314 



Inti'iidr Wcxr — Our Lning Resources 



Fig. 2. Top: Current distrihution 

 of whitehark pine portrayed by a 

 computerized geographic Intornia- 

 tion system (GIS). Bottom: 

 Distribution of whitebark pine pro- 

 jected by GIS analysis under a 

 modest increase in wamith and 

 dryness, showing a decrease of 

 approximately 90%. (Derived from 

 Romnie and Turner 1 1991 1 by the 

 Yellowstone CIS Laboratory. 

 Yellowstone National Park.) 



For further information: 



Paul Schullery 



National Park Service 



Yellowstone Center for Resources 



POBox 168 



Yellowstone Park. WY 82190 



aspen's changing status, including Native 

 American influences on numerous inanimal 

 species and on fire-retuiTi intervals before tiie 

 creation of the park in 1872: European intlu- 

 ences on tire frequency since 1886: regional cli- 

 mate warming; human harvests of beaver and 

 ungulates in the first 15 years of the park's his- 

 tory and of wolves and other predators before 

 1930: human settlement of traditional ungulate 

 migration routes north of the park since 1872: 

 ungulate (especially elk) effects on all other 

 parts of the ecosystem since 1900: and human 

 influences on elk distribution in the park 

 (Houston 1982: Schullery and Whittlesey 1992: 

 Kay 1993). 



Conclusions 



Research is but one component of land-man- 

 agement decisions (Varley 1993). While in 

 some respects the GYE has fulfilled the promise 

 of early scientists who described it as one of the 

 foremost natural laboratories on earth, both 

 managers and researchers need more informa- 

 tion to deal with the increasing demands on the 

 region's resources, either in temis of raw infor- 

 mation or in terms of an ecosystem-level under- 

 standing. In YNP, a landscape model is being 

 developed based on a computerized geographic 

 infomiation system that will integrate, analyze, 

 and display information from many disciplines 

 (Shovic et al. 1993). Through this level of syn- 

 thesis we may be able to better understand 

 trends in the GYE. 



References 



Blanchard. B.. and R. Knight. 1991. Movements of 

 Yellowstone grizzly bears. Biological Conservation 

 ."^8:41-67. 



Clark. T.W., and S.C. Minta. 1994. Greater Yellowstone's 

 future. Homestead Publishing. Moose. WY. 160 pp. 



Congressional Research Service. 1986. Greater Yellowstone 

 Ecosystem, an analysis of data submitted by federal and 

 state agencies. U.S. Government Printing Office. 

 Washington. DC. 210 pp. 



Craighead. J.. J. Vamey. and F. Craighead. 1974. A popula- 

 tion analysis of the Yellowstone grizzly bears. Montana 

 Forest and Conservation Experiment Station Bull. 40. 

 University of Montana. Missoula. 20 pp. 



Greater Yellowstone Coalition. 1992. Inside greater 

 Yellowstone. Greater Yellowstone Coalition. Bozeman. 

 MT. 16 pp. 



Gresswell. R.. and J. Varley. 1988. Effects of a century of 

 human influence on the cutthroat trout of Yellowstone 

 Lake. American Fisheries Society Symposium 4:45-52. 



Houston. D. 1982. The northern Yellowstone elk. ecology 

 and management. Macmillan. New York. 474 pp. 



Kay. C. 1993. Aspen seedlings in recently burned areas of 

 Grand Teton and Yellowstone National parks. Northwest 

 Science 67( 2 ):94- 103. 



Keiter. R.B.. and M.S. Boyce. 1991. The Greater 

 Yellowstone Ecosystem, redefining America's wilder- 

 ness heritage. Yale Universitv Press, New Haven. CT. 

 428 pp. 



Knight. D. 1994. Mountains and plains, the ecology of 

 Wyoming landscapes. Yale University Press. New Haven. 

 CT 338 pp. 



Mattson. D.. and M. Reid. 1991. Conservation of the 

 Yellowstone grizzly bear. Conservation Biology 

 5(3):364-372. 



Reese. R. 1984. Greater Yellowstone, the national park and 

 adjacent wildlands. Montana Geographic. Helena. 104 



PP- 



Romme. W.. and M. Turner 1991. Implications of global 

 climate change for biogeographic patterns in the Greater 

 Yellowstone Ecosystem. Conservation Biology 5(3):373- 

 386. 



Schullerv. P 1992. The hears of Yellowstone. High Plains 

 Publiiihing. Worland. WY. 318 pp. 



Schullery. P.. and L. Whittlesey. 1992. The documentary 

 record of wolves and related wildlife species in the 

 Yellowstone National Park area prior to 1882. Pages 1-4 

 to 1-174 //) J.D. Variey and W.G. Brewster, eds. Wolves 

 for Yellowstone? Vol. 4. A report to the U.S. Congress. 

 National Park Service. Yellowstone National Park. WY. 



Servheen, C. 1993. Grizzly bear recovery plan. U.S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service. Missoula. MT. 



Shovic. H.. M. Johnson, and H. Porter 1993. A new view of 

 an old land. Yellowstone Science l(2):2-6. 



Varley. J. 1993. Research in Yellowstone. Bioscience 

 43(3):3-4. 



Varley. J., and P. Schullery. 1983. Freshwater wilderness. 

 Yellowstone fishes and their worid. Yellowstone Library 

 and Museum Association, Yellowstone National Park, 

 WY. 132 pp. 



Wilcox. L. 1994. Sustaining wilderness. Panelist presenta- 

 tion. Cinnabar Symposium, Museum of the Rockies, 

 Bozeman, MT. March 25. Unpublished. 



Subalpine 

 Forests of 

 Western North 

 America 



by 



David L. Peterson 



National Biological Service 



Subalpine forest and meadow ecosystems are 

 important, climatically sensitive components 

 of mountainous regions of western North 

 America (Peterson 1991). Changes in tempera- 

 ture, precipitation, snowpack, storm frequency, 

 and fire all could affect the growth and produc- 

 tivity of these systems, resulting in substantial 

 shifts in the location of ecotones (see glossary) 

 between subalpine and alpine zones and montane 

 and subalpine zones (Canaday and Fonda 1974). 

 Subalpine forests of western North America 

 provide an excellent opportunity to examine 

 response to past climate variation. Trees in the 

 subalpine zone are frequently more than 500 

 years old and respond to climatic variations 



over annual to centuries-long time scales. The 

 magnitude of climatic variation these forests 

 have experienced may be compared with pro- 

 jections of future climate resulting from 

 increased concentration of greenhouse gases. 

 The population dynamics of subalpine tree 

 species can be used to interpret climatic condi- 

 tions under which trees have regenerated and 

 can indicate how subalpine forest and meadow 

 ecotones changed in the past. Preserved pollen 

 and plant fossils can be used to examine sub- 

 alpine vegetation distribution during different 

 climatic periods of the Holocene (since the last 

 ice age). 



Recent literature on the potential effects of 



