The rapid decline of whitebark pine communities: ecological and biodiversity implications
Tomback DF. 2003. The rapid decline of whitebark pine communities: ecological and biodiversity implications. Pages 1-16. In Tomback DF (ed): The State of Ecological and Earth Sciences in Mountain Areas. Science Highlights from Symposium on Ecological and Earth Sciences in Mountain Areas. Banff, Alberta, Canada. September 2002
White pine forest communities of the western United States are disappearing rapidly from the landscape as the result of widespread infection from the exotic fungal pathogen, white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), and nearly a century of fire exclusion. Fire exclusion limits opportunities for regeneration, resulting in successional replacement of white pines by shade-tolerant conifers. White pine blister rust, a fatal disease that infects five-needled white pines, initially eliminates seed cone production by killing branches, and eventually girdles and kills the tree. To date, white pine blister rust has infected six pines: western white {Pinus monticola), sugar {Pinus lambertiana), whitebark {Pinus albicaulis), limber {Pinus flexilis), southwestern white {Pinus strobiformis), and foxtail {Pinus balfouriana). Susceptible but not yet infected are the two bristlecone pines, the Great Basin {Pinus longaeva) and Rocky Mountain {Pinus aristata). As these white pine forest types decline, so will the ecosystem services they provide and the tremendous biodiversity they represent collectively. Whitebark pine in particular has suffered precipitous losses, and the consequences of these losses to wildlife and ecological processes are discussed in detail.
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- Tomback, Diane
- Units
- CRCO , GLAC
- Keywords
- endangered species, whitebark pine