We surveyed montane meadows in the northern Sierra Nevada and southern Cascades for two field seasons to compare commonly used aquatic and terrestrial-based assessments of meadow condition. We surveyed 1) fish, 2) reptiles, 3) amphibians, 4) aquatic macroinvertebrates, 5) stream geomorphology, 6) physical habitat, and 7) terrestrial vegetation in 79 meadows between the elevations of 1000 and 3000 m. From the results of those surveys we calculated five multi-metric indices based on methods commonly-used by researchers and land management agencies. The five indices consisted of 1) fish-only, 2) native fish and amphibians, 3) macroinvertebrates, 4) physical habitat, and 5) vegetation. We compared the results of the five indices and found that there were significant differences in the outcomes of the five indices. We found positive correlations between the vegetation index and the physical habitat index, the invertebrate index and the physical habitat index, and the two fish-based indices, but there were significant differences between the indices in both range and means. We concluded that the five indices provided very different interpretations of the condition in a given meadow. While the assessment of meadow condition changed based on which index was used, each provided an assessment of different components important to the overall condition of a meadow system. Utilizing a multimetric approach that accounts for both terrestrial and aquatic habitats is the best opportunity to assess meadow condition, particularly given disproportionate importance of these systems in the Sierra Nevada landscape. To accept the results of just a single index in the absence of the others is potentially misleading and costly.

Headwater wetland meadows of the Western U.S. have great ecological value despite their limited aerial extent. The ability of meadows to perform important ecosystem functions can be impacted by human uses and management activities. Soil properties are important indicators of site quality and function. The major purpose of this project was to evaluate various soil characteristics, especially soil organic carbon (SOC), and interrelations with vegetation and hydrologic properties in montane and subalpine riparian-wetland meadows of the Sierra Nevada in the contexts of livestock grazing and hydrologic condition. Physical and chemical properties of whole soil solum samples and soils sampled by pedogenetic horizon were assessed in nineteen hydrologically functional meadows representing a range of livestock utilization in the Sierra National Forest. In addition, vegetation community composition and physical and chemical characteristics of whole solum soil samples were evaluated in riparian meadows representing a range of hydrologic condition as defined by the Properly Functioning Condition (PFC) method in the Stanislaus National Forest. Average total SOC contents were variable among meadows, but were considerably high on average at 37.2"2.87 kg C m -2 in the Sierra NF and 14.2"0.78 kg C m -2 in the Stanislaus NF. Soil moisture appeared to be an important driver of total SOC contents, while livestock utilization did not appear to influence overall C storage in hydrologically functional meadows. However, soils of more heavily grazed areas were more compacted and had slightly higher NO 3 - -N contents than more lightly grazed areas. Results of this study suggest any management activities that affect the hydrologic regime will likely impart undesirable changes in soil characteristics and plant communities.

For about 40 years 1 have been engaged in timberline research. Thus, one could suppose that writing this book should not have been too difficult. It was harder, however, than expected, and in the end 1 feIt that more questions had arisen than could be answered within its pages. Perhaps it would have been easier to write the book twenty years aga and then leave the subject to mature. But the late Prof. Heinz Ellenberg convinced me to portray a much needed and complete pieture of what we know of the timberline with special respect to its great physiognomie, structural and ecological variety. The first version of this book was published in the German language (Holt meier, 2000). An extensive summary and translated figure and photo cap tions and table headings were added to enable non-German speaking people to make use of the book as weIl. Nevertheless, 1 was very delighted when Prof. Martin Beniston encouraged me to prepare an English edition for the series "Advances in Global Change Research", which will guarantee a wider circulation.