Ecological responses at Mount St. Helens : revisited 35 years after the 1980 eruption

This book builds on existing work exploring succession, disturbance ecology, and the interface between geophysical and biological systems in the aftermath of the 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens. The eruption was dramatic both in the spatial extent of impacts and the range of volcanic disturbance types and intensities. Complex geophysical forces created unparalleled opportunities to study initial ecological responses and long-term succession processes that occur in response to a major contemporary eruption across a great diversity of ecosystems—lowland to alpine forests, meadows, lakes, streams, and rivers. These factors make Mount St. Helens an extremely rich environment for learning about the ecology of volcanic areas and, more generally, about ecosystem response to major disturbance of many types, including land management. Lessons about ecological recovery at Mount St. Helens are shaping thought about succession, disturbance ecology, ecosystem management, and landscape ecology. In the first five years after the eruption several syntheses documented the numerous, intensive studies of ecological recovery. The 2005 volume “Ecological Responses to the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens” (Springer Publishing) was the first ecological synthesis since 1987 of the scores of ecological studies underway in the area. More than half of the world’s published studies on plant and animal responses to volcanic eruptions have taken place at Mount St. Helens. The 25-year synthesis, which generally included investigations (i.e., data) from 1980-2000, made it possible to more thoroughly analyze initial stages of ecological responses and to test the validity of early interpretations and the duration of early phenomena. And 35 years after the eruption, it is time for many of the scientists working in the first three-decade, post-eruption period to pass the science baton to the next generation of scientists to work at Mount St. Helens, and a synt hesis a t this time of transfer of responsibility to a younger cohort of scientists will be an enormous asset to the continuation of work at the volcano. Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Ecological Responses to the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens: Key Lessons and Remaining Questions (Virginia H. Dale, Charles M. Crisafulli)....Pages 1-18 Sediment Erosion and Delivery from Toutle River Basin After the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens: A 30-Year Perspective (Jon J. Major, Adam R. Mosbrucker, Kurt R. Spicer)....Pages 19-44 Geomorphic Response of the Muddy River Basin to the 1980 Eruptions of Mount St. Helens, 1980–2000 (Thomas E. Lisle, Jon J. Major, Jasper H. Hardison III)....Pages 45-70 The New Spirit Lake: Changes to Hydrology, Nutrient Cycling, and Biological Productivity (James E. Gawel, Charles M. Crisafulli, Rich Miller)....Pages 71-95 Soil Carbon and Nitrogen and Evidence for Formation of Glomalin, a Recalcitrant Pool of Soil Organic Matter, in Developing Mount St. Helens Pyroclastic Substrates (Jonathan J. Halvorson, Kristine A. Nichols, Charles M. Crisafulli)....Pages 97-112 Forest Understory Buried by Volcanic Tephra: Inertia, Resilience, and the Pattern of Community Redevelopment (Donald B. Zobel, Joseph A. Antos)....Pages 113-125 Primary Succession on Mount St. Helens: Rates, Determinism, and Alternative States (Roger del Moral, Jonathan H. Titus)....Pages 127-148 Plant Succession on the Mount St. Helens Debris-Avalanche Deposit and the Role of Non-native Species (Virginia H. Dale, Elsie M. Denton)....Pages 149-164 The Spread of Exotic Plant Species at Mount St. Helens: The Roles of a Road, Disturbance Type, and Post-disturbance Management (Lindsey L. Karr, Charles M. Crisafulli, Jeffrey J. Gerwing)....Pages 165-184 Lichen Community Development Along a Volcanic Disturbance Gradient at Mount St. Helens (Peter R. Nelson, Bruce McCune, Tim Wheeler, Linda H. Geiser, Charles M. Crisafulli)....Pages 185-198 Succession and Mycorrhizae on Mount St. Helens (Michael F. Allen, Matthew R. O’Neill, Charles M. Crisafulli, James A. MacMahon)....Pages 199-215 Primary Succession on the Mount St. Helens Volcano: Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Community Assembly and Species Turnover, 1980–2010 (Robert R. Parmenter, Charles M. Crisafulli, Tara E. Blackman, Cheryl A. Parmenter, Gary L. Parsons, Danny Shpeley et al.)....Pages 217-233 Diversity of Large-Bodied Macroinvertebrates in Ponds Created on the Debris-Avalanche Deposit Following the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens (Shannon M. Claeson, Charles M. Crisafulli, William J. Gerth)....Pages 235-249 Characteristics of a New Rainbow Trout Population: Spirit Lake, Mount St. Helens Volcano, 2000–2015 (Tara E. Blackman, Charles M. Crisafulli, Shannon M. Claeson)....Pages 251-267 Mammal Community Assembly During Primary Succession on the Pumice Plain at the Mount St. Helens Volcano (1983–2015) (Charles M. Crisafulli, Robert R. Parmenter, Tara E. Blackman, James A. MacMahon)....Pages 269-303 Volcano Ecology: State of the Field and Contributions of Mount St. Helens Research (Frederick J. Swanson, Charles M. Crisafulli)....Pages 305-323 Back Matter ....Pages 325-336 This book builds on existing work exploring succession, disturbance ecology, and the interface between geophysical and biological systems in the aftermath of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The eruption was dramatic both in the spatial extent of its impact and the range of volcanic disturbance types and intensities. Complex geophysical forces created unparalleled opportunities to study initial ecological responses and long-term succession processes that occur in response to a major contemporary eruption across a great diversity of ecosystems--lowland to alpine forests, meadows, lakes, streams, and rivers. These factors make Mount St. Helens an extremely rich environment for learning about the ecology of volcanic areas and, more generally, about ecosystem response to major disturbance of many types, including land management. Lessons about ecological recovery at Mount St. Helens are shaping thought about succession, disturbance ecology, ecosystem management, and landscape ecology. "Explosive Mount St. Helens now rivals Krakatoa's 1883 eruption for understanding ecological change. Researchers escaping their desks have produced top science by repeated immersion, inspiration and observation in nature. From a mountain with conspicuous heterogeneous geology, the big picture emerges, and landscape ecology's evolving spatial patterns come alive. Bounce-back ecosystem recovery processes enrich the concepts of both resilience and ecological succession. Readers will relish the cascade of discoveries here." --Richard T.T. Forman, retired PAES Professor of Landscape Ecology at Harvard University "A volcanic eruption instantly resets the ecological clock, starting a process of recovery and renewal that follows multiple pathways. The lessons gleaned from the contributions to this book apply not just to Mount St. Helens, but more broadly, to less spectacular but more frequent environmental disturbances of all sorts." --John A. Wiens, former Chief Scientist, The Nature Conservancy, and Adjunct Professor, University of Western Australia "Research following the eruption of Mount St. Helens has helped revolutionize our thinking about how forest ecosystems respond to disturbances. Now, as demonstrated in this book, it has also become the global go-to locale for scientific information on impacts of volcanic eruptions! We are incredibly fortunate to have this latest volume summarizing science in this eruptive landscape." --Jerry F. Franklin, Professor of Forest Ecosystems, University of Washington "This book builds on existing work exploring succession, disturbance ecology, and the interface between geophysical and biological systems in the aftermath of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The eruption was dramatic both in the spatial extent of its impact and the range of volcanic disturbance types and intensities. Complex geophysical forces created unparalleled opportunities to study initial ecological responses and longterm succession processes that occur in response to a major contemporary eruption across a great diversity of ecosystems--lowland to alpine forests, meadows, lakes, streams, and rivers. These factors make Mount St. Helens an extremely rich environment for learning about the ecology of volcanic areas and, more generally, about ecosystem response to major disturbance of many types, including land management. Lessons about ecological recovery at Mount St. Helens are shaping thought about succession, disturbance ecology, ecosystem management, and landscape ecology"--Page 4 of cover