Monument
INT1 Task 2
(Devil’s Postpile NM, 1997)
Please note that this is task example. No portion of this example should be used in your submission for this assessment. This example cannot be cited as a source.
Location
• Devil’s
Postpile
National
Monument
is located east of the southern end of
Yosemite
National
Park in
California
Please note that this is task example. No portion of this example should be used in your submission for this assessment. This example cannot be cited as a source.
(National Park Service, n.d., a)
Biotic Components
• Plants
– Indian Paintbrush
– Red Columbine
– Whitebark Pine
• Animals
(NPS, n.d., c)
– Pine Marten
– Black Bear
– Clark's Nutcracker
• (NPS, n.d., b)
Please note that this is task example. No portion of this example should be used in your submission for this assessment. This example cannot be cited as a source.
(NPS, n.d., d)
Abiotic Components
• Elevation 7569 feet above sea level
• Over 400 inches of snow each year
• Columnar basalt columns reaching 60 ft.
• Summer high temperatures can reach the mid 80’s Fahrenheit
– (NPS, n.d., f)
Please note that this is task example. No portion of this example should be used in your submission for this assessment. This example cannot be cited as a source.
(NPS, n.d., e)
Current Human Impacts
• Tourism accounts for much of the human impact
– Bringing non-local firewood into
Devil’s Postpile can introduce invasive species that then compete with native species (NPS,
n.d., g)
(Pavangkanan, 2008)
• Current air pollution from California
Central Valley and San Francisco is
“potentially phytotoxic to local flora, including highly sensitive species such as ponderosa or Jeffrey pines” (Bytnerowicz, 2013)
(Lea, 2006)
Please note that this is task example. No portion of this example should be used in your submission for this assessment. This example cannot be cited as a source.
Future Human Impacts
• If current trends continue, climate change could cause loss of biodiversity to this sensitive ecosystem
• Air pollution effects could worsen, resulting in loss of sensitive species
• Increased tourism could cause habitat destruction and further introduction of invasive species
Please note that this is task example. No portion of this example should be used in your submission for this assessment. This example cannot be cited as a source.
Guidelines
• Implement a robust monitoring program for especially diverse biotic factors, including birds, bats, and plants (NPS, n.d., h)
• Set quota for number of annual visitors and do not allow visitors to bring outside species in
• Continue to monitor abiotic factors including mean temperature, ozone and nitrogen oxides, and Please note that this is task example. No portion of this example should be used in snowpack your submission for this assessment. This example cannot be cited as a source.
(NPS, n.d., i)
References
Bytnerowicz, A., Burley, J. D., Cisneros, R., Preisler, H. K., Schilling, S., Schweizer, D., . . . Auble, B. (2013). Surface ozone at the Devils Postpile National Monument receptor site during low and high wildland fire years.
Atmospheric Environment,
65, 129-141.doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.10.024
Devil's Postpile NM [Photograph]. (1997). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Devils_postpile_NM.jpg
Lea, S. (Photographer). (2006). Western Salsify (''Tragopogon dubius'') photographed near Logan, Utah [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TragopogonDubiusUtah.jpg
National Park Service, (n.d.). Map of Devil’s Postpile and Surrounding Area. Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/depo/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=112409 National Park Service, n.d. Devils