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Abstract
There is a critical need for information on the status and trend of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). Concerns over the combined effects of white pine blister rust (WPBR, Cronartium ribicola), mountain pine beetle (MPB, Dendroctonus ponderosae), and climate change prompted an interagency working group to design and implement a long-term monitoring program in the GYE. Our primary objective was to determine the status and trends in the proportion of trees >1.4 m tall infected with WPBR and to provide information to federal managers, at a regional scale, on estimates of tree survival, taking into account the presence of WPBR and MPB. Long-term monitoring of whitebark pine in the GYE and across its range is vital to understanding the ecological impact of forest insect and disease pathogens on this important high elevation species.
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
Jean, Cathie; Shanahan, Erin; Daley, Rob; DeNitto, Gregg; Reinhart, Dan; Schwartz, Chuck. 2011. Monitoring white pine blister rust infection and mortality in whitebark pine in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. 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. 218-221.
