Whitebark pine monitoring at Crater Lake and Lassen Volcanic national parks: Fiscal years 2012–2014 project report
Jackson J, Jules ES, Smith SB, Sahara EA, Sarr DA. 2015. Whitebark pine monitoring at Crater Lake and Lassen Volcanic national parks: Fiscal years 2012–2014 project report. Natural Resource Report. NPS/KLMN/NRR—2015/1052. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report describes the results of a three year project to establish whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) monitoring plots in Crater Lake National Park (CRLA) and Lassen Volcanic National Park (LAVO). The project is a collaboration between scientists from the NPS Klamath Inventory and Monitoring Network and the Principal Investigator, Erik Jules of Humboldt State University and his students. This project implements methodology outlined by McKinney et al. (2012) for five-needle pines found on National Park Service land in the western United States. Here we present data and observations from the first three years of monitoring (2012, 2013, and 2014). Thirty plots have now been established and monumented in each of the two parks, and all trees have been identified and tagged with unique identification numbers. Whitebark pines were assessed for blister rust and other insect and pathogen damage. On average, white pine blister rust has infected 51% of whitebark pine in CRLA plots and 54% in the LAVO plots. Of the whitebark pine trees for which cause of death could be determined, beetles were the primary cause of whitebark pine mortality in CRLA and LAVO; nevertheless, cause of death often could not be determined. In addition, 202 increment cores were collected in CRLA in 2013 in an effort to reconstruct the history of mortality in the park using dendrochronological techniques. Preparation of the cores and crossdating are ongoing and the results are pending.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Jackson, Jenell; Jules, Erik; Smith, Sean; Sahara, E; Sarr, Daniel
- Date of Issue
- 2015-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- CRLA , KLMN , LAVO , NRSS
- Keywords
- Crater Lake National Park, Klamath Network (NW), Monitoring Pilot Study, Whitebark Pine, Whitebark Pine Monitoring
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Infestations and Disease | Plant Diseases , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Forest/Woodland Communities