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Abstract
Climate changes are projected to profoundly influence vegetation patterns and community compositions, either directly through increased species mortality and shifts in species distributions, or indirectly through disturbance dynamics such as increased wildfire activity and extent, shifting fire regimes, and pathogenesis. High-elevation landscapes have been shown to be particularly sensitive to climatic change and are likely to experience significant impacts under predicted future climate change conditions. Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), a keystone and foundation five-needle pine species, is vulnerable to multiple and interacting disturbances that have already caused major changes in species distribution and abundance. We used the mechanistic simulation model FireBGCv2 to assess potential interacting effects of future climate changes and wildfire patterns on the presence and persistence of whitebark pine in a high-elevation watershed in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA.
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
Loehman, Rachel A.; Corrow, Allissa; Keane, Robert E. 2011. Modeling climate changes and wildfire interactions: Effects on whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) and implications for restoration, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. 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. 176-189.
