Dying aspen stands puzzle scientists
 Aspen leaves by BREN DISMUKE  |
By BREN DISMUKE & ELIZABETH LADEN
This fall, when the aspen stands throughout the caldera thrill us with their stunning colors, it may be hard to imagine a colorless caldera in the not too distant future. But experts believe it is possible that aspens may all but disappear in the next 20 years if no action is taken to remedy the decline.
About a hundred scientists and land managers from the western United States and Canada gathered at Utah State University's Restoring the West Conference Sept. 16-18 to discuss an alarming trend in western forests. Aspen trees, a treasured part of the Rocky Mountain West's landscape and key elements of western ecosystems, are declining in large numbers. Scientists do not know the reason or reasons for what they call the Sudden Aspen Decline (SAD).
Idaho attendees included people from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Henry's Fork Chapter of the Idaho Master Naturalists Program in Island Park.
Aspen stands contain a diversity of plant species, grasses, shrubs, birds, and animals. They also add economic value to a community when tourists come to enjoy the fall colors. Aspen wood is also used to build furnishings of all sorts.
Researchers reviewed the aspen's unusual reproductive system. Instead of distributing seeds, the trees sit upon hugely complex root systems. As older trees die, the roots send up shoots which become saplings. An entire stand of aspen in a forested area could very well be one plant, with all trees connected underground by one huge root system.
Aspen regeneration needs disturbances such as fire, removal of dead or dying adult aspens, and removing shade-producing dominant species such as fir trees - aspens need light to grow.
Local leaders taking a proactive role in this issue are Keith Hobbs and Jodi Vincent of Harriman State Park. Like many other areas in the west, Harriman has little chance of preserving the aspen in the park without a study of the issues and treatments.
Boise-based biologist, Bob Hirnyck, and several Idaho Master Naturalists surveyed aspen stands in Harriman this year to identify those that could be restored. The leadership at Harriman has recognized in advance that the aspen are at risk and have instituted a plan of action to hopefully save future generations of aspen in the park. Information from the Utah conference may be used to benefit of Harriman State Park's aspen stands.
The Caribou-Targhee National Forest this fall is burning trees that are shading aspen stands near Henry's Lake.
As many as 10 percent of the aspen stands have died or are ailing in parts of Arizona, Colorado, and Utah, according to surveys shared at the conference. In parts of Alberta, Canada, about 30 per cent of the trees have died in five years.
Researchers have observed that where the trees are in decline, the shoots are not appearing either.
One possibility could be the presence of a so far undetected fungus. Other theories are the recent periods of drought in the West, climate change, eating of shoots by beaver, deer, and elk, human interference with the normal cycles of forest fires, and caterpillars and other insects.
According to "Utah State Today," the university's online news service, conference participants gathered for an open meeting of the newly formed Western Aspen Alliance. Supported by a gift from the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Foundation, WAA is a partnership between USU's College of Natural Resources and the USDAForest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station. The alliance is intended to facilitate effective management of aspen ecosystems in the western United States through coordinated scientific efforts and shared information.
"WAA will provide a muchneeded base, a home, a foundation for aspen research and restoration," said Johan du Toit, head of USU's Department of Wildland Resources. He noted Utah State's deep expertise in varied areas of aspen research, ranging from basic research to applied management.
The conference was organized and sponsored by WAA, USU's Ecology Center, Department of Wildland Resources, College of Natural Resources and Cooperative Extension and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, and by the USDA-Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station and State and Private Forestry.
This is part of the October 3, 2008 online edition of The Island Park News.
Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you. Click here.
