Alpine Vegetation Monitoring

Alpine flowers blooming along a trail in Mount Rainier National Park.

Vegetation is fundamental to ecosystem function, energy transfer, and element cycling. It drives ecosystem productivity, provides habitat and forage for wildlife, and food and materials for subsistence. Because vegetation responds directly to environmental drivers, it serves as a useful indicator of environmental change.

Northeast Temperate Network

Forests Offer Many Benefits

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  Klamath Network

  Terrestrial Vegetation

  Shifts in vegetation structure, function, and composition will in turn have a profound effect on overall ecosystem health.

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  Southwest Alaska Network

  Vegetation Composition & Structure

  Because vegetation responds directly to environmental drivers, it serves as a useful indicator of environmental change.

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  North Coast & Cascades Network

  Forest Vegetation Monitoring

  Late-successional, coniferous forest is critical for ecosystem function and biological conservation in the Pacific Northwest.

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  North Coast & Cascades Network

  Subalpine Vegetation Monitoring

  Because a cold climate is a primary determinant of species, alpine and subalpine vegetation is very sensitive to climate warming.

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  Rocky Mountain Network

  Alpine Vegetation & Soils

  Changes in weather and climate patterns, nutrient budgets, and human use impacts all can influence the health of alpine communities.

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  Greater Yellowstone Network

  Alpine Vegetation & Soils

  Alpine communities are sensitive to changes in weather and climate, air quality, and human and natural disturbance.

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  Southwest Alaska Network

  Sensitive Plant Communities

  We measure vegetation composition and structure on nunataks to estimate long-term changes in species richness and abundance.

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  GLORIA Monitoring in National Parks

  Learn which national parks participate in global monitoring of the effects of climate change on alpine vegetation and soil, and why.