Temperate Forests in Yosemite National Park
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"Swinging Bridge", Yosemite Valley |
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Milky Way over Yosemite Valley |
Intro
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Yosemite Fall 2 |
Yosemite is found in the vast area
of Temperate Deciduous Forests in the West Coast of the Unities States. The
expansive park’s 747,956 acres or 1,190 square miles are home to hundreds of
wildlife species and thousands of Yosemite plants. The park is roughly the size
of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and contains thousands of lakes and ponds,
1,600 miles (2,600 km) of streams, 800 miles (1,300 km) of hiking trails, and 350 miles (560 km) of roads.
Where is it?
Our topic is the temperate forest in Yosemite, so our research is
based on local scale. As the maps indicated below, the light green areas in the
world map are occupied by temperate forests. Among these areas, our group
focuses on the temperate forests in Yosemite, which is located in the central
eastern part of California.
What did this ecosystem
historically look like?
How Yosemite Was Formed 1 How Yosemite Was Formed 2
Even though the
Yosemite National Park is only 100+ years old, the history of this area could
date back to centuries ago. Numerous forces contoured and fashioned the
distinguished landscape of Yosemite. Geological forces formed the mountains
through compression and lift; glaciation cracked the rocks and the melt of ice
fields formed streams, rivers, and waterfalls. Trees were vastly found in
Yosemite area."Yosemite Falls was Booming" Yosemite Falls in the Past |
Non-Indian
settlers were the first ones to occur in this ecosystem prior to 1851. The park
had been designated to be a protected area ever since Abraham Lincoln from
1864. In 1889, John Muir and Robert Underwood Johnson lobbied for “the need for
legislation to designate the land for a national park”.
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"Yosemite Fall",Yosemite Fall in the Present |
Above was the picture of a giant Sequoia in historic Wawona area. The Scribner Brothers built this tunnel in 1881 primarily for stagecoaches but later for tourists, yet it fell in 1969. Now Yosemite National Park has three Sequoia groves of about 450 large trees.
Human Impacts on Yosemite’s Temperate Forests
Human Impacts on Yosemite’s Temperate Forests
In 1980, plans for reducing human impact on the park were released
and led by the National Park Service. However, before 1980, historical human
impacts had already generated some negative influence on the Temperate Forests
in Yosemite, especially the decrease in large-diameter trees and non-native
species invasion.
To start with, scientists have observed a significant decrease in large-diameter tree density, especially during the 20th century, in
Yosemite. This long-term change in forest structure is probably caused by
climate change, specifically global warming, which has a strong causation
relationship with human activities. “Warmer conditions increase the length of
the summer dry season and decrease the snowpack that provides much of the water
for the growing season. A longer summer dry season can also reduce tree growth
and vigor, and can reduce trees’ ability to resist insects and pathogens,” said
USGS scientist emeritus Jan van Wagtendonk. Although the survey conducted by
U.S. Geological Survey and University of Washington scientists did not
investigate or identify the causes of the decline, climate change should be
considered as a likely contributor and should be taken into serious consideration.
The reason why decrease in large-diameter trees is a concern for Yosemite’s
Forests is that changes in forest structure led to changes in trophic
relationships, which will then have strong impacts on the composition of
vegetation and animals communities.
To support this assessment, there is a comparison in the forests trees composition between the 1930s and the 1990s illustrated by the table below. As indicated in the table, the density of trees with smaller diameters has increased, while the density of trees with larger diameters has decreased.
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Fire Damaged Big Tree |
To support this assessment, there is a comparison in the forests trees composition between the 1930s and the 1990s illustrated by the table below. As indicated in the table, the density of trees with smaller diameters has increased, while the density of trees with larger diameters has decreased.
Besides the decrease in large-diameter trees, another major impact
caused by historical human activities is non-native species invasion. By the
late 19th century, a lot of non-native animals and diseases had been
introduced. For example, white pine blister rust, a fungal disease reached
Yosemite in the 1920s, had infected many sugar pine trees. This issue continued
to modern days, since human use in Yosemite’s Forests provide chances for
spreading non-native via human and vehicle vectors and for potentially
dispersing seeds by foot into remote areas. According to researches, scientists
noticed that the South Entrance and the Valley, which receive the majority of
the park’s visitors, have experience more frequent non-native species.
Fortunately, current park management has many measures and regulations
implemented to monitor and control non-native species.
In addition, there are a number of minor negative impacts brought by human activities, especially visitation and recreational activities, in this ecosystem: changes in the natural soundscape, etc. The presence of human have in some degree disrupt the natural settings of the Temperate Forests, and may affect plants and animals by artificial lighting and sounds.
Positive Impacts
In general, the National Park Service team at Yosemite has put in a lot of planning efforts and processes to preserve the ecosystem of Yosemite and to minimize the impacts of human activities on Yosemite.
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Vernal Fall 2 |
The Fire Management Program designed and implemented by the
National Park Service helps protect life, property and natural resources of
Yosemite. On one hand, suppression of destructive fire is carried out. On the
other hand, the managers also use tools to mimic fire’s natural function in the
ecosystem.
Benefits Gained from the Temperate Forests in Yosemite
Temperate Forests in Yosemite first provides human with enjoyment.
People can do sightseeing, camping, and various recreational activities in this
area, and fully appreciate the beauty of nature.
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Lower Yosemite Falls |
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Yosemite National Park 1 |
As mentioned in the beginning, the
entire park has been designated as a protected area since 19th
century. Before its protection under the National Park Service, Yosemite was
originally taken care by the “Buffalo Soldiers”, the U.S. Army's 24th Mounted
Infantry and the 9th Cavalry. In the 21st century, due to its
distinguished universal value, Yosemite is now a World Heritage Site.
How is the preservation status here?
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Vernal Fall |
What is likely to happen in the future to that
ecosystem?
It is most likely that Yosemite will
have less people congestion along with a more limited selection of activities
in Yosemite. The ecosystem will support less tourism activities such as ice
skating, swimming, and biking. The decrease in activities will eventually
follow up with the decrease in visitors. This is all in efforts of trying to
preserve the park more and trying to restore the park more. With the recent
efforts to limit such activity, the conservation methods will hopefully work
and the environment will be restored from the damages it faced with human
activities.
After
the fire in Yosemite on August 2013, most ecologists predicted the forest
layout to change and for fast-growing shrubs to fill in the burnt forest in
Yosemite. These fast-growing shrubs are more likely to burn more frequently
reducing the risk for the accumulation of dead woods and a big fire just like
the one in 2013. Hopefully this means that, disregarding the places in the
forest badly burned by the intense fire, the shrubs will return Yosemite back
to the past-like tendencies of having frequent fires and depending on them for
processes like seeds opening and etc.
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Rim Fire |
Another
future prospect of Yosemite is the effect done by climate change and global
warming. Due to global warming, the snow packs in Yosemite will be thinner and
thinner causing a major water loss in the entire park. The waterfalls will dry
up quicker and quicker as the global warming problem gets worse. Along with the
water supply, pine and fir trees will die much more quickly than now. Another
major impact global warming can have is the migration of mammals within the
park. Due to the changing temperature, they will change which elevation to live
in. This change will destroy natural habitats and will force a disruption in
the ecosystem.
What can be done to maintain balance between people and the ecosystem?
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Yosemite National Park 2 |
Other possibilities could be to
increase the amount of shuttles provided by the National Park. Since these shuttles
use much cleaner energy, having more of them and restricting car usage more
would solve the pollution problem a lot better. People consider the
accessibility of these shuttles when considering whether they should use
shuttles or their own vehicles but creating more of these shuttles would reduce
the use of personal vehicles. In correlation with increasing the number of
shuttles, bike rentals should be encouraged rather than discouraged. Although
it does attract tourists and it is not necessary in admiring the natural beauty
of Yosemite, it does reduce the usage of cars and it gives people the
alternative methods of transportation that doesn’t pollute the environment.
Another possibility is to educate
the people of the damages being done. They could put up signs that warn them
that prevent people from doing activities that could interfere with the
preservation of the forest. They could also include in the map of the park the
different damages that could be done. They could also inform children about the
damages so that future conservation is guaranteed as well. Even on the
shuttles, they could put up more posters to educate the people. Although not
everyone cares enough to act upon it, it will make a difference to those people
who truly appreciate the beauty of Yosemite.
Reflection
Our group chose
Yosemite because of what Dr. Gillespie said in lecture one day. We will only
truly begin to care about conservation of a location only after visiting it.
Yosemite is a national park that all three of us have recently visited and noticed
a great difference in. Over the summer, the drought was so severe and the water
shortage so critical that the falls produced minimal waters and the park that
looked so green and full of life in pictures changed so that there was less
water and less green. Through the project, we were able to use our own pictures
and knowledge obtained through the trips that we took. This project not only
helps us to connect what we learnt with what we experienced, it also inspires
us to think about future.
Bibliography
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Half Dome |
Reflection
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Nevada Fall |
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