Patterns of human impact on biodiversity and ecosystem ...faculty.washington.edu/stevehar/ProposalJNP.pdf · JNP Proposal 4 4/17/07 We firmly believe that a successful, long-term

JNP Proposal 1 4/17/07

Patterns of human impact on biodiversity and ecosystem health in Jiuzhaigou National Park

Proposed Interdisciplinary Team

Study Sub-study JNP Park StaffMember

SichuanUniversityFaculty &Students

University ofWashingtonFaculty andStudents

1. The HoloceneGeomorphicHistory

Andrew Scanlon Amanda HenckDavidMontgomery

A. Prehistory andarchaeologicalinvestigations

Li YongxianChen Shi

James Taylor

B. CulturalAnthropology (Ethno-and Oral Histories

Sara BreslowSteve HarrellBarbara Grub

C. HistoricalDocuments

Steve HarrellAlicia Robbins

2.AnthropogenicLandscapes,Human History

D. Current andImmediate PastHuman Use of theLandscape andEconomic Viability.

Steve HarrellAlicia Robbins

3. EcologicalAssessment ofCurrent andHistoricalLandscapes

Ma ZiyuTang Ya

Richard OlmsteadJulie CombsLauren Urgenson

4. Synthesis Feng Gang Tang YaDr. Ren

Tom Hinckley


AbstractJiuzhaigou National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is China’s premier eco-geologictourist attraction. Drawing nearly 2,000,000 visitors annually, management of Jiuzhaigou’snatural and cultural resources is a daunting task. Park planners must balance preservation of thepark’s natural beauty and ecological health, with protection of local culture and income fromtourism. Because humans invariably impact the landscape upon which they live, understandingthe net effect of their activities on the current ecological configuration of the park is importantfor informed planning and long-term sustainability. However, little systematic data have beencollected on prehistoric or historic human activities within the park, how those activities affectedthe current distribution of plants and animals found there, or even how long people have beenpresent in the Jiuzhai valley.

To facilitate improved park planning for sustainable growth we propose a comprehensive,interdisciplinary, and collaborative framework for collecting data and monitoring park health.This framework includes preliminary investigation of Jiuzhaigou’s Holocene geology,comprehensive archaeological survey and ethno-historical review, as well as an ecologicalassessment of current and historical landscapes. We anticipate testing various field methods inpractice within the park for accomplishing these goals, while also collected hard data towardsthese ends. Our ultimate goal is to establish a set of tools and techniques with park staff for long-term monitoring and management of park resources that takes into account past human behavior.

提要九寨沟国家公园是联合国文科缴租世界遗产，也是中国全国第一生态地质旅游引进地。因每年引进将近两百万游客，管理九寨沟的自然和文化资源是一个大的挑战。公园的规划者需要调衡公园的自然美和生态健康与当地文化保卫和旅游收入。因为人类免不了对其所居住地景有影响，为了精通规划与长期可持续性，我们必须了解人类活动对公园的现有生态结构的效果。但是，目前为止，我们缺乏资料了解史前和历史上在公园内的人类活动，该活动怎样影响动植物的现有分布，甚至于人类居住在沟内多长时间。

为了促进进一步改善公园可持续发展的规划工作，我们建议实行综合性，跨学科，合作性，搜集资料和观察公园健康的框架。本框架包括三个部分：

1）初步考察九寨沟的全近时代的地质2）综合考古和民族市考察3）现有和历史上地景的生态评估

我们希望能够测验各种适合公园的条件和考察目标的田野方法，同时收集有关资料。我们最终的目标是和公园工作人员合作建立一套适当的，注意到过去和现有人类行为的，长期观察和管理公园起源的工具和方法。


Introduction

The Minshan region is home to a wide array of biophysical and cultural activities that haveoccurred over a diverse range of temporal and spatial scales. Tectonic forces and Pleistoceneglaciations provide the foundation upon which climate, vegetation and erosional processes haveshaped the landscape of JNP. The geographic location of JNP places it at the intersection of hugelydifferent biomes and climate systems, where the spectacular elevation and topographic relief andthe presence of different parent materials and aspects have resulted in numerous niches for theincredibly diverse flora and fauna. Finally, the interactions of humans with the landscape havecreated a wide array of disturbance regimes that overlie and, in some cases, mimic naturaldisturbances.

As part of the Minshan region, Jiuzhaigou National Park is one of the premier nationalparks in the world. It is a relatively large reserve of 720 km2 encompassing an entire watershed andspanning in elevation from 1996 to 4764 m. In addition, other reserves and buffer valleyssurround it, thus creating a geographically extensive and inter-connected system of bio-reserves. .As a result of its geological history and specific geographical position within Asia, it contains anextraordinary diversity of geological, hydrological (Chen et al. 2004, Lu et al. 2000, Yoshimura etal. 2004), biological (Liu et al. 2005, Winkler 1994, 1998), and cultural features. Included in thismatrix are nine Tibetan villages, three of which have been completely abandoned, while two havefewer than 10 people. Because of these features and its management, it is recognized nationallyand internationally as a premier National Park. Many of the management approaches instituted areleading edge (e.g., the green bus, the toilet, and board-walk systems [Li et al. 2005]) and have wonthe Park a significant number of international awards of recognition (1992 World Heritage Site,1997 UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, and 2002 Green Globe 21). Finally, it has untappedpotential for broader, more diverse tourist experiences (Fang 2002). The existing and anticipatednumbers of tourists, along with the associated development of external tourist facilities andinfrastructure capacity, potentially threaten both the Park’s and the surrounding area’s ability to besustainable. Matching these diverse interests and pressures then becomes a challenge to Parkmanagers.

Concern about the sustainability of the globe, mountain regions of the world or specificplaces or indigenous cultures form a considerable body of literature (e.g., Baiping et al. 2002,Byers 2005, Fu et al. 2004, Kala 2005, Liu, Fu et al. 2002, Liu, Xu et al. 2002, Liu et al. 2003a,2003b, Odermatt 2004, Tang et al. 2004, Yang et al. 2004, Xu et al. 2005). Perhaps nowhere elsein the world is this realization greater than in China as it becomes a global economic power. Howthen can one balance the diverse economic and socio-political pressures on a region or a parkwithin the region so that it can both develop social and economic capacity and sustain biophysicaland cultural resources that make it exceptional?

Human land-use interacts with the biophysical environment in ways that can either degradeor promote biodiversity. High intensity land-use can detrimentally impact local and regionalbiodiversity. In contrast, intermediate levels of anthropogenic disturbance can promote higherlevels of plant diversity and maintain critical habitat for rare or ethno-botanically important species(Austrheim 2001, Ghimire et al. 2006). The challenge for management is to optimize the amountand nature of human disturbance, and it is only through observing empirically what these optimahave been in the past that we can formulate plans for creating similar optima in the future.


We firmly believe that a successful, long-term sustainable management plan for anyecosystem involves integration of past experience, current state, and future trajectories.Our proposal thus has an overarching focus on the past, present, and future of human-landscape interactions and their consequences on understanding and managing JiuzhaigouNational Park. Only by knowing in detail how human actions have affected the landscape inthe past can we understand the processes working in the present. It is these processes andtheir trajectories or outcomes that will ultimately need to be managed to preserve the Park'sfuture health. And only by setting up a consistent and maintainable monitoring system nowcan we observe the short-term changes of the system in its present state. Formulation of aplan for the future is outside the scope of our present proposal, but we believe that ourinvestigations of the past and present will provide many of the data needed for those who doformulate such a plan.

Jiuzhaigou National Park presents the opportunity to demonstrate the successful integration ofbiological and cultural conservation, preservation of its noted geological and hydrological features,sustainable energy and environmental practices and economic viability. A framework toaccomplish such integration was recently introduced by Ren (2006). As stated by Dr. Ren, thereappears to be “no large, comprehensive research on the protection and development of a bio-reserve involving such disciplines as biology, environment, sociology, economics, management,system, and engineering.” He correctly argues that it will be necessary to integrate informationfrom all of these disciplines in order to understand the present condition of any bio-reserve, thevarious trajectories that it is on, and how to understand and manage for these trajectories and theirpotentially contradictory paths. He also argues that managerial entropy and managerial dissipativestructure theories and techniques offer a mechanism by which contradictory trajectories may beaddressed and managed for. It is our goal in this proposal to focus on an interdisciplinary study ofone part of the complex landscape embedded in Jiuzhaigou National Park in order to documentpresent conditions, and the likely historical range of variability, and offer mechanisms by whichfuture trajectories might be monitored and documented – such studies are an important first step inrealizing the goals of Dr. Ren.

The proposal has four specific parts:

1. The Holocene Geomorphic History2. Anthropogenic Landscapes, Human History3. Ecological Assessment of Current and Historical Landscapes4. Synthesis

Study 1. Holocene Geomorphic History

Problem statement: Understanding the Holocene geomorphic history (beginning approximately10,000 years before the present) of Jiuzhaigou National Park is essential to being able to estimatehuman impacts on the park environment. We propose to study the timing and extent of majorfires and sedimentation events in the park and to tie these to archaeological and anthropologicalevidence of human activities in the valley. The geomorphology study will have two major foci:


1. What is the long-term fire history in the park and do south-facing slopespreferentially burn?

2. Has the sedimentation rate changed or remained relatively stable through time?

Motivation: The Holocene geomorphic history will provide a basis for understanding currenthuman-landscape interactions and for creating informed management policies for future land use(Bierman et al. 1997). To determine the magnitude of current human impact on the park it isimportant to understand how the environment was formed prior to the arrival of humans i.e.,before Tibetans arrived in the region (at least 300 years ago). Although oral histories can tell ussomething about how local people relate to the environment and modern Chinese history cangive us a sense of how Chinese policies have impacted the environment, the proposedgeomorphology study will allow us to quantify the existing qualitative accounts and to extendaccounts back to before human habitation in the area.

The geomorphological study will focus on spatial and temporal changes in fire historyand erosion rates. The spatial scale will compare the erosion on slopes with different aspects todetermine if human impact preferentially changed some slopes (Gavin et al., 2003a). Forexample, were south facing slopes burned to preserve warmer meadows for grazing? Toexamine temporal scale questions mentioned above we will use stratigraphy of alluvial fans. Ifthere were periods of time with increased erosion or mass-wasting processes, then there will belarge packages of sediment in the fan that were deposited at the same time. Similarly, majorburning events will leave behind layers of charcoal in the sediments of alluvial fans. To estimatethe time of human arrival in the valley and to determine changes in erosion and fire history overthe last 10,000 years, propose to use lake cores to measure erosion rates during the Holocene(Bierman et al. 1997, Gavin et al. 2003b, Tinner et al. 2006).

Expected outcomes: Ultimately, the geomorphology research will determine the timing andnature of human impacts to the local environment and provide a context for understandingmodern human-landscape interactions. We will be able to quantify erosion rates and fire historiesin the park on three time scales: pre-Tibetan settlement; the time between Tibetan settlement andthe founding of the People’s Republic of China; and since the founding of the PRC. Within thisframework we will also determine the differences in erosion rates and fire regimes for slopes ofdifferent aspects over this period of time. This will help park managers to determine appropriatemanagement practices to maintain the diversity of vegetation on slopes with different aspectthroughout the park. For the pilot study in June, 2007, we will focus on describing two alluvialfans and will submit a report to the park in English and Chinese on the preliminary results andthe potential for expanding and continuing this research during future field trips.

Study 2. Anthropogenic Landscapes and Human History

Problem Statement: Human disturbances can have positive or negative effects on biodiversityand ecosystem health, depending on the size of the disturbance (intermediate disturbances arethought to be beneficial to ecosystem diversity in general—see Study 3, below), and theparticular nature of the disturbance. We need to investigate the history of human disturbance inthe Jiuzhaigou ecosystem across spatial and temporal scales. In order to do this, we propose toemploy four types of techniques:


A) Archaeological investigations of prehistoric patternsB) Cultural anthropological investigation of native ecosystem knowledge and practicesC) Documentary historical investigation of recent disturbancesD) Ethnographic and Documentary Investigation of Current and Immediate Past Patterns of

Landscape Use

Coordination among these four techniques can give us data on human practices at a series of timescales (centuries, decades, year-to-year) that can be combined with biophysical data from Studies1 and 3 to allow us to understand the impact of human activities on biodiversity and ecosystemhealth.

A. Prehistory and archaeological investigations. In spite of the many protective measures thathave been put into place to ensure that this World Heritage Site is preserved and even enhancedfor its value to tourism, natural science, biodiversity and nature conservation, little information isavailable about human prehistory within the valley, or even how long people have occupied thisregion. Because humans, especially on smaller scales, can act both as a detriment and a benefit tothe landscape which they occupy, understanding the role humans have played in shaping theirnatural world is critical for managing natural resources and maintaining biodiversity. Therefore,we propose careful archaeological survey and investigation of Jiuzhaigou’s cultural history witha number of explicit goals:

• Determine how long humans have inhabited the Jiuzhaigou region• Investigate the potential of archaeological materials for understanding how human

subsistence practices have impacted the valley’s natural resources and landscape• Assess the quantity and types of materials available for cultural preservation and

educational exhibits• Make recommendations for extending this work through excavation and specific

paleoenvironmental reconstructions• Improve the JNP database on anthropological resources• Work with park staff on cultural resource management strategies

We hypothesize that prehistoric humans shaped the landscape of Jiuzhaigou through agriculture,animal husbandry, wood collection for construction and fire, and controlled burning for pasturedevelopment and maintenance with both positive and negative effects (Winkler 1994, 1998).Both agriculture and animal husbandry can be deleterious for local native flora and fauna byreducing the number of plant and animal species on the landscape during grazing and landclearance and can increase the introduction and spread of invasive species. Wood gathering andburning can also reduce the floral diversity of a region. However, a certain level of any of theseactivities can be positive as the introduction of prairies and transitional vegetative zones willincrease the species richness of plants and animals on the landscape as a product of the numberof ecological zones available to them increases. Grazing, burning, and wood gathering alsoreduce the fuel load available for uncontrolled wild fires, which can destroy large swathes ofhabitat. Grazing and controlled human burning likewise introduce disturbance zones which manyspecies require to thrive. The question remains how long have people been living in Jiuzhaigou,and were the range of effects of their subsistence on landscape heterogeneity and, therefore,biodiversity in a potential range of positive or negative outcomes. How then are those aspects of


the modern park which are seen as valuable to tourism and conservation: biodiversity, landscapebeauty, and rich cultural heritage dependent upon these historical impacts – within studies 3 and4, the specific trajectories and patterns that emerge should provide managers with bothunderstanding and management alternatives.

Based on similar research elsewhere, we hypothesize that small-scale, pre-industrialsubsistence practices, including agriculture, animal husbandry, wood collection, and controlledburning, had a net-positive effect on the long-term biodiversity of plant communities withinJiuzhaigou. This hypothesis cannot be tested through archaeological means alone, but shouldalso incorporate inter-disciplinary research into the past biological and geological configurationof Jiuzhaigou prior to the introduction of humans into the valley, as well as studies on theecological composition of Jiuzhaigou during Maoist governance and modern plant distributionssince the introduction of restrictions on traditional subsistence and reforestation programs(details of prior work and proposed methodology are found in Appendix 2).

Expected Outcomes: From archaeological work proposed here we anticipate being ableto provide empirical data on the length of time humans have been living within Jiuzhaigou andcharacterizing the nature of the archaeological sites left by historic and prehistoric peoples. Wewill systematically survey portions of the park for buried and surficial archaeological sites,sample these sites for materials suitable for chronometric dating, and characterize the materialswithin each site based on their potential for cultural and environmental reconstructions. Pendingpermits, one test excavation may be conducted at the known site near Yala (Yana) village.Research teams from the University of Washington and Sichuan University will work side-by-side with park staff and share our techniques for archaeological survey, cultural resourceprotection and management, reporting, and curation of materials.

This work is seen as an extension of exploratory research conducted in 2006 by the sameteam and, as done in 2006, we will report our findings and recommendations in English andChinese. Data derived from this work will be added to park databases, with specific direction onhow it can be used in management and planning by park staff. Based on the solid foundation of ourpast collaborations and the continuing effort to expand our research within JNP, we anticipate thisproject expanding beyond the specific goals outlined here into further research includingexcavation, curation, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction under future grants.

B. Cultural Anthropology (Ethno- and Oral histories).Anthropology seeks to understand both the roles that people play in shaping their local

environment and the way the surrounding environment has shaped the culture of these people.Over generations of living in the same area, local people develop specialized ecological knowledgeand invest cultural meaning in natural features. This knowledge, commonly referred to astraditional ecological knowledge (TEK) consists of the information that has been handed downthrough generations considered necessary to not only survive, but also thrive, in their homeland(Berkes 1999, DeWalt 1994, Ford and Martiness 2000). It commonly consists of, but is notlimited to, topography, hydrology, climatology, and zoology. In addition, TEK includes theculturally significant meaning ascribed to physical features in the landscape: holy springs, sacredgroves of trees, historical significance in nomenclature, and general environmental history. Thisknowledge can take the form of religious proscriptions, stories, proverbs, oral or written histories,and life stories.


People living in Jiuzhaigou for the past several generations have vivid memories of theresource exploitation regime—including extensive logging—that dominated the area from the late1950s to the 1970s; older people still remember what the area was like previously. It is also verypossible that they preserve genealogical and other knowledge passed down from earliergenerations that can give us insights into the kinds of farming, herding, forestry, and otherpractices that were carried out in this area for the last century or two (Nazarea 1998, Turner 2006).This knowledge also informs us as to the native vegetation and animals that were prevalent, howlocal inhabitants utilized them, and how these practices have contributed to shaping the landscapewithin the park. Additionally, this may confirm archeological data gathered, and provide a sourceof information for further archeological investigation.

TEK can not only tell us what people do—and have done previously—within their localenvirons, but more importantly give us insights into why they have done these things; basically,helping us to understand the logic behind their resource management decisions. This logic is oftenbased on an in-depth understanding of the particular strengths and weaknesses of their homelandfrom an anthropogenic perspective. Understanding the TEK of Jiuzhaigou leads to an increasedawareness of the complexity of the roles that humans have played and continue to play in shapingthe natural resources of the park, and may in addition provide important input into the planning offuture management decisions.

In addition to Traditional Ecological Knowledge, inhabitants of the park also have richrecent memories of their trajectory through the frontier politics of the Republican Era, the earlyyears of socialist development, which brought profound ecological changes to the Park andsurrounding areas, the establishment of the Park, and the beginnings of mass tourism (Peng1998a,b). Their perspective on these momentous changes is likely to be different from theperspectives of the Park staff or of outside observers, and will enable us to understand the historyof the park from yet another important angle.

Expected Outcomes: Confirming and analyzing the place names given by local peopleswithin the park will provide insight into the significance—religious, practical, historical, etc.—ofthe surrounding landscape (Basso 1996). This additional mapping can then be used to further elicitland-use information during different seasons and time periods. This will result in a cognitive mapthat covers both space and time, providing insight into both how the local people view thesurrounding land and to how their land-use has changed; this map will be presented in a way thatwill be appropriate for display in a cultural museum. The information gathered about previousland-use practices, as well as traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) generally, will be a resourcefor future generations of local inhabitants and a source of further information for natural resourcemanagement within the park. It will also be an important resource for additional analysis andcomparison with documentation originating from park officials and outside researchers, includingthe fellow researchers included within this proposal.

All of the information gathered will be presented in a bilingual (Chinese and English)report to JZG park officials for inclusion within the park databases. We will provide examples ofhow this information can be further utilized, whether in local schools, a park cultural museum, orin continued research. Inclusion of local TEK can be an attractive addition to ecotourismprograms. Additionally, in conjunction with data obtained by our fellow researchers, we willindicate where there are implications for park resource management and planning.


C. Historical documents. If, as preliminary archaeological findings seem to indicate, thecurrent inhabitants of Jiuzhaigou and surrounding valleys have been in the area since the Mingperiod, we can use a variety of methods to document the history of the area. First, a thoroughsearch of written records in both Tibetan and Chinese language needs to be made (Nanping 1994).This area was an important frontier of the Ming and Qing regimes, and as such should have leftwritten records such as local histories, memorials, and travelers' accounts. It is quite possible thatat least hints at the state of the ecosystem—descriptions of forests, agricultural practices, herding,markets, and local warfare—can be found in these materials. Second, on a shorter time scale, wealready know that there is a museum display of the history of the early years of the People'sRepublic now on view at Zhezhawa village. It should be possible to determine the location ofthese photos and compare the kinds of land use in these areas with present usage. We also haveaccess to a large number of pictures taken in the late 1990’s, giving us a possible time series oflandscape changes over the last 30 or 40 years.

Expected Outcomes: We will compile historical resources that deal with the ecosystemand with resource exploitation in the early days of human habitation in the Park and surroundingareas, and write a summary chronology of these changes. We will also compile time-series ofphotographs and remote-sensing images of specific locations in the Park and surrounding areas,and correlate these with recent maps and with results of our investigations of the current state ofthe system undertaken in Study 3. The location of each time-series of photographs will be plottedon a GIS map of the Park and surrounding areas, enabling easy comparison of the state of variouspatches within the park over time. Although coverage will be far from complete, temporalcomparison of key locations will provide further insight into ecological processes as they haveplayed out over the past 30 to 40 years.

D. Ethnographic and Documentary Investigation of Current and Immediate PastPatterns of Landscape Use. Indigenous people have lived in and around Jiuzhaigou for manycenturies and have traditionally depended on use and extraction of natural resources for theirlivelihoods and household needs. It is important to understand what these uses have been andhow they have changed over time, particularly since the establishment of the protected area. Wewill explore what resources local peoples have depended on historically. This will helpdetermine what kinds of land-use or species-use patterns we could expect given no change ineconomic development opportunities. We will then examine what incentives have beenintroduced to reduce dependencies on natural resource extraction, as well as what new economicopportunities and/or technical assistance programs have been introduced to the communities, andhow indigenous communities have (or have not) shifted their practices. It will also be importantto understand the role of any land tenure reforms; how do the current land tenure rights impactresidents’ abilities to manage resources in a sustainable manner?

In order to conduct this analysis, we will gather household, population and economic datafrom county and national records, examine historical and current policies toward resourceextraction, exploitation, and conservation from before and after the establishment of the park, andconduct interviews with park management staff and local residents to obtain information on landand species use, as well as gain an understanding of their perceptions of land use and changes ineconomic development. We will also examine any available records of park or governmentpolicies aimed at creating opportunities for economic development.


Expected Outcomes: We will compile and synthesize demographic and economic data andpolicies to develop a general picture of economic development in the area. We will then relate it toour interviews with local people and park staff. During this process, we will build and draw uponwork completed in part C. We will compare our findings to studies conducted in otherconservation areas in Asia. Similar work has already been undertaken to some extent in WolongBiosphere Reserve (Fu et al, 2004, Lu et al. 2003, Lu et al. 2006); extending the work toJiuzhaigou will contribute to the park management’s understanding of human-landscapeinteractions and help ensure cooperation between the park and the communities that live in andaround Jiuzhaigou.

Study 3. Ecological Assessment of Current and Historical Landscapes

Problem Statement: Currently, the nature and extent of human influence on vegetation withinJNP is unknown. Understanding the role of past and present human land-use on vegetationpatterns within JNP is an essential step towards developing management plans that ensure theconservation of biodiversity into the future. Our study will focus on three areas of investigation:

1) Describing the potential historic role of human practices in shaping vegetation structureand diversity,

2) Monitoring vegetation change over time, and3) Testing a methodological framework for vegetation monitoring in JNP.

Work from this investigation will be integrated with results from studies 1 and 2.

Rationale: The conservation and maintenance of plant biodiversity within and amongcommunity types (e.g., meadow, shrubland, forest) at JNP is critical to sustaining speciesrichness at higher trophic levels (e.g., invertebrates and vertebrates). Inventory and vegetationmonitoring are powerful tools to document current and future changes in biodiversity withinpatches (alpha diversity), among patches (beta diversity) and at the regional scale (gammadiversity) over time. The ability to identify and assess natural and human drivers of vegetationchange is essential to the development of best practices for sustainable ecosystem management.

Historic and current human activities have likely left an array of positive and negativeimpacts on biodiversity within the Park. Impacts of human activities on biodiversity depend uponthe frequency, intensity, and nature of disturbance as well as interactions with the biophysicalenvironment (Hobbs and Huenneke 1992). Ecological theory predicts that intermediate levels ofdisturbance promote the highest levels of species diversity (Connell 1978, Grime 1973).Whereas very high rates of disturbance create stressful conditions in which few species canpersist, low rates of disturbance facilitate the dominance of a few competitively superior species.Thus, intermediate levels of disturbance promote species diversity because the density ofdominant competitors is reduced while the number of species adapted to site conditions remainshigh (Crawley 1997). A number of studies have shown that intermediate levels of anthropogenicdisturbance are critical for the maintenance of biodiversity including rare, vulnerable or ethno-botanically important species (Austrheim 2001, Ghimire et al. 2006). The degree to whichactivities such as agriculture, grazing, biomaterials collection and anthropogenic burning haveshaped plant biodiversity within JNP has not been documented.

Two important goals for JNP park managers are to (1) understand historic human land-use impacts and (2) balance future human use, including both tourism and indigenous culturalpractices, with habitat conservation. Tourism numbers have continued to rise since the State


Council established JNP in 1978. For example, there were 166,000 visitors in 1991; 13 yearslater, the number of annual visitors had reached 1,910,000, an 11.5 fold increase (IUCN report2006). In spite of the heroic measures taken by the Park, we predict that invasive plants areprobably now and, in the future, concrete problems that will challenge park managers. Globally,humans are the primary vectors of non-native introductions (Mack et. al. 2000). As humanactivities within the park increase, mechanisms for detecting introductions (e.g., vegetationmonitoring) will be necessary to carry-out best management practices. Introduced invasivespecies are playing a major role in reducing habitat biodiversity and function worldwide (Macket. al. 2000, Lodge 1993). Regular and systematic vegetation monitoring will enable park staffto detect non-native species invasions. Early detection and rapid removal of non-native invasivespecies is a critical and low cost technique for conserving park biodiversity over the long-term.

We propose to provide the park with a methodological framework for monitoringchanges in vascular plant diversity over time. Design of an effective monitoring scheme requiresan evaluation of sampling methodologies to ensure that the approach accurately captures sitebiodiversity, meets criteria for statistical precision, and is feasible within time and resourcerestraints. A pilot field study of our proposed sampling design will be conducted in June of2007. Our field research will address three primary questions: 1) Is the proposed samplingscheme an efficient and effective method to survey and monitor species diversity? 2) Can thesampling scheme be used to document human-induced changes in vegetation patterns over time?3) How can vegetation monitoring be integrated into broader interdisciplinary researchinvestigating past, present and future human-landscape interactions in JNP? The specificmethods were propose to use can be found in Appendix 3.

Expected Outcomes: We will submit a final report to the park with analysis and resultsof vegetation sampling. We expect to have strong preliminary data suggestive of some of thehistorical and current impacts of people on the Park. The report will also include an evaluationof the modified-Whittaker sampling plot as a potential methodological framework for monitoringplant biodiversity in Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve.

Study 4: Synthesis

Problem Statement: Although each study is designed to both build on and support the work inthe other studies, without a concerted effort and a specific framework to integrate, each studywill in the end largely stand on its own. The synthesis effort is designed to take the frameworkproposed by Dr. Ren and to use the information from each of the three above described studies todevelop (1) states of knowledge in each area (archaeology-anthropology, economics-history,geology-paleoecology, and conservation biology-ecology) regarding JNP, (2) paths ortrajectories of formerly and presently human-impacted landscapes in JNP with and withoutmanagement, and (3) an integrated vision of the nature of human impacts in JNP and theMinshan region.

Expected Outcomes: Coordination among all of these studies can give us data on humanpractices at a series of time scales (centuries, decades, year-to-year) that can be combined withbiophysical data to allow us to understand the impact of human activity on biodiversity andecosystem health in JNP. Such an understanding is a critical step in any management plan.


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Appendix 1: The Holocene Geomorphic History

Methods: During the June 2007 field trip we will conduct preliminary research on the feasibilityof this project. During this trip we will trench two alluvial fans with different aspects andcreated a detailed stratigraphic sequence of the sediments in each fan. Constructing detailedstratigraphic sections of alluvial fans (both active and inactive) will provide qualitative andquantitative information about the relatively timing and magnitude of fires and associated debrisflow and landslide events (Pierce et al. 2004). From these fans we will collect samples ofcharcoal for radiocarbon dating. Using the radiocarbon dates we will be able to determine timingof prehistoric fires and longer-term erosion rates (Bierman et al., 1997, Pierce et al., 2004). Wewill also collect samples for Lead-210 dating. 210Pb is deposited in known rates on soils afterradon decays to lead, so the amount of lead in a profile is a measure of how long it has been on


the surface. When surfaces are buried rapidly, the 210Pb profile in the alluvial fan or flood plainwill have a sharp peak in the concentration of 210Pb at the paleo-surface. These peaks can beused to reconstruct deposition rates for the last 100 years (Aalto, 2002; Aalto et al., 2003). Ifthere was increased erosion related to mass deforestation, this sedimentation will be seen in the210Pb record. During the June, 2008 field trip we will also examine the possibility of trenchingmore alluvial fans for a more detailed record of fire and sediment history as well as coring lakesto get an integrated picture of sedimentation and fire histories for the entire valley.

Appendix 2: Anthropogenic Landscapes, Human History

Archaeology - Prior Research: Research proposed here is based upon exploratory workalready completed during the 2006 collaboration between JNP staff and Professors and studentsof archaeology and anthropology from Sichuan University and the University of Washington(Taylor 2006). During this initial investigation the team visited both occupied and abandonedvillages, individual households in living villages, and discovered at least one buriedarchaeological site (most likely the first known within the park). These resources show muchpromise for understanding both recent and ancient human impacts on present park biodiversityand biological composition prior to prohibition of agriculture and animal husbandry. Likewise,preservation of those archaeological and ethnographic materials will provide resources for folkexhibits and tourist education, as well as protection of local culture. Although there is someindication that ethnographic research has been conducted within JNP, no known archaeologicalresearch has occurred.

The archaeological site at Yala was discovered as distinct stratigraphic layers of brokenanimal bones, charcoal, and other depositional characteristics indicative of human occupationwithin a cut-bank on the down slope face of a terrace (PHOTO). This terrace face is locatedbetween remnant house foundations upslope of the deposit and a set of burial markers downslope (MAP). Radiocarbon dating, funded by the University of Washington, conducted on threecharcoal samples taken from the site indicate that this area was probably occupied by at least AD1650.

One significant question is whether the deposits are in their original context or if terraceconstruction redeposited this material as it is now. The project processed three radiocarbon datesbetween 190cm and 235cm below the current surface. All three dates fell within roughly thesame 200 year period at two sigma calibration and could indicate that the material was depositedbetween AD 1450 and 1650 (Appendix 1). However, the presence of animal remains arepromising indicators that this site could contain information pertinent to the greater goals of thisproposal, such as the age and nature of animal husbandry and agriculture in Jiuzhaigou. Permitsare pending for further excavations.

Archaeology – Methods: Methods for investigating pre-human and Industrial Era landscapesand plant composition are described elsewhere in this proposal. Archaeological aspects of thisproposal will include thorough survey of the main valley and tributary valleys for buried andsurficial archaeological material. Additionally, excavations within buried archaeological siteswill be recommended to extract sufficient information to test hypotheses presented here. Initialanalyses of floral and faunal remains found within archaeological sites will be useful andthorough radiometric dating of all sites critical to this work.



Archaeological survey of JNP can be conducted entirely on foot with practically noimpact on the natural or cultural resources of the park and may be carried out in connection withgeological investigations. Survey will include evenly spaced pedestrian transects with occasionalsoil probes, augers, or small (less than 30cm by 30cm) shovel probes and investigation ofvertical erosional faces in streambeds or agricultural terraces. Chronometric dating ofarchaeological sites identified through survey is the first priority of this research. Radiocarbon,Optically Stimulated Luminescence, and Thermoluminescence are all reliable and affordablemethods which we are likely to use. Survey will be conducted to assess the potential of each sitefor conducting the following research, with recommendations to be made for future work.

Cultural relics are the foundation for most archaeological research and are frequentlyused as secondary chronometric markers, in addition to finding cultural associations between thepeople who occupied a particular site and known culture groups from nearby regions. Basicanalysis of artifacts from excavated sites will provide a foundation upon whichpaleoenvironmental research can be conducted and is critical for exploring and preserving thecultural heritage of Jiuzhaigou.

The potential of each archaeological site for extracting paleoenvironmental data must beassessed on a case-by-case basis. However, basic floral and faunal analysis can elucidate whattypes of plants and animals people were hunting and rearing, in what quantities they were doingso, the relative productivity of the landscape, and to what extent people were affecting changesin biotic composition of the region. Statistical and metric analysis of faunal remains, plantmacrofossils, phytoliths, and pollen can be used to this end.

Trace element and stable isotope content of human and other faunal remains fromarchaeological sites often provide troves of information on paleoenvironment and humanbehavior. Both techniques have been used in wood and calcium carbonate bearing materials toreconstruct temperature and precipitation in various regions around the world. Specifically,stable oxygen and carbon isotopes and strontium/calcium trace element ratios have beensuccessfully applied to a variety of marine and terrestrial shellfish and gastropods inreconstructing atmospheric and water temperatures and, in wood, precipitation regimes. Stableisotope ratios of strontium, lead, and oxygen in humans and animals are used as markers fordemonstrating migration patterns of individuals at a regional level. Finally, ratios of carbonisotopes clearly demonstrate ratios of plant diets of animals at a broad level, usually referred toas C3 and C4 plant groups. While this later marker only provides broad information aboutherbivorous diet, strong differences in environmental requirements of the two major classes ofplant types can indicate significant changes in agricultural practices or environmental conditions.

Lastly, human activities studied in conjunction with the geological properties of anarchaeological site (geoarchaeology) can be used to study deposition rates of sediment anderosional processes. Often correlations between human activities and such processes can befound, which may indicate anthropogenic causes of geological landscape change.

While this array of potential methods seems daunting, our selection of methods will bespecific to the availability of sites found during initial survey. Team members are already trainedand experienced in many of these techniques, but also have access to experts and laboratoryequipment at Sichuan University and the University of Washington in cases where outsideassistance may be required.

Anthropology – Methods: Environmental anthropologists gather this information byinterviewing, recording oral histories, cognitive mapping, analysis of local place names, and


other standard ethnographic techniques (Bernard 2006). This cultural history, as understood bylocal people in the present time, can be considered an addition to the knowledge of a specificplace gathered through other methods (GIS mapping, archeological surveys, biologicalmonitoring).

We propose to use ‘snow-ball sampling’ in order to identify the most knowledgeablepeople to interview within the park boundaries. This method involves both structured andunstructured interviews of individuals, who we then ask for references of other people whomthey consider to be ‘experts’ on the topic; after interviewing them, we again ask for references,and so on. This method is not only the easiest way to find these experts, it also gives agency tothe local people, as they are defining expertise according to their own criteria. Within thecontext of interviewing, we plan to use a variety of methods. Cognitive mapping includes theuse of actual printed maps, asking people to name and explain the usage of topographicalfeatures, but also includes people drawing their own maps of resource location and land-use,again using the criteria of what is important to the individual (Kitchin and Blades, 2002). Theutility of the resulting maps vary: they can be overlaid with GIS data for comparative purposes;they can show what elements are considered important to the mapper (ecological, religious,commercial, etc.); they can demonstrate how people conceptualize their surroundingenvironment; they record local place names, which illuminate the cultural history of the area(Basso 1996); and most importantly, they can be used to note the differences there are betweendifferent generations as well as gender in all of the previously mentioned examples. Ourinterviews will also elicit oral histories of the area, focusing on land-use and resourcemanagement. In conjunction with the group working on historical documentation, one of thetools we will use as an aid to our interviews is historical photography; basically, we will showhistoric photographs taken locally to people and ask them to describe what is occurring (i.e.,what the picture encompasses, the names of the physical features shown, what land-use wasgenerally like during the period when the photo was taken, etc.). Interviews will be digitallyrecorded, in order to be transcribed and also for possible use as sound clips in presentations,reports, and museum displays.

Appendix 3: Ecological Assessment of Current and Historical Landscapes

We will set-up a modified-Whittaker vegetation sampling plot within a single community type(e.g., meadows) and across a gradient of human land use (e.g., historic livestock grazing). Plotlocations will be randomly selected using GIS data. The modified-Whittaker deign is currentlyused for rapid, cost-efficient assessment of plant diversity in a range of habitat types (e.g.,meadow, forest) in U.S. National Parks (Stohlgren et al. 1996). The modified Whittaker is a 20 x50 m plot with ten 0.5 x 2 m (1m2) subplots, two 2 x 5 m (10m2 ) subplots and a 5 x 20 m(100m2) central subplot (Stohlgren et al., 1995).The modified-Whittaker plot design is used for:

• Quantifying species diversity (using either the Shannon-Weiner or Simpson diversityindex) and percent cover of individual species

• Sampling species diversity among (beta diversity) and within (alpha diversity)community types

• Monitoring species diversity at multiple spatial scales (1m2, 10m2, 100m2, and 1000m2)• Detecting of locally rare and patchy species not captured in smaller sampling schemes• Early detection of non-native species


• Constructing species-area curves to estimate large scale (gamma) species diversity

Budget:

Radiocarbon datingExpenses for Olmstead and UG studentsEquipment to donateSupplies—Barbara to get in Chengdu: donated to the park

Cost-sharing:SalaryLiving expenses thereOur equipment