Nch'kay Subalpine Research
Trampling Study
To understand the effects of human trampling on alpine plants, we set up permanent 0.5 m x 10 m trail-side and off-trail transects near t'ak't'ak mu'yin tl'a in7in'a'xe7en meaning the “Landing Place of the Thunderbird” (along the Taylor Meadows/Helm Creek, Black Tusk, and Panorama Ridge trails) in August 2022. We quantified the effects of human trampling disturbance on the size and reproduction of our focal plants: White Mountain Heather (Cassiope mertensiana), Yellow Mountain Heather (Phyllodoce glanduliflora), Pink Mountain Heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis), Oval-leaf Blueberry (Vaccinium ovaliflora), and Sedges (Carex species).
Species-Specific Responses to Human Trampling Indicate Alpine Plant Size Is More Sensitive than Reproduction to Disturbance
Chardon, N. I., Stone, P., Hilbert, C., Maclachlan, T., Ragsdale, B., Zhao, A., Goodwin, K., Collins, C. G., Hewitt, N., & Elphinstone, C. (2023). Species-Specific Responses to Human Trampling Indicate Alpine Plant Size Is More Sensitive than Reproduction to Disturbance. Plants (Basel, Switzerland), 12(17), 3040. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12173040
Transects
10 meter long sampling transects to measure trampling disturbance
Plant measurements
Measuring plant height and width within transect plots
Crew
Trampling study research team