Mount
St. Helens
National Volcanic Monument
Photo Library
| |
Mount
St. Helens |
Pre-Eruption Clearcuts
A series of repeat photographs documenting 25 years of change in areas where timber had been harvested before the 1980 eruption.
If you are interested in comparing plant recovery on an area clearcut prior to the 1980 eruption with an adjacent blown down forest site we invite you to visit the blown down forest and standing dead forest pages to look for a companion photo series. Look for the photo series with the corresponding plot label (Located at the bottom of each caption. For example, on the photo below the label is '20 cedar ck cc 6 s' the corresponding blown down forest views would appear in the corresponding sequence labeled '20 cedar ck bds'.
For additional information about the lateral blast and descriptions of the five primary disturbance zones created by the 1980 eruption see How were the forests at Mount St. Helens influenced by the eruption?
 |
This site was harvested and slash burned only a few years prior to1980 so there was comparatively little established vegetation present at the time of the eruption. As a result there were less established "weedy" plants and roots to available to resprout through the overlying blast deposits. 20 cedar ck cc 6 s 1982 photo |
 |
This flat site had comparatively little erosion so the blast deposits remained largely intact. The thick deposits reduced the sprouting of buried roots and made a less-suitable surface for seedling establishment. 20 cedar ck cc 6 s 1984 photo |
 |
Note that established plants occur in lines along erosion gullies that formed in the flat terrace as a result of runoff from an adjacent hillside. 20 cedar ck cc 6 s 1994 photo
|
 |
20 cedar ck cc 6 s 1999 photo
|
 |
Gradually trees and shrubs are establishing even on the thickest blast deposits demonstrating that, in time, even the least suitable places will be forested once again. 20 cedar ck cc 6 s 2004 photo
|
. . |
|
 |
This is the same location as above photo sequence with pictures taken facing the opposite direction. 20 cedar ck cc 10 1982 photo
|
 |
20 cedar ck cc 10 1994 photo
|
 |
20 cedar ck cc 10 1999 photo
|
 |
20 cedar ck cc 10 2004 photo
|
. . |
|
 |
Pre-eruption clearcut NE of the volcano. Adjacent blown down forest photo site is visible in the background. 104 bean cw divide cc 5 1982 photo
|
 |
Willows are visible that sprouted from erosion gullies or seeded into pre-eruption soil exposed by erosion. 104 bean cw divide cc 5 1984 photo
|
 |
Plants in erosion gullies continued to expand. 104 bean cw divide cc 5 1994 photo
|
 |
Twenty-four years after the eruption, plants in erosion gullies on this pre-eruption clearcut site continue to expand while areas of intact blast deposits continue to have little established vegetation. 104 bean cw divide cc 5 2004 photo
|
. . |
|
 |
Pre-eruption clearcut near Meta Lake. 77 meta ck cc 10 1983 photo
|
 |
Fireweed that resprouted from pre-eruption soil can be seen in the foreground. The area without vegetation in the background was disturbed by construction activity associated with the reconstruction of Forest Road 99 following the eruption. 77 meta ck cc 10 1989 photo |
 |
77 meta ck cc 10 1994 photo
|
 |
Planted trees and naturally established willows are visible in the distance outside of the area set aside for this research plot. This plot and the planted trees are located outside of the Congressionally designated Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. 77 meta ck cc 10 2004 photo |
. . |
|
 |
The scorched stems of young trees that were growing on the pre-eruption plantation are visible in this 1983 photo. 22 upper bean cc 5 1983 photo
|
 |
Willows, Sitka alders and other shrubs are visible in the distance this 1986 photo. 22 upper bean cc 5 1986 photo
|
 |
22 upper bean cc 5 1994 photo
|
 |
22 upper bean cc 5 2004 photo
|
. . |
|
 |
The red blooms of fireweed and white flowers of pearly everlasting are visible on a clearcut northeast of the volcano. These plants most likely survived the eruption as roots in pre-eruption soil . 22 upper bean cc n 1 1984 photo
|
 |
Willows and other shrubs are visible in the background. 22 upper bean cc n 1 1994 photo
|
 |
22 upper bean cc n 1 2004 photo
|
. . |
|
 |
11 c mine cc 1 1984 photo
|
 |
This pre-eruption clearcut is located in the standing dead forest zone. Standing dead trees that were growing adjacent to the clearcut are visible in the background.
11 c mine cc 1 1989 photo |
 |
11 c mine cc 1 1995 photo
|
 |
11 c mine cc 1 2000 photo
|
 |
11 c mine cc 1 2004 photo
|
. . |
|
 |
Fireweed and pearly everlasting are visible. Standing dead trees from a forest that bordered the pre-eruption clearcut are visible in the background. 11 mine cc 5 se 1983 photo
|
 |
11 mine cc 5 se 1984 photo
|
 |
11 mine cc 5 se 1989 photo
|
 |
11 mine cc 5 se 1994 photo
|
 |
The logs visible in this picture are the result of a debris flow (landslide) that originated upslope and flowed across the experimental plot. 11 mine cc 5 se 2000 photo
|
 |
Scattered evergreen trees and shrubs like Sitka alder are beginning to colonize the pre-eruption clearcuts 24 years after the eruption. 11 mine cc 5 se 2004 photo
|
|
03/22/2005 Mount
St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
|