Monitoring of highaltitude ecosystems Don Campbell Alisa Mast

Monitoring of highaltitude ecosystems Don Campbell Alisa Mast Dave Clow Leora Nanus George Ingersoll Carol Kendall Jill Baron Alex Wolf Heather Rueth Brenda Moraska Koren Nydick Mark Williams Paul Brooks Tamara Blett John Turk NPS, USDA-FS, EPA, NSF, Colorado DPHE, Universities, and others

Why monitor ‘clean’ systems? • Mountains are primary water supply for western U. S. • Valuable as reference sites for disturbed areas. • Crown jewels of public lands: mandates to protect wilderness and parks “unimpaired”…

How do we tell what is “impaired”? Pollutants in atmospheric deposition: Acidity (sulfur and nitrogen) Nitrogen Mercury Organic pollutants Air Quality “Impairment/Impact” Thresholds: Resource/AQRV change thresholds need to be established (by the NPS) for ecosystem protection How much change will we allow in flora, fauna, soil, water, visibility? (what amount of change constitutes “impairment” or “adverse impact”)

Regional trends in precipitation concentration 1985 -99 NADP / NTN data -D. W. Clow and M. A. Mast, USGS

Pathways and Effects of Excess Nitrogen Deposition N Deposition Fertilization Changes in Plant Communities Lake Eutrophication Loss of Soil Base Cations N Saturation Changes in Aquatic Species Loss of Lake ANC (acidification)

Research and monitoring for resource management Intensive studies Process modeling Long-term monitoring Synoptic surveys Population estimates Empirical modeling

US Forest Service lakes monitoring WY Ø Synoptic surveys Ø Long-term monitoring CO Long-term lakes Continental Divide National Park National Forest

30 Nitrate in wilderness lakes 20 10 0 Wilderness area

Wet deposition of nitrogen NO 3 NH 4 MT ID MT WY WY ID Deposition (kg N/ha) 0 – 0. 5 – 1. 0 – 1. 5 – 2. 0 – 2. 5 – 3. 0 – 3. 5 UT UT CO CO AZ NM

Long-term monitoring sites WY CO

Front Range, Northcentral Colorado Ø 3 -6 kg N / ha wet deposition. Ø Low retention of inorganic N in terrestrial ecosystem. Ø Aquatic ecosystem N assimilation: Nitrate 3 -5 meq/L lower in outlet. Ø Many watersheds sensitive to N deposition. Front Range

Mount Zirkel, Northwest Colorado Ø 3 -5 kg N / ha wet deposition. Ø High retention of inorganic N in terrestrial ecosystem. Ø No leakage of inorganic N from lake. Ø Organic N: stored or exported? Ø Most watersheds not highly sensitive to N deposition.

Wind River, Northwest Wyoming Ø 1 -3 kg N / ha wet deposition. Ø Moderate retention of inorganic N in terrestrial ecosystem. Ø Aquatic ecosystem N assimilation: Nitrate 3 -5 meq/L lower in outlet. Ø Many watersheds sensitive to N deposition. Wind River

Weminuche, Southwest Colorado Ø 1 -3 kg N / ha wet deposition. Ø Moderate retention of inorganic N in terrestrial ecosystem. Ø Aquatic ecosystem N assimilation: Nitrate 3 -5 meq/L lower in outlet. Ø Sensitive to acidification (acid rock drainage).

Nitrogen Emissions sources in the Rockies Ø Transportation Ø Electric power generation Ø Energy development Ø Agriculture

Toxic compounds in atmospheric deposition ?

Mercury in ice core from Upper Fremont Glacier • Remote location in Wyoming, 4000 m elevation • 70% of Hg-T deposition during last 100 years from anthropogenic sources. • Peak deposition = 20 x background. • Better temporal resolution than sediment cores. -Shuster et al. , Environmental Science and Technology, 2002

Paleolimnological records of deposition. Mercury Pesticides Lake sediments, Mount Zirkel Lake sediments, Rocky Mt. NP Mills Lake total DDT (ug/kg) 0 5 10 15 Depth (cm) 0 5 10 15 20 Van Metre, Krabbenhoft, Striegl, and others, USGS

Lower valley of East Inlet, 7/12/00