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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #417424
Research Project: Knowledge Systems and Tools to Increase the Resilience and Sustainability of Western Rangeland Agriculture

Location: Range Management Research

Title: The impacts of rock climbing on lichen and bryophyte cliff communities in northwestern North America

Author
item BISHOP, GIOVANNA - University Of Montana
item Harrison, Georgia
item BOGGESS, LAURA - North Carolina State University
item MAGORI, KRISZTIAN - Eastern Washington University
item O'QUINN, ROBIN - Eastern Washington University
item ALLEN, JESSI - Eastern Washington University

Submitted to: Ecology Symposium
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2024
Publication Date: 9/25/2024
Citation: Bishop, G.M., Harrison, G.R., Boggess, L.M., Magori, K., O'Quinn, R., Allen, J.L. 2024. The impacts of rock climbing on lichen and bryophyte cliff communities in northwestern North America. Ecology Symposium. Abstract.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Cliff-dwelling biodiversity is increasingly threatened by rock climbing. In cliff ecosystems, lichens and bryophytes are often the most abundant and diverse organisms. Here we report how the popularity, difficulty, and age of rock climbing routes impacts bryophytes and lichens at two different climbing areas in Spokane County, Washington, USA (McLellan Rocks and Rocks of Sharon). We surveyed cliff-faces in 16 rock climbing routes and adjacent unclimbed cliff face in 254, 0.5 m2 plots. We also considered how slope, rock heterogeneity, aspect, and canopy cover create variation among paired transects across, and how route age, difficulty, popularity, and approach distance impact response in climbed areas. We tested for differences in lichen and bryophyte abundance and diversity among climbed and unclimbed areas using linear mixed effect models. Lichen and bryophyte cover was higher in unclimbed transects than in climbed transects. Route age and plot height explained most of the variation in lichen and bryophyte cover on climbed faces: older routes had higher lichen but lower bryophyte cover than did newer routes. Lichen morphogroups responded differently, crustose cover and richness was higher in climbed than in unclimbed transects at both sites, however other lichen morphogroups (i.e. foliose, leprose, fruticose) had lower cover, richness and diversity in climbed areas. New county records and rare lichen and bryophyte species were observed in this study, including the lichens Henrica americana and Umbilicaria vellea and the liverwort Frullania californica. Our results highlight the importance of including lichen morphogroups, detailed lichen and bryophyte diversity, route age, climbing intensity, and a paired transect study design when creating data-driven management plans for rock climbing areas.