Juniper decline in Natural Bridges National Monument and Canyonlands National Park
Weber DJ, Gang D, Halls S, Nelson DL. 1995. Juniper decline in Natural Bridges National Monument and Canyonlands National Park. Pages 258-262. In Roundy BA, McArthur ED, Haley JS, Mann DK (ed): Proceedings: Wildland Shrub and Arid Land Restoration Symposium. Las Vegas, NV. October 19-21, 1993. U.S. Department of Agriculture: Forest Service--Intermountain Research Station. Ogden, UT. General Technical Report INT-GTR-315
Foliar damage on Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) has been observed for several years from southeast Nevada across southern Utah and into southwest Colorado. Distal ends of branches become chlorotic and die, and damage moves up the branches. Authors created reference transects of 40 junipers each in Natural Bridges National Monument and Canyonlands National Park, to examine the causes of damage. They sampled and analyzed plant tissue and soils, and examined organisms on the trees. Diseases were not uncommon, but weren't consistently associated with the twig tip die-back. The decline did not correlate with any single soil element. Annual rainfall patterns did seem to correspond to the twig die-off. The authors suggest that the decline could be a combination of drought and temperature stress, which reduces water availability and increases the uptake of salts by the trees.
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- Weber, Darrell; Gang, David; Halls, Steve; Nelson, David
- Units
- CANY , NABR
- Keywords
- Disease, Drought, Inventory, Monitoring, Mortality, Pests, Plant Communities, Plant Studies, Soil Science, stress (physiological), Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), Vegetation Survey