scholarly journals Historic Frequency and Severity of Fire in Whitebark Pine Forests of the Cascade Mountain Range, USA

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Murray ◽  
Joel Siderius
Keyword(s):  
Pine Forests ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Whitebark Pine ◽  
Cascade Mountain ◽  
Cascade Mountain Range

scholarly journals Analysis of nifH Gene Pool Complexity in Soil and Litter at a Douglas Fir Forest Site in the Oregon Cascade Mountain Range

1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 374-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Widmer ◽  
B. T. Shaffer ◽  
L. A. Porteous ◽  
R. J. Seidler
Keyword(s):  
Gene Pool ◽  
Forest Litter ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Microbial Populations ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Nitrogen Fixing ◽  
Cascade Mountain ◽  
Pcr Products ◽  
Cascade Mountain Range

ABSTRACT Nitrogen-fixing microbial populations in a Douglas fir forest on the western slope of the Oregon Cascade Mountain Range were analyzed. The complexity of the nifH gene pool (nifH is the marker gene which encodes nitrogenase reductase) was assessed by performing nested PCR with bulk DNA extracted from plant litter and soil. The restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) of PCR products obtained from litter were reproducibly different than the RFLPs of PCR products obtained from the underlying soil. The characteristic differences were found during the entire sampling period between May and September. RFLP analyses of cloned nifH PCR products also revealed characteristic patterns for each sample type. Among 42 nifH clones obtained from a forest litter library nine different RFLP patterns were found, and among 64 nifHclones obtained from forest soil libraries 13 different patterns were found. Only two of the patterns were found in both the litter and the soil, indicating that there were major differences between the nitrogen-fixing microbial populations. A sequence analysis of clones representing the 20 distinct patterns revealed that 19 of the patterns had a proteobacterial origin. All of the nifH sequences obtained from the Douglas fir forest litter localized in a distinct phylogenetic cluster characterized by the nifH sequences of members of the genera Rhizobium, Sinorhizobium, and Azospirillum. The nifH sequences obtained from soil were found in two additional clusters, one characterized by sequences of members of the genera Bradyrhizobium,Azorhizobium, Herbaspirillum, andThiobacillus and the other, represented by a singlenifH clone, located between the gram-positive bacteria and the cyanobacteria. Our results revealed the distinctness of the nitrogen-fixing microbial populations in litter and soil in a Douglas fir forest; the differences may be related to special requirements for degradation and mineralization processes in the plant litter.

scholarly journals Landscape Topoedaphic Features Create Refugia from Drought and Insect Disturbance in a Lodgepole and Whitebark Pine Forest

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Cartwright
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Boosted Regression Trees ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Whitebark Pine ◽  
Insect Outbreaks ◽  
Landscape Characteristics ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle

Droughts and insect outbreaks are primary disturbance processes linking climate change to tree mortality in western North America. Refugia from these disturbances—locations where impacts are less severe relative to the surrounding landscape—may be priorities for conservation, restoration, and monitoring. In this study, hypotheses concerning physical and biological processes supporting refugia were investigated by modelling the landscape controls on disturbance refugia that were identified using remotely sensed vegetation indicators. Refugia were identified at 30-m resolution using anomalies of Landsat-derived Normalized Difference Moisture Index in lodgepole and whitebark pine forests in southern Oregon, USA, in 2001 (a single-year drought with no insect outbreak) and 2009 (during a multi-year drought and severe outbreak of mountain pine beetle). Landscape controls on refugia (topographic, soil, and forest characteristics) were modeled using boosted regression trees. Landscape characteristics better explained and predicted refugia locations in 2009, when forest impacts were greater, than in 2001. Refugia in lodgepole and whitebark pine forests were generally associated with topographically shaded slopes, convergent environments such as valleys, areas of relatively low soil bulk density, and in thinner forest stands. In whitebark pine forest, refugia were associated with riparian areas along headwater streams. Spatial patterns in evapotranspiration, snowmelt dynamics, soil water storage, and drought-tolerance and insect-resistance abilities may help create refugia from drought and mountain pine beetle. Identification of the landscape characteristics supporting refugia can help forest managers target conservation resources in an era of climate-change exacerbation of droughts and insect outbreaks.

Ecological effects and effectiveness of silvicultural restoration treatments in whitebark pine forests

2018 ◽  
Vol 429 ◽  
pp. 534-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin T. Maher ◽  
Cara R. Nelson ◽  
Andrew J. Larson ◽  
Anna Sala
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Effects ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Whitebark Pine

Rapid Decline of Whitebark Pine in Western Montana: Evidence from 20-Year Remeasurements

1993 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Keane ◽  
Stephen F. Arno
Keyword(s):  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Rust Fungus ◽  
Western Montana ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Abies Lasiocarpa ◽  
Whitebark Pine ◽  
White Pine Blister Rust ◽  
Continental Divide ◽  
Southward Extension

Abstract Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), an important producer of food for wildlife, is decreasing in abundance in western Montana due to attacks by the white pine blister rust fungus (Cronartium ribicola), epidemics of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) and successional replacement mainly by subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa). Plots established in 1971 were remeasured in 1991 and 1992 to determine the rate and causes of whitebark pine mortality. Mortality rates averaged 42% over the last 20 yr. indicating a rapid decline in whitebark pine populations of western Montana. This decline is most pronounced in northwestern Montana with the southward extension of heaviest mortality centered along the continental divide and Bitterroot Mountain range. Management treatments such as prescribed fire can serve to maintain whitebark pine in the landscape. West. J. Appl. For. 8(2):44-47.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Rootstocks on Harvest Metrics of ‘Pinot Noir clone 02A’ Wine Grapes in Maritime Western Washington

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 830-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Moyer ◽  
Jaqueline King ◽  
Gary Moulton
Keyword(s):  
Puget Sound ◽  
Titratable Acidity ◽  
Pinot Noir ◽  
Soluble Solids ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Wine Grapes ◽  
Mount Vernon ◽  
Cascade Mountain ◽  
Western Washington ◽  
Final Harvest

The Puget Sound American Viticulture Area (AVA), located west of the Cascade Mountain Range in Washington State, is a large and uniquely situated area with diverse topography and mesoclimates. Given the young age of the AVA, little formal information exists on the appropriate rootstock–scion combination in wine grapes (Vitis vinifera) for the region. This project reports on a series of rootstock trials from 2003 to 2007, which evaluated the influence of ‘420A Millardet et de Grasset’, ‘3309 Couderc’, ‘101-14 Millardet et de Grasset’ (all Vitis hybrids), and a self-rooted control on basic harvest metrics of the wine grape scion ‘Pinot noir clone 02A’. At the warmer site in Everson, WA, rootstocks had no effect on final juice harvest metrics measured by soluble solids, titratable acidity (TA), and pH. At the cooler site in Mount Vernon, WA, the use of rootstocks did not always influence soluble solids or pH but did reduce final harvest TA, a desired effect for the region that is typified by low sugar–high TA wines. Even with a reduction in TA in some rootstock–scion combinations, overall, TA remained at the upper end or above the range typically desired for many wine styles.

Fatalities from Volcanic Activity

1985 ◽  
Vol 1 (S1) ◽  
pp. 433
Author(s):  
William H. Dice ◽  
James F. Bascom
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Volcanic Activity ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Contingency Planning ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Danger Zone ◽  
Cascade Mountain ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Ash Cloud

The eruption of Mount Saint Helens in the Cascade Mountain Range of Washington State on 18 May 1980 resulted in a life-threatening and economically disruptive natural disaster that required the mobilization of supportive agencies from the State and Federal government for control. Because of the potential for further eruptions, the mechanism of death for those persons exposed to the initial blast was examined to aid in contingency planning.Fatalities as a result of the eruption could be attributed to lack of understanding of the danger in the area of the mountain. Although several scientists were killed during the eruption, most were sight-seers who ignored the warning seismic activity and the precautionary blockade of the area. A few were outside of the well-publicized danger zone, but were caught in the rapidly moving mudslides or the ash cloud.

Early- to mid-Holocene forest-line and climate dynamics in southern Scandes mountains inferred from contrasting megafossil and pollen data

The Holocene ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aage Paus ◽  
Vanja Haugland
Keyword(s):  
Climate Dynamics ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Pollen Production ◽  
Land Uplift ◽  
Holocene Thermal Maximum ◽  
Summer Temperatures ◽  
Forest Line ◽  
Birch Forests

The result of 344 radiocarbon-dated megafossils is here presented and discussed. This study aims at elucidating early- to mid-Holocene forest-line and climate dynamics in the southern Scandes along a present gradient of decreasing forest-line elevations. Around 9.5 calibrated ka before present (BP), pine suddenly established vertical belts of at least 200 m. These represent the highest pine-forests during the Holocene, ca. 210–170 m higher than today when corrected for land uplift. By this, summer temperatures at least 1–1.3°C warmer than today are indicated for the early Holocene thermal maximum around 8.5–9.5 cal. ka BP. The most pronounced warming occurred in Jotunheimen, the highest mountain range in Scandinavia, because of an amplified ‘Massenerhebung’ effect. Megafossils show the establishment of birch-forests above pine-forests already from the early Holocene. Pine-forests started their decline in the early Holocene and became replaced by the less warmth-demanding birch-forests. Pine megafossil results and pollen studies from the same areas show that cooling around 8.5 cal. ka BP caused a significant decrease in pine pollen production whereas pine-forest-lines were more or less unaffected. In the following period of about 2000 years, the high-altitudinal pine-forests could hardly be detected in pollen diagrams. This shows how strongly past temperatures influenced on the pollen production of individuals and how this might obscure pollen-based reconstructions of past vegetation. To be able to correct for this error, there is a need for establishing exact present-day relationships between temperature and pollen production of prolific pollen producers.

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