Ecological Responses to the 1980 Eruptions of Mount St. Helens

by Dale, Virginia H.; SWANSON, FREDERICK J.; CRISAFULLI, CHARLES M.

• ISBN13: 9780387238685
• ISBN10: 0387238689
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-05-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

The eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, had a momentous impact on the fungal, plant, animal, and human life from the mountain to the far reaches of the explosion's ash cloud and mudflows. Although this intense natural event caused loss of substantial life and property, it also created a unique opportunity to examine a huge disturbance of natural systems and their subsequent responses. Based on one of the most studied areas of volcanic activity, this book synthesizes the ecological research that has been conducted for twenty-five years since the eruption.Research from geology as well as plant and animal ecology has been integrated in this unprecedented look at the complex interactions of biological and physical systems in the response of the volcanic landscape. Lessons from the volcano inform our larger understanding of ecosystem disturbances, natural processes, and the impact of land-use practices. Included are results of significant and long-term research on vegetation, mycorrhizae, plant and animal interactions, arthropods, amphibians, mammals, fish, lakes, nutrient cycling, geomorphology, and environmental management. This comprehensive account will be of value to those interested in natural history, ecology, disturbance, conservation biology, limnology, geoscience, and land management. Questions about what actually happens when a volcano erupts, what the immediate and long-term dangers are, and how life reasserts itself in the environment are discussed in full detail.

Author Biography

Virginia Dale is a Corporate Fellow in the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  She is also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee.Fred Swanson is a Research Geologist at the USDA Forest Service Pacific NW Research Station in Corvallis, OR.Charles Crisafulli is an Ecologist at the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research station in Olympia, WA..

Table of Contents

Foreword	v
Jerry F. Franklin
Preface	ix
Contributors	xvii
Part I Introduction
Disturbance, Survival, and Succession: Understanding Ecological Responses to the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens	3	(10)
Virginia H. Dale
Frederick J. Swanson
Charles M. Crisafulli
Geological and Ecological Settings of Mount St. Helens Before May 18, 1980	13	(14)
Frederick J. Swanson
Charles M. Crisafulli
David K. Yamaguchi
Physical Events, Environments, and Geological-Ecological Interactions at Mount St. Helens: March 1980-2004	27	(20)
Frederick J. Swanson
Jon J. Major
Part II Survival and Establishment of Plant Communities
Plant Responses in Forests of the Tephra-Fall Zone	47	(12)
Joseph A. Antos
Donald B. Zobel
Plant Succession on the Mount St. Helens Debris-Avalanche Deposit	59	(16)
Virginia H. Dale
Daniel R. Campbell
Wendy M. Adams
Charles M. Crisafulli
Virginia I. Dains
Peter M. Frenzen
Robert F. Holland
Geomorphic Change and Vegetation Development on the Muddy River Mudflow Deposit	75	(18)
Peter M. Frenzen
Keith S. Hadley
Jon J. Major
Marc H. Weber
Jerry F. Franklin
Jasper H. Hardison III
Sharon M. Stanton
Proximity, Microsites, and Biotic Interactions During Early Succession	93	(18)
Roger del Moral
David M. Wood
Jonathan H. Titus
Remote Sensing of Vegetation Responses During the First 20 Years Following the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens: A Spatially and Temporally Stratified Analysis	111	(16)
Rick Lawrence
Part III Survival and Establishment of Animal Communities
Arthropods as Pioneers in the Regeneration of Life on the Pyroclastic-Flow Deposits of Mount St. Helens	127	(12)
John S. Edwards
Patrick M. Sugg
Posteruption Arthropod Succession on the Mount St. Helens Volcano: The Ground-Dwelling Beetle Fauna (Coleoptera)	139	(12)
Robert R. Parmenter
Charles M. Crisafulli
Nicole C. Korbe
Gary L. Parsons
Melissa J. Kreutzian
James A. MacMahon
Causes and Consequences of Herbivory on Prairie Lupine (Lupinus lepidus) in Early Primary Succession	151	(12)
John G. Bishop
William F. Fagan
John D. Schade
Charles M. Crisafulli
Responses of Fish to the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens	163	(20)
Peter A. Bisson
Charles M. Crisafulli
Brian R. Fransen
Robert E. Lucas
Charles P. Hawkins
Amphibian Responses to the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens	183	(16)
Charles M. Crisafulli
Louise S. Trippe
Charles P. Hawkins
James A. MacMahon
Small-Mammal Survival and Colonization on the Mount St. Helens Volcano: 1980-2002	199	(22)
Charles M. Crisafulli
James A. MacMahon
Robert R. Parmenter
Part IV Responses of Ecosystem Processes
Mycorrhizae and Mount St. Helens: Story of a Symbiosis	221	(12)
Michael F. Allen
Charles M. Crisafulli
Sherri J. Morris
Louise M. Egerton-Warburton
James A. MacMahon
James M. Trappe
Patterns of Decomposition and Nutrient Cycling Across a Volcanic Disturbance Gradient: A Case Study Using Rodent Carcasses	233	(10)
Robert R. Parmenter
Lupine Effects on Soil Development and Function During Early Primary Succession at Mount St. Helens	243	(12)
Jonathan J. Halvorson
Jeffrey L. Smith
Ann C. Kennedy
Response and Recovery of Lakes	255	(22)
Clifford N. Dahm
Douglas W. Larson
Richard R. Petersen
Robert C. Wissmar
Part V Lessons Learned
Ecological Perspectives on Management of the Mount St. Helens Landscape	277	(10)
Virginia H. Dale
Frederick J. Swanson
Charles M. Crisafulli
Overview of Ecological Responses to the Eruption of Mount St. Helens: 1980-2005	287	(14)
Charles M. Crisafulli
Frederick J. Swanson
Virginia H. Dale
Bibliography	301	(28)
Glossary	329	(6)
Index	335