A Longitudinal Analysis of Photopoint Monitoring in the Adirondack Alpine Zone
Alpine ecosystems on the highest mountain summits are unique features of the Northern Forest and home to the region’s rarest plant species and some of its greatest recreational opportunities. Alpine species are adapted for harsh conditions but are fragile to human foot traffic. The Adirondack High Peaks Summit Steward program of the Adirondack Mountain Club has used photopoint monitoring to track vegetative change in areas subject to human trampling. Photopoints are photographs taken repeatedly from the same exact position over time.
Photos from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s served as a baseline for NSRC researchers to compare rates of trampling, erosion, and vegetative re-growth to that in photos taken more recently. Photopoint monitoring also provides a tool for assessing the Summit Steward program which began providing an educational steward on peaks in 1989.
Sophisticated image analysis of photos from the 1960s to 2009 shows a significant increase in vegetation cover, lichen, and exposed rock and a significant decrease in exposed gravel and organic soil. These findings suggest that management has been successful, and vegetation in the alpine zone is recovering. The increase in exposed rock occurred between the 1960s and 1990s, but in the 1999 to 2009 comparison, exposed rock significantly decreases. The presence of erect spruce and fir trees increases significantly in the images over a 30-plus year time span. Researchers found trends of maintaining or increasing vegetation cover on peaks with a Summit Steward present and decreasing vegetation on peaks without a steward, suggesting that an educational presence helps deter trampling.
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