Natural History of Ahlstrom’s and Roose’s Prairies in Olympic National Park
Project ID: J9W88040025
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Partner Institution: Western Washington University
Fiscal Year: 2004
Initial Funding: $20,000
Total Funding: $20,000
Project Type: Research
Project Disciplines: Biological
National Park: Olympic National Park
Principal Investigator: Bach, Andrew
Agreement Technical Representative: Conca, Dave
Abstract: This project will develop the Holocene climatic, vegetation, and cultural history of the Prairies near the Lake Ozette on the Olympic Peninsula. The prairies contain several non-forest ecosystems in a region boosting over 100 inches of rain annually and dense temperate rainforest vegetation. Our work thus far has determined that the prairies contain natural wetlands, formed following the last glacial advance in the area. The wetlands are depositional environments which contain a record of local vegetation composition (i.e. pollen and fossils), climatic data (i.e. isotopes deposited from the atmosphere, sediments, and biotic communities), and cultural data (i.e. fire occurrence and artifacts). Thus far, our analysis indicates a dynamic environment that has seen changes from a glacial landscape at ~14,000 years ago to a lake environment, the infilling of the lake and transition to a forested swamp at ~8000 years ago, then an increased incidence of fires and removal of the forest at ~2400 years ago. The prairies also contain large non-wetland areas which were created and maintained by burning. A significant question to be answered is if the burning was natural (i.e. lightning fires) or anthropogenic, and if the human component is historic or prehistoric. We have developed a fire history of the wetlands that suggest a higher incidence of fires than expected in this wet environment. The proposed project focuses on further refinement of the fire history.
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