Factors Affecting the Survival of Immature Lodgepole Pine in the Foothills of West-central Alberta

📖 The Scoop

Plots were established to monitor the survival of immature lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm.) in over 70 cutover areas in the subalpine and boreal forest regions of west-central Alberta. A method for rating site productivity, based on weights assigned to soil associations, drainage classes, and elevations was used to group the areas into three productivity classes. Three-year survival rates spanning a 9-year period are given for most of the sampling areas, grouped according to site productivity. The major causes of mortality were rodents, western gall rust (Endocronartium harknessii [J.P. Moore] Y. Hiratsuka), Armillaria root rot (Armillaria spp.), Warren rootcollar weevil (Hylobius warreni Wood), blister rust (Cronartium spp.), browsing, blowdown, as well as undetermined causes. Mammal damage of all types and pitch blister moth (Petrova albicapitana [Busck] and Petrova metallica [Busck]) infestations were considerably higher in thinned stands. Armillaria root rot and the Warren rootcollar weevil caused more damage to dense stands.

Genre: Nature / Plants / Trees (fancy, right?)