Eagle Summit above-treeline study plots (distorted) by Chris Fastie

Canon Powershot A590 IS

I forgot to straighten the horizon before exporting from ICE. This version has a more realistic horizon and is easier to look at: gigapan.org/gigapans/83270/.
A half-spherical panorama stitched from 36 photos taken by a camera lofted by a kite. Below the camera were five study plots established in 1998 above the limit of tree growth at an elevation of 3200 feet. Plot 4 is outlined by a tape along its perimeter, and the others have their boundaries sketched in (pink flagging is visible at the corners of each plot).

The half-spherical perspective is evident when viewed in Google Earth where some of the sketched plot boundaries are curved because they were drawn on the distorted flat version of the panorama. The spherical effect is easier to view in the Photosynth version (photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=a9a04a6a-ae0d-4dea-85f8-9800700c00ca ) although the plot boundaries are absent.

A wildfire burned up this slope in 2004 scorching parts of the plots. Thousands of seedlings of quaking aspen, which was absent before the fire (these plots are above treeline), have established in the burned areas of the plots. If aspen persists here, it will signal a dramatic turning point in climatic control of vegetation type.