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Abstract
Successional whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) communities are dependent on fire and other disturbances for renewal (Arno 2001). Where whitebark pine regenerates results from cache site selection by Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) in relation to the environmental tolerances of seeds and seedlings (Tomback 2001). After the 1988 Yellowstone fires, we studied the development of upper subalpine forest communities with particular focus on the regeneration of whitebark pine in two study areas - Mt. Washburn in Yellowstone National Park, and Henderson Mtn. in Gallatin National Forest. Fire history and patterns of community regeneration of the predominantly seral lodgepole pine forests in the southcentral and southwestern regions of Yellowstone National Park have been well studied (e.g., Romme 1982; Turner and others 1997), whereas whitebark pine communities have been less studied.
Parent Publication
Keywords
high elevation five-needle pines,
threats,
whitebark,
Pinus albicaulis,
limber,
Pinus flexilis,
southwestern white,
Pinus strobiformis,
foxtail,
Pinus balfouriana,
Great Basin bristlecone,
Pinus longaeva,
Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine,
Pinus aristata
Citation
Tomback, Diana F.; Schoettle, Anna W.; Perez, Mario J.; Grompone, Kristen M.; Mellmann-Brown, Sabine. 2011. Regeneration and survival of whitebark pine after the 1988 Yellowstone fires. In: Keane, Robert E.; Tomback, Diana F.; Murray, Michael P.; Smith, Cyndi M., eds. The future of high-elevation, five-needle white pines in Western North America: Proceedings of the High Five Symposium. 28-30 June 2010; Missoula, MT. Proceedings RMRS-P-63. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 66-68.
