1 / 22

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Salamanders and Storms: Issues Facing The Smokies in a Changing Climate. What Makes the Smokies So Special?. Unparalleled scenery largest sweep of undeveloped upland wilderness in the East 16 peaks > 6,000’ Rugged, varied topography

leona
Download Presentation

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park Salamanders and Storms: Issues Facing The Smokies in a Changing Climate

  2. What Makes the Smokies So Special? • Unparalleled scenery • largest sweep of undeveloped upland wilderness in the East • 16 peaks > 6,000’ • Rugged, varied topography • 2,000 miles of streams, 900 miles of trails • Biodiversity hotspot

  3. Climate Change Impacts in the Appalachians More intense precipitation events, extended drought periods and heat waves increases in soil erosion, stream sedimentation and wildfires increases in diseases and insect outbreaks

  4. Temperature Changes

  5. Climate Change in the Smokies More Questions Than Answers Are streams warming over time and how will that impact life within? How muchrain will we get in the Smokies? How will more intense storms or longer droughts impact streams and the life within? How will rain be distributed in time and space? Will there be species shift? Will pollinators lose synchronization with their host plants? Will stress from changes in water and temperature impact the ecosystem’s ability to adapt to threats from exotic species or acid deposition? Will bird migration still coincide with food availability? What are the target species we should be track (i.e. what are the best ecological indicators of climate change - amphibians, avifauna, inverts, etc.)?

  6. ATBI in the Smokies Invertebrates Non-Vascular Plants / Fungi Vertebrates Known Vascular Plants Estimated Unknown

  7. Algae 78 new to science, 566 new park records Spiders 41 new to science, 266 new park records Snails 7 new to science, 50 new park records Mushrooms 57 new to science, 583 new park records Flies 29 new to science, 317 new park records New Park Records: 6,582 Beetles 42 new to science, 1,488 new park records Millipedes 2 new to science, 22 new park records

  8. ATBI in the Smokies Ligdia n sp. Moth/Butterfly 36 new to science, 944 new park records Ramazzottius n. sp. Tardigrade = Water bear 18 new to science, 55 new park records Cosberella lamaralexanderi Collembola = Springtail 60 new to science, 144 new park records New Species to Science: 907 Neophylax kolodskii Caddisfly 5 new to science, 78 new park records Diachaea n sp. Slime Mold 17 new to science, 139 new park records

  9. Unique High Elevation Ecosystem As environmental thresholds shift in space and time, species can either: • Adapt • Migrate • Become extinct Could result in native species being replaced by more competitively superior exotic invasive species. Delcourt and Delcourt, 2009

  10. Unique High Elevation Ecosystem Spruce/Fir Forest at a tipping point Rugels Ragwort: Smokies Endemic, Federally Listed Endangered Species Saw-Whet Owl: Federal Species of Concern Spruce-Fir Moss Spider: Federally Listed Endangered Species Red-Cheek Salamander: Smokies Endemic Long-tail Shrew: Species of Concern in NC

  11. Density Distribution of the Red-cheeked salamander (Plethodon jordani) at GRSM

  12. MaximumJuly Temperature

  13. Climate Change

  14. Tornado Damage April 27, 2011:Category 4, Winds 166-220 mph

  15. Climate Change Annual and Summer Precipitation Trends Great Smoky Mountains NP – Elkmont (Source: NADP/TN11)

  16. Lead By Example

  17. Climate Change recycle 50% (2015), reduce fuel 30% and GHG 20% (2020)

  18. Attract the Best Science

  19. Plan for Change, Manage for Risks

  20. Communicate Results, Provide Hope Citizen Science

  21. Contact Information Susan Sachs Emily Darling Education Coordinator, Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center Great Smoky Mountains National Park (828) 926 -6251 susan_sachs@nps.gov emily_darling@nps.gov

More Related