Rapid Decline of Whitebark Pine in Western Montana: Evidence from 20-year Remeasurements
Keane RE and Arno SF. 1993. Rapid Decline of Whitebark Pine in Western Montana: Evidence from 20-year Remeasurements. Western Journal of Applied Forestry. 8(2):44-47
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), an important producer of food for wildlife, is decreasing in abundance in western Montana due to attacks by the white pine blister rust fungus (Cronartium ribicola), epidemics of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) and successional replacement mainly by subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa). Plots establisted in 1971 were remeasured in 1991 and 1992 to determine the rates and causes of whitebark pine mortality. Mortality rates averaged 42% over the last 20 yr, indicating a rapid decline in whitebark pine populations of western Montana. This decline is most pronounced in northwestern Montana with the southward extension of heaviest mortality centered along the continental divide and Bitterroot Mountain range. Management treatments such as prescribed fire can serve to maintain whitebark pine landscape.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Keane, Robert; Arno, Stephen
- Units
- GLAC
- Keywords
- Bitterroot Mountain Range Montana, Mortality, mountian pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), Plant Studies, Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa), Succession, white pine blister rust fungus (Cronartium ribicola), Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis)