• Start-up
  • Planning
  • Action
  • Evaluation

Promoting resilience of fragile alpine plant communities in the Northeast in the face of global change.

Climate change threatens alpine plant species persistence due to higher risks of tree encroachment into alpine areas, erosion of fragile soil, atmospheric pollution/deposition, introduction of invasive species, and increased use from recreation. These impacts can result in changes to the community composition and loss of carbon stores in sensitive alpine ecosystems. This project seeks to create a toolbox for managers to use when planning and implementing management actions geared toward climate adaptation in high-elevation areas in the Northeast. The Presidential Range of New Hampshire serves as a testing ground for these efforts geared toward alpine and forest ecologists, land managers, and outdoor recreation communities. Ongoing monthly stakeholder meetings provide an outlet to share data and resources and determine ongoing manager needs for the project.

Project Area

Extent of alpine zone (full project area) in the Presidential Range of New Hampshire
The project area includes the entire alpine zone of the Presidential Range in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (2792 acres) within the White Mountain National Forest. Mt. Washington is the most notable peak in this region with a summit elevation of 6,288 feet.

The area is home to a number of alpine plant communities, which are distinct from the surrounding forests at lower elevations as a result of the harsh climate. Notable species include Diapensia, Bigelow sedge, a number of uncommon Vaccinium species, and other ericaceous plants. The Alpine Gardens, a 100-acre area to the east of the Mt. Washington summit, is an area of special consideration, as it serves as an ecological refugia that hosts a large diversity of native plants.

The Presidential Alpine Zone also includes many hiking trails and many visitors visit this area throughout the year (upwards of 500,000 per year in the White Mountain National Forest as a whole). Long-term climatological and ecological research has been conducted in this zone by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and partners including the USDA Forest Service and the Mt. Washington Observatory.

Management Goals

Goal 1: Increase or maintain alpine species diversity.

  • Re-vegetate areas that have been most impacted by warming and overuse. 
  • Monitor species richness in permanent plots. (30 years)

Goal 2: Reduce visitor negative impacts such as trampling in the alpine zone. 

  • Prevent off-trail usage by the public in the alpine zone and increase educational signage in the area. (30 years)

Goal 3: Reduce invasive species cover. 

  • Reduce the area of identified invasive species cover below 5% in permanently monitored plots. (10 years)

Climate Change Impacts

For this project, the most important anticipated climate change impacts include:
Temperatures in New England are projected to increase 5.3 to 9.1 °F by late century (2071-2100), with the greatest warming expected to occur during winter.
The winter season will be shorter and milder across New England and northern New York, with less precipitation falling as snow and reduced snow cover and depth.
Intense precipitation events will continue to become more frequent in the region.
Warmer temperatures and altered precipitation in the region will interact to change soil moisture patterns throughout the year, with the potential for both wetter and drier conditions depending on the location and season.
Many invasive plants will increase in extent or abundance in the region.
Many northern and boreal tree species will face increasing stress across much of the region.
Habitat will become more suitable in the region for some southern species.
Systems that are limited to particular environments will have less opportunity to migrate in response to climate change.

Challenges and Opportunities

Climate change will present challenges and opportunities for accomplishing the management objectives of this project, including:

Challenges

Alpine plants may be vulnerable to warming and changes in precipitation patterns.
Warming conditions may make alpine environments more accessible for recreation (hiking, etc.), greatly increasing the risk of plant trampling.
Changes in precipitation and soil moisture patterns from more rain and less snowpack may make planting efforts more difficult and decrease plant survival.
Erosion and loss of fragile soils will likely accelerate with less snow, more extreme storm events, and more people in the area. This will make trail construction or diversion more difficult to achieve.
Warmer annual temperatures and increased visitor use will increase the likelihood of non-native plant establishment and spread in the alpine zone. Given this, efforts to control invasives will need to continue at least at low levels in perpetuity.

Opportunities

More southern or low-elevation warm-adapted species and populations may be able to thrive in re-vegetation sites.
More visitor use from a warmer climate will benefit local economies and provide more financial support for our management efforts.
Even with climate change, the harsh alpine environment with increasing disturbance severity and frequency will likely limit the number of potential invasive species that could establish.

Adaptation Actions

Project participants used the Adaptation Workbook to develop several adaptation actions for this project, including:

Area/Topic
Approach
Tactics
Alpine ecosystems
Use surveys and remote-sensing techniques to identify microrefugia that can buffer plants from extreme climate change impacts in alpine zones and areas of high biological diversity. (1-5 years)
Monitor and conduct habitat suitability studies in climate refugia (e.g., common garden or artificial warming studies). (5-10 years)
Conduct planting and assisted migration in areas of high biodiversity. This would include moving populations of species that occur further south or at lower elevations (e.g., three-tooth cinquefoil, Diapensia, Bigelow sedge). (5-10 years)
Introduce native alpine species genotypes that are adapted warmer climates. This would include moving populations of species that occur further south or at lower elevations (e.g., three-tooth cinquefoil, Diapensia, Bigelow sedge). (15-30 years)
Recreation
Close refugia to visitor access. (10-30 years)
Encourage foot traffic to be restricted to trails. (1-10 years)
Rope off sensitive areas from public access to prevent trampling of alpine plants. (1-30 years)
Increase signage to educate the public about the value of alpine vegetation. (1-30 years)
Invasive species
Monitor and mechanically remove invasive species in alpine areas (e.g., common dandelion), especially in areas of high visitor use. (1-30 years)

Monitoring

Project participants identified several monitoring items that could help inform future management, including:
Alpine plant diversity and survival over time: Resurvey of line transects in previously identified areas every five years during the summer months. Measure species presence/absence, percent cover, and other noteworthy metrics of performance.
Continue monitoring climate variables with nearby dataloggers to assess changing climate conditions through time.
Consider installing and monitoring plant performance experimentally using passive warming structures.
Visitor-use of trails and structures in alpine area: Annual trail surveys of plant and soil condition within 5 meters of trail edge.
Visitation and visitor education: Install trail counters at trailheads and parking lots. Record number of cars in parking areas every year on weekly basis. Tally visitor numbers at AMC facilities daily and tally attendance at AMC educational events.

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