Aspen Trees Die Mysteriously in Rockies
This chilling story is a must-listen:
A symbol of the American West, the aspen tree, is dying quickly and mysteriously. Scientists are scrambling to get to the causes of the epidemic, which is threatening mountain communities that depend on the famed trees natural beauty to draw tourists.
Aspen trees were the ones that got me hooked on trees and the first I ever planted. I haven't noticed a lot of aspens dying in the Lake Tahoe region, though. I wonder how far this problem has spread. I will try to do some digging on this story to see if I can get details.
Link: NPR : Aspen Trees Die Mysteriously in Rockies.
September 18, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink
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The following was published in the February 2006 issue of the Tahoe Mountain News in South Lake Tahoe, CA:
By Kathryn Reed Without planting a single tree, the Forest Service is about to bring a burst of yellow and orange to Pioneer Trail. This is just one spot within the Lake Tahoe Basin where the annual fall spectacle of aspens will be even more dazzling. "Aspens are a fairly interesting species in that it requires some type of disturbance to perpetuate itself -- some sort of opening to rejuvenate itself," said Shane Romsos, wildlife biologist with the local unit of the U.S. Forest Service. "Aspens require intense solar exposure." He and his cohorts have been studying aspens within the 194,000-acre basin since 2003. This spring they begin delving into the intricacies of the data that have been collected in all but one of the basin's 63 watersheds. (Hope Valley is outside the project area.) Even though aspens have been in the Sierra Nevada for at least 10,000 years, their numbers are not so great compared to Colorado and Utah where groves are more prolific. Prompting the study is their disappearance here. This is due in large part to the lack of disturbances Romsos talks about. The problem is aspens are sun worshipers and when conifers are left to grow next to them?), the shade essentially kills the aspens. Fire suppression in the basin has allowed for conifers to dwarf the aspens. Wildlife that chews on branches is also beneficial because all that gnawing eventually exposes the aspen to sun. Beavers can be an aspen's best friend. Flooding is also a good thing because it means potentially uprooting some trees and letting rays in. When aspens dwindle, it affects the diversity of the ecosystem. Aspens tend to proliferate near springs and creeks. Insects love moist areas, as do certain birds and mammals. Aspens provide food and habitat for nibbling deer and those dam beavers. "Essentially what we are trying to do is reset the stand to the condition that may have existed before European settlement. So the conifers will be in check from encroaching," Romsos said. The three largest aspen stands within the basin are in Montreal Canyon near Spooner, Incline Creek off the Mount Rose Highway and near Scott Lake in the Big Meadow area. "Restoration depends on the specifics of the site. Every site is somewhat unique," Romsos said. "In general it would include things like removing conifers growing under the canopy (of aspens), Christmas tree size, and larger ones that are casting shadows over an aspen community. There are other things we want to explore which would include introducing prescribed fire." Already forest officials have removed white firs stands (those up to 14 inches in diameter) from 40 acres in the Cathedral Road area near Fallen Leaf Lake. Wood chips were spread on the turnouts of the road to help with erosion and water quality issues. Much of the same was done in 14 acres of the Blackwood Canyon on the West Shore. "One of the results is likely for people to realize where the aspens stands are. If you drive along Pioneer Trail there are a couple places that have definitely been (overgrown) by conifers. You will likely see more aspens," Romsos said. This is because those conifers will be trimmed back so the aspens can have direct sunlight to enable them to flourish. Money for the nearly $200,000 project came from the Southern Nevada Public Lands Act and Bureau of Reclamation.
Posted by: kae | Sep 18, 2006 9:16:26 PM
