Linda H. Geiser

US Forest Service | FS · Air Resource Management

Critical loads (CLs) of atmospheric deposition have been used for multiple decades to assess the impacts of air pollutants on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, these CLs have been developed by different researchers, at different times, using different methods, and are named in different ways with varying levels of information and levels...

Species are a sensitive gauge of air quality only if the “signal” of their response to atmospheric deposition is properly distinguished from the “noise” of model error, measurement error and ecological variation. Here, we quantified and mapped uncertainty in ten lichen-based critical loads (CLs) or exceedances for nitrogen and sulfur deposition in...

Smoke from wildland fire is a significant concern to resource managers who need tools, knowledge, and training to analyze, address, and minimize potential impacts; follow relevant rules and regulations; and inform the public of possible effects. Successful navigation of competing pressures to appropriately use fire on the landscape to manage fire-a...

The DeLong Mountain Transportation System (DMTS) haul road links the Red Dog Mine—one of the world’s largest zinc mines—with a shipping port on the Chukchi Sea in northwest Alaska, USA. The road traverses 32 km of National Park Service (NPS) lands managed by Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR). Fugitive dusts from ore concentrate transport an...

Critical loads are thresholds of atmospheric deposition below which harmful ecological effects do not occur. Because lichens are sensitive to atmospheric deposition, lichen-based critical loads can foreshadow changes of other forest processes. Here, we derive critical loads of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) deposition for continental US and coastal Al...

State of the science book about forest and range soils in the US

There is an inseparable connection between the health of soils and the well-being of people. Disturbances—changing climate and environment, invasive species, increasing wildfire severity and frequency, land management practices, and land use changes—are affecting soil health in complex ways that are only partially understood. This assessment provid...

Flying across the eastern United States at an altitude of 10,000 m, we see a landscape below that is a mosaic of forests, rivers, farm fields, towns, and cities. Almost all of the lands covered by forests today have undergone intensive harvest, and even regrowth and reharvests, following decades or centuries of cultivation-based agriculture and oth...

Atmospheric nitrogen and sulfur pollution increased over much of the United States during the twentieth century from fossil fuel combustion and industrial agriculture. Despite recent declines, nitrogen and sulfur deposition continue to affect many plant communities in the United States, although which species are at risk remains uncertain. We used...

Critical loads of atmospheric deposition help decision-makers identify levels of air pollution harmful to ecosystem components. But when critical loads are exceeded, how can the accompanying ecological risk be quantified? We use a 90% quantile regression to model relationships between nitrogen and sulfur deposition and epiphytic macrolichens, focus...

We provide updated spatial distribution and inventory data for on-road NH3 emissions for the continental United States (U.S.) On-road NH3 emissions were determined from on-road CO2 emissions data and empirical NH3:CO2 vehicle emissions ratios. Emissions of NH3 from on-road sources in urbanized regions are typically 0.1-1.3tkm-2yr-1 while NH3 emissi...

Lichens are symbiotic composite organisms made of a fungus (ascomycete or rarely basidiomycete), plus an alga or a cyanobacterium, or occasionally all three. They can be important components of post-eruption vegetation recovery because of their ability to fix nitrogen, which is absent or at low levels in new volcanic deposits. Patterns of macrolich...

• Lichens have been used to efficiently track major drivers of global change from the local to regional scale since the beginning of the industrial revolution (sulphur dioxide) to the present (nitrogen deposition and climate change). Currently, the challenge is to universalize monitoring methodologies to compare global change drivers’ simultaneous...

Human activity has significantly increased the deposition of nitrogen (N) on terrestrial ecosystems over pre-industrial levels leading to a multitude of effects including losses of biodiversity, changes in ecosystem functioning, and impacts on human well-being. It is challenging to explicitly link the level of deposition on an ecosystem to the casc...

Spatial patterns of Zn, Pb and Cd deposition in Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR), Alaska, adjacent to the Red Dog Mine haul road, were characterized in 2001 and 2006 using Hylocomium moss tissue as a biomonitor. Elevated concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Zn in moss tissue decreased logarithmically away from the haul road and the marine port. T...

Modeled 2006 Cd moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Average change between modeled 2001 and 2006 Cd moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Percent change between modeled 2001 and 2006 Cd moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Modeled 2001 Cd moss tissue concentrations along the DMTS. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Modeled 2006 Cd moss tissue concentrations along the DMTS. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Average change between modeled 2001 and 2006 Pb moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (lower and upper bound of the 95% interval) of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Percent change between modeled 2001 and 2006 Pb moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (lower and upper bound of the 95% interval) of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Modeled 2006 Pb moss tissue concentrations along the DMTS. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (lower and upper bound of the 95% interval) of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Average change between modeled 2001 and 2006 Pb moss tissue concentrations along the DMTS. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (lower and upper bound of the 95% interval) of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Average change between modeled 2001 and 2006 Zn moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (lower and upper bound of the 95% interval) of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Percent change between modeled 2001 and 2006 Zn moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (lower and upper bound of the 95% interval) of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Plot of empirical observations of moss tissue concentrations on top of prediction, Zn 2001. (TIF)

Plot of empirical observations of moss tissue concentrations on top of prediction, Zn 2006. (TIF)

Modeled 2006 Cd moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. The DMTS easement is plotted on top of Cd concentrations in moss. (TIF)

Modeled 2006 Pb moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. The DMTS easement is plotted on top of Pb concentrations in moss. (TIF)

Laboratory Analysis Methods Used for 2006 Moss Tissue Samples. (PDF)

Average change between modeled 2001 and 2006 Cd moss tissue concentrations along the DMTS. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (lower and upper bound of the 95% interval) of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Modeled 2006 Pb moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (lower and upper bound of the 95% interval) of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Modeled 2006 Zn moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (lower and upper bound of the 95% interval) of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Modeled 2006 Zn moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. The DMTS easement is plotted on top of Zn concentrations in moss. (TIF)

Tonnes of Pb and Zn concentrate shipped by Red Dog Mine, 2001–2006. Provided by Teck, Inc., March 31, 2017. (PDF)

Modeled 2001 Zn moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (lower and upper bound of the 95% interval) of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Differences between north (N) and south (S) sides of DMTS haul road in 2006 modeled elemental concentrations and % change between 2001 and 2006. % N>S represents the percentage by which the north side exceeds the south side for a given metric. Strata for which the 95% credible interval in average change spanned zero for the north or south side have...

Modeled 2001 Cd moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Modeled 2001 Pb moss tissue concentrations in CAKR. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (lower and upper bound of the 95% interval) of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Modeled 2001 Pb moss tissue concentrations along the DMTS. The 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (lower and upper bound of the 95% interval) of the modeled concentrations are shown at right. Dots on the main graph are sized proportionally in four classes by the quartile distributions of the reciprocal of the CV. (TIF)

Ratios of N:S side of road modeled concentrations by stratum in 2001 and 2006. Strata 5 exists only in the south, and it has no N:S ratio but is still included in the overall mean. Strata for which the 95% credible interval in average change spanned zero for the north or south side have higher uncertainty are shown in blue with a smaller font. (PDF...

Significance Human activities have elevated nitrogen (N) deposition and there is evidence that deposition impacts species diversity, but spatially extensive and context-specific estimates of N loads at which species losses begin remain elusive. Across a wide range of climates, soil conditions, and vegetation types in the United States, we found tha...

Terrestrial ecosystems provide important resources for many human uses, however, these resources are threatened by nitrogen from air pollution. Identifying reductions in air pollution that will protect ecosystems is the main focus of the mitigation strategies currently being developed in the United States.

Atmospheric deposition of sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) has decreased steadily in the northeastern U.S. since the federal 1970 Clean Air Act was passed, yet deposition remains elevated above natural background levels throughout the region. Epiphytic macrolichens are highly sensitive to air pollution and their status is a good indicator of ecological...

Biomonitoring can provide cost-effective and practical information about the distribution of nitrogen (N) deposition, particularly in regions with complex topography and sparse instrumented monitoring sites. Because of their unique biology, lichens are very sensitive bioindicators of air quality. Lichens lack a cuticle to control absorption or leac...

Human activity in the last century has increased nitrogen (N) deposition to a level that has caused or is likely to cause alterations to the structure and function of many ecosystems across the United States. We synthesized current research relating atmospheric N deposition to effects on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in the United States, a...

The National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service manage areas in the states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington – collectively referred to in this report as the Pacific Northwest - that contain significant natural resources and provide many recreational opportunities. The agencies are mandated to protect the air quality and air pollution-sensitive re...

Nitrogen (N) deposition is impacting a number of ecosystem types in California. Critical loads (CLs) for N deposition determined for mixed conifer forests and chaparral/oak woodlands in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California using empirical and various modelling approaches were compared. Mo...

Critical loads (CLs) define the quantitative exposure to one or more pollutants below which significant harmful effects on sensitive elements of the environment do not occur, according to present knowledge. Management according to CLs generated for epiphytic lichens, a highly nitrogen (N)-sensitive indicator, should protect forested ecosystems from...

This chapter reports the findings of a Working Group on how atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition affects both terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity. Regional and global scale impacts on biodiversity are addressed, together with potential indicators. Key conclusions are that: the rates of loss in biodiversity are greatest at the lowest and initial...

a b s t r a c t Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition has had substantial impacts on forests of North America. Manag-ers seek to monitor deposition to identify areas of concern and establish critical loads, which define the amount of deposition that can be tolerated by ecosystems without causing substantial harm. We present a new monitoring approac...

Rapid expansion of natural gas drilling in Sublette County, WY (1999–present), has raised concerns about the potential ecological effects of enhanced atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition to the Wind River Range (WRR) including the Class I Bridger Wilderness. We sampled annual throughfall (TF) N deposition and lichen thalli N concentrations under for...

Human activity in the last century has led to a significant increase in nitrogen (N) emissions and atmospheric deposition. This N deposition has reached a level that has caused or is likely to cause alterations to the structure and function of many ecosystems across the United States. One approach for quantifying the deposition of pollution that wo...

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117159/1/eap20112183049.pdf

A wide range of semivolatile organic compounds (SOCs), including pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), were measured in lichen, conifer needles, snowpack and XAD-based passive air sampling devices (PASDs) collected from 19 different U.S. national parks in order to compare the magnitude and mechanism of SOC accumulation in the diff...

Background/Question/Methods Human activity in the last century has led to an exponential increase in nitrogen (N) emissions and deposition. This N deposition has reached a level that has caused or is likely to cause alterations and damage in many ecosystems across the United States. The critical load approach is an ecosystem assessment tool with...

The ForSAFE-VEG model was used to estimate atmospheric nitrogen deposition and climate effects on soil chemistry and ground vegetation in alpine and subalpine zones of the northern and central Rocky Mountains region in the USA from 1750 to 2500. Model simulations for a generalized site illustrated how the critical load of atmospheric nitrogen depos...

Empirical critical loads for N deposition effects and maps showing areas projected to be in exceedance of the critical load (CL) are given for seven major vegetation types in California. Thirty-five percent of the land area for these vegetation types (99,639 km(2)) is estimated to be in excess of the N CL. Low CL values (3-8 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1)) wer...

Critical loads (CLs) define maximum atmospheric deposition levels apparently preventative of ecosystem harm. We present first nitrogen CLs for northwestern North America's maritime forests. Using multiple linear regression, we related epiphytic-macrolichen community composition to: 1) wet deposition from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program,...

Seasonal snowpack, lichens, and lake sediment cores were collected from fourteen lake catchments in eight western U.S. National Parks and analyzed for sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to determine their current and historical deposition, as well as to identify their potential sources. Seasonal snowpack was measured to determine the c...

How much are contaminants impacting wildlife in Western U.S. National Parks?

We sampled epiphytic macrolichen communities on tree branches in 50 Pinus contorta peatlands in southeastern Alaska. We describe the natural range of variability in lichen communities in these habitats under baseline air quality and climatological conditions and interpreted how lichen community gradients related to site characteristics, tree charac...

Using data from randomly-selected surveys, historic locations, and ‘purposive’ surveys of likely habitats, fifteen rare epiphytic lichens (Bryoria pseudocapillaris, B. spiralifera, B. subcana, Erioderma sorediatum, Heterodermia leucomela, Hypotrachyna revoluta, Leioderma sorediatum, Leptogium brebissonii, Niebla cephalota, Pannaria rubiginosa, Pseu...

The ecological amplitudes, associated lichens, and substrates of fifteen regionally rare coastal epiphytic lichens (Bryoria pseudocapillaris, B. spiralifera, B. subcana, Erioderma sorediatum, Heterodermia leucomela, Hypotrachyna revoluta, Leioderma sorediatum, Leptogium brebissonii, Niebla cephalota, Pannaria rubiginosa, Pseudocyphellaria perpetua,...

Agriculture releases copious fertilizing pollutants to air sheds and waterways of the northwestern United States. To evaluate threats to natural resources and historic rock paintings in remote Hells Canyon, Oregon and Idaho, deposition of ammonia (NH3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) at five stations along 6...

Empirical critical loads (CL) for N deposition were determined from changes in epiphytic lichen communities, elevated NO(3)(-) leaching in streamwater, and reduced fine root biomass in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) at sites with varying N deposition. The CL for lichen community impacts of 3.1 kg ha(-1) year(-1) is expected to pro...

Topographic and meteorological conditions make the Columbia River Gorge (CRG) an 'exhaust pipe' for air pollutants generated by the Portland-Vancouver metropolis and Columbia Basin. We sampled fog, bulk precipitation, throughfall, airborne particulates, lichen thalli, and nitrophytic lichen distribution. Throughfall N and S deposition were high, 11...

Human activity is changing air quality and climate in the US Pacific Northwest. In a first application of non-metric multidimensional scaling to a large-scale, framework dataset, we modeled lichen community response to air quality and climate gradients at 1416 forested 0.4 ha plots. Model development balanced polluted plots across elevation, forest...

We evaluated the effects of probabilistic (hereafter DESIGN) and non-probabilistic (PURPOSIVE) sample surveys on resultant classification tree models for predicting the presence of four lichen species in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Models derived from both survey forms were assessed using an independent data set (EVALUATION). Measures of accuracy a...

Question How consistent are relationships of forest lichen community composition with environmental variables across geographic scales within region and across regions? Location Northwestern continental USA and east central continental USA. Method Four macrolichen data sets were compiled using identical plot sample protocol: species abundance est...

Lichens were collected from three low-elevation sites in the western Cascade Range: HJ Andrews, OR (clean) and Bull Run, OR, and Pack Forest, WA (moderately enhanced nitrogen and sulfur deposition). The latter sites were within 50 km of Portland and Seattle/Centralia urban-industrial areas, respectively. Tissue concentrations of sulfur, nitrogen, a...

A common concern when designing surveys for rare species is ensuring sufficient detections for analytical purposes, such as estimating frequency on the landscape or modeling habitat relationships. Strict design-based approaches provide the least biased estimates but often result in low detection rates of rare species. Here, we demonstrate how model...

We show how simple statistical analyses of systematically collected inventory data can be used to provide reliable information about the distribution and habitat associations of rare species. Using an existing design-based sampling grid on which epiphytic macrolichens had been inventoried in the Northwest Forest Plan area of the US Pacific Northwes...