A tentative, evolving and certainly incomplete map of sword fern die-off sites in the Puget Lowlands.
Updated March 16th, 2019.
Red sites are large (1
acre or more), were previously dominated by sword ferns,
have seen no regeneration, and now constitute an ecological disturbance.
Orange sites exhibit moderate die-off, are often smaller in size,
and with mixed unaffected understory species. Probably minor ecological impact.
Blue sites are provisional. Dead ferns have been observed, but without
much spread, and at present apparently posing little or no ecosystem threat.
Use your mouse to zoom and pan. Click on a site to get more information. We hope to curate this currently quite scant
data, adding time-lapse photography, good site descriptions, ongoing measurements.
Contributions, updates and (especially) corrections are welcome: please send email to Paul Shannon.