi Trond,
I will enjoy answering this question. 8) :)
Right now I am very busy, however I will gladly tell the story of this site as soon as possible.
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Hi Trond,
I will enjoy answering this question. 8) :)
Right now I am very busy, however I will gladly tell the story of this site as soon as possible.
I was also curious about that-- here it seems to take about ten minutes for plants to grow on anything left alone...lol Just too dry with no shade? Compacted soil? we'll be waiting to hear :)
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Trond and Cohan,
This is the story behind this former logging deck site.
As stated, this area was logged during the 1990’s. At the time of the logging operation the land parcel was in private ownership. When the logging was completed the title of the land was transferred to the U.S. Forest Service and the land became public property. The logging access roads, and drag trails remanded. This provided easy access for off-road vehicles. The logging deck pictured was quite the playground for the off-road vehicle enthusiast. They enjoyed driving in circles and created quite a depression. Seasonally, when the depression filled with water, driving through the mud and water was even more pleasurable. Needless to say these activities destroyed all the plant life.
Approximately three years ago, the U.S. Forest Service ripped the access roads and drag trails. In addition, trees were cut and placed across the access roads and dragged trails making the site inaccessible to the off-road vehicles. At this point habitat restoration was initiated at this site. The logging deck, which had now become a depression, was converted into a seasonal pond. As you can see from the photograph native vegetation is well on its way reclaiming the site.
The whole area, though encompassing a relatively small region, sports a rich diversity of plant species. Since I spent many summers in this area from the 1960’s onward, I have a keen interest in this restoration project. Currently, this is one of a number of habitat restoration projects that I have some involvement within the Crystal Basin/ western Crystal Range.
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Robert,
Thank you for your explanation. I recall you may have mentioned some of it before and it got me thinking of some similar experiences I had when I lived in Oslo. The problem wasn't off road vehicles after the logging but the huge machinery used for logging. They made huge tracks and other scars in the landscape, especially in wet soil. The scars last for decades and sometimes new streams were created that still exist.
I hope you will continue following how this site evolves.
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Ho Robert
Can you describe what a "logging deck" is.
Thanks,
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I apologize for the delay responding to the questions and comments. I currently have some deadlines that need to be met. I will get back to questions and comments as soon as I can. :)
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I'm sad that for some people getting out into nature means riding noisy, polluting, fire causing vehicles around, scarring the land. Of course they do it here too on gov't land in the foothills and mountains, usually the environments affected are not super fragile or rare, but there are surely cases where delicate environments with uncommon species are impacted. There was a move to change protection levels on some wide areas in the foothills and mtns west of me, a vast area, much of which is outside of existing parks or designated wilderness areas. The idea had many components, some improved facilities/access in certain areas, but eliminating offroad vehicles in other large zones, which had people in this area up in arms :( that was the previous slightly left of centre provincial gov't, which the largely conservative rural folk already hated. The current, conservative provincial gov't has not addressed that area, but is moving to remove park or protected status from many smaller areas in the province :( Sad that conservatives seem to want only to conserve social mores from the past, and not the planet we live on...
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Arnold, what I would understand as a logging deck is a place where felled trees are cut up is sizes that can be hauled with large scale trucks down to the mill where they are sawed into planks. In my part of the world this created serious erosion problems all along. Nowadays there are portable saw mills that allow the operation to be carried out much more locally reducing the level of heavy machinery wandering inside fragile ecosystems. Logging in public forests always involves after logging restoration measures. From what I understand, its with taxpayers money that it is done rather by direct taxing the logging activity. Imho, it should be built in the costs of wood products sold later. The buyer of wood will see price rise, but it would be a much fairer deal. Sustainability is exactly about this. Of course loggers will yell loud against something like this. That is where real policy makers have the duty of stepping in and regulating the activity. The best way of stopping logging is making the activity just too costly by adding the cost of restoration directly to it. More fragile land is then preserved from unnecessary greedy ravaging of the land. Steep slopes and far way hinterlands can thus be spared.
Arturo
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Arturo,
Thank you for answering Arnold’s question.
Right now part of what I do is in the “frontlines” of restoration activities. It seems meaningful to me even if whatever I do does not make any difference. At least I am putting out the effort toward something I believe in. Personally, I am not interested in policy, or politics. My efforts are 100% toward finding ways to restore what is broken. The patch and repair job frequently does not resemble the pristine past, but it is a success in my mind if nature can take over and function in a dynamic, biodiverse way without human intervention. Some repair jobs are very difficult and nature responds with many scars.
Anyway, I will be back posting soon.
Right now the extremely dry weather and lack of snow will be my topic of discussion. How our native species are responding is up most on my mind and part of my general thesis.
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Robert
whatever you do towards restoring nature is very meaningful! Looking back at my work, a first effort of stopping damaging large scale human intervention is always beneficial. As you have found already, in many cases it is not enough and pick and choose actions are necessary at a much finer level. Can nature restore itself if left by its own means? Years ago I would have said yes. Now I know that not. Specially because human action has a global effect contributing or causing climate change. So your next question, how are we going to aid individual species to overcome this. That is an herculean endeavour! Yet, even if, as you say, it is only merely meaningful in your mind, one can only reach peace if one contributes even minimally to mitigate human damage to the environment, in any way possible. Studying how individual species withstand extreme climate conditions is invaluable for their conservation. Some will do alright, others will need assistance, and even a few will be doomed. The latter however could still be maintained ex-situ and eventually returned to their original sites when the global climate change issue is better understood and controlled. Restoration of wildlife (animals) has been going on for quite a few decades by now. Restoration of plants is much more difficult because, what keeps infrequent species in a site is very poorly understood. Ecological determinants are easy to measure for the dominant or frequent species but for the time being it doesn't seem to condition the existence of the infrequent, rare or endangered plant species. The biodiversity of any site however is determined by the latter, not by those frequent species that define a natural landscape. Only a keen observer like you, can spot what makes a place so unique! Two sites may have a very similar overall canopy, yet in its entrails one may be very diverse whilst the other quite uniform. This poses serious difficulties to explain to the forester or policy maker : the why such place is unique and should be excluded from human intervention. This has been your permanent battle, from what I gather from looking back at your years long Crystal range project. I greatly appreciate what you do, because you are reporting in detail all aspects of human intervention including that of mitigation or species restoration. The long term reporting is a success in itself, because it can easily help others pin point where failures became apparent and their possible causes . Imo, politics become worthless heated debates when the underlying long term policies were unable to address the real issues. With your work, you are helping your community and the world to come up with real policies. Policy makers need reliable data and gradually you are providing it.
Arturo
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Arturo, thanks for the answering the question.
Just struck me, a guy in New Jersey asks a question of a guy in California, the question is answered by a guy in Argentina.
My condolences on the passing of an all too young Argentinian who was able to bend the laws of physics and change the way time passes, RIP DAM
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My condolences on the passing of an all too young Argentinian who was able to bend the laws of physics and change the way time passes, RIP DAM
Now I ask for an explanation for this last sentence... ;D perhaps certain laws of physics are restricted and not such when applied to other realms of existence. Imo many realms of existence are unfurling intricately intertwined, as layers of an onion bulb, although in direct touch with each other. For instance there's not only astronomical time as measured by a wrist watch. There are others too that tick at a different pace.
Arturo
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Arturo
I'm sorry if I was too cryptic.
I was referring to the recent passing of Diego Armando Maradona, a great Argentinian soccer player.
He was very proficient at doing things on a soccer ( football) field that many could only imagine.
He moved in spaces that he shouldn't have been able to, and seemed to freeze time at his whim.
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Arnold,
thank you for your explanation. Within the wide array of types of people that comprise any country I belong to a 'rara avis' group here. I simply have kept alien to football ( soccer there) all my life and therefore hardly ever would I have made the connection. DAM passing away is just a distant sad note because it causes sorrow to so many of his fans. Of his undeniable football virtues I haven't got even a faintest clue; other aspects of his personality I don't share and yet wouldn't dare a comment. Anyway, now that I understand your message, thank you for your kind wishes.
Arturo
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The big news around Northern California is the lack of precipitation to date. Currently at the Placerville farm, the accumulated precipitation total through the end of November is running 27.83% of average. I use an older methodology to calculate precipitation to date, which for me means using 1 July as a starting date for the precipitation season. I started keeping weather records in the 1960’s and have chosen to keep a few of my antiquated methods. In the Crystal Range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains the precipitation situation is not much better. Below 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) there is, more or less, no snow on the ground. Snow depth and liquid equivalents above 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) are better, but are also slowly deteriorating each day as the sunny dry weather continues. It is still early in our precipitation season. These deficits can be overcome and have been in the past. However, each day that remains dry intensifies the precipitation deficit. From 1 December through March average daily precipitation totals for the season increase rapidly. Currently, there is no precipitation is sight for the next 7 days. We are hoping for a change soon.
Hello Trond,
Yes, I will continue to follow the events and progress at many sites in my region of interest. In several cases I am marginally involved with the USFS and their restoration projects. For the most part, I will continue with my independent research. This has advantages as well as disadvantages, the big one being financing. Nothing is perfect! The freedom to think independently is very liberating and creative.
Arturo & Cohan,
I have found what works best for me are the following:
I continually ask myself “How” of “What” do I need to do to make a difference concerning my projects or a USFS restoration project, etc.? For me these are questions of personal responsibility and a call to action on my part. For me it is important to make zero effort to change others, thus my disinterest in politics. I take the initiative to stay current in rapidly expanding fields such as plant physiology, atmospheric science, etc. I guess I like this stuff; I am easily motivated.
Some of the current USFS restoration projects have very challenging features. Presently, I am attempting devise a workable plan to correct some very challenging aspects within one project. Nobody is asking me to do this, so the ideas will likely get filed away, never used. I am fine with this. For me, this is a great exercise in imagination, resourcefulness and self-improvement (for example, how does one fix something that has never been fixed before, at little cost, and with relative ease of implementation).
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Robert,
If the climate continue changing and you steadily get warmer and drier years you have to consider that in your restoration plans I suppose.
This year 2020 seems to be the warmest or the second warmest since observations started in 1867 here in Norway. 2014 is the warmest till now. But we have also gotten more precipitation, mostly as rain.
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Hello Trond,
My mother passed on 7 December (95). Currently I am helping my brother settle the estate. Needless to say I am tied up with stuff right now. There is light at the end of the tunnel! I will be back out soon enough. :)
I enjoyed your graphic immensely. 8)
Yes, a well-designed restoration project will take climate change into consideration. There are some very interesting methods that will influence the outcome and ameliorate some of the detrimental impacts of projected climate changes within natural systems that make full use of existing natural processes. An important key is to find processes that function and can be implemented with a minimal amount of human intervention, monitoring, and capital expense. In other words – a well designed plan that is implemented well.
We have good news. There is precipitation in the forecast! This after some record breaking high temperatures, both for the day and the whole month of December. :o
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Hello Robert,
So sorry to hear about your mother. My condolences. I know you have much to think about and much to do these days but better days will come.
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Seems you will get more rain than us the next days!
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So sorry for your loss Robert and hope you have the support of family and friends at this difficult time.
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Robert
My condolences to you and your family.
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Trond, Gail, and Arnold
Thank you for your messages of condolences. My mother had dementia for 15 years. It progressed very slowly over this period of time. For my brother, my wife and I, it was a long haul caregiving. In the end my mother went very quickly (only a few days) and this was a blessing. The last month with my mother was very sweet. This was good. Now that she is gone, there is much less grief. At 95, it seemed like a life well lived. Now many things are different for me and it will take a while to sort out a new schedule for work, research, and other activities. There is much for me to look forward to.
Trond,
Your photograph of the ocean was very fitting! :)
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We finally received some much-needed precipitation during the past week. Our average precipitation to date jumped from 19.7% of average on 12 December to 34.5% of average as of 19 December. Although the short-range forecast indicates somewhat dry condition for the next week, my longer-range seasonal forecast for January looks promising. Some of the factors in favor of average precipitation during this time period are: The weakening of the current strong La Niña pattern in the Equatorial Tropical Pacific. An emerging MJO pattern that is likely to be favorable for enhanced precipitation during parts of January. How the current anemic Walker Circulation pattern will evolve in the coming months will likely have a strong impact on our winter weather.
Snow amounts in the Crystal Range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains are low. In the mid-elevations, plus or minus 5,000 feet (1,524 meters), snow liquid equivalents are 48.2% of the 5-year average. The higher elevations are fairing better, with liquid equivalents running about 93.1% of the 15-year average. During the last 30 days, there have been long periods of time with no snow cover in the mid-elevations and very little snow cover in much of the higher elevations of the Crystal Range. This pattern, with its associated positive feedback loops, has been accelerating over the past 5 years. This is something to keep a close eye on.
My last outing several weeks ago to the Peavine Ridge area revealed a few perennial species emerging from their summer dormancy. The most noticeable was Poa secunda ssp. secunda. Due to the dry conditions, germination of autumn germinating species has been very weak. It looks promising that I will be getting out again soon. I will be very curious to see how things are shaping up.