Mount
St. Helens
National Volcanic Monument
Photo Library
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Mount
St. Helens |
A series of repeat photographs documenting 25 years of change in standing dead forests created by the May 18, 1980 lateral blast.
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?
Standing Dead Forest (Seared) Zone
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Standing dead forest near the Blast Edge Viewpoint along Forest Road 99 northeast of the volcano. 11 c mine s 15 1983 photo
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Surviving and newly established plants are concentrated in erosion gullies. 11 c mine s 15 1984 photo
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11 c mine s 15 1989 photo
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Note the progressive decrease in the number of standing dead trees. As the snags have been weakened by decomposition they have been pushed over by the weight of winter snow and ice on the steep hillside. Heavy snow and ice slide down steep slopes in a phenomena called snow creep. 11 c mine s 15 1995 photo |
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As the standing dead forest from 1980 disappears it is gradually being replaced by a new forest. 11 c mine s 15 2004 photo
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Standing dead forest on the edge of the transition between the blowdown and standing dead forest zones. Note blown down trees in the foreground. 1 polar star s 1 ne 1982 photo
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Fireweed quickly seeded into the standing dead forest. 1 polar star s 1 ne 1984 photo
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1 polar star s 1 ne 1986 photo
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This research site is located outside of the Congressionally designated Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Adjacent areas were salvage logged and reforested with Douglas fir plantations. The adjacent plantations matured and produced seed scattering tremendous quantities of seed into the adjacent research plot. The dense conifer reproduction reflects the influence of the adjacent plantations. 1 polar star s 1 ne 2000 photo |
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1 polar star s 1 ne 2004 photo
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03/22/2005 Mount
St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
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