White Pine Blister Influence On Biodiversity

The effects of white pine blister rust on biodiversity in whitebark pine stands

Today we are living in a world of unprecedented and often very rapid change to the environment (Ellison et al. 2005). With the accidental introduction of exotic pathogens into areas they previously did not exist, the forest ecosystems of the world are being profoundly impacted and altered (Tomback and Resler 2007). The introduction of diseases, especially fungal diseases, have in some cases, either entirely eliminated or greatly diminished key tree species and as a result altered entire forest ecosystems (Tomback and Resler 2007). One such fungal disease is white pine blister rust, Cronartium ribicola. White pine blister rust was accidentally introduced to North America during the 20th …show more content…
2015). Cronartium ribicola is a major problem for North American forest ecosystem due to the fact that five-needle pine species have a major impact on the ecosystems in which they occur. Whitebark pine, for example, plays an important role in the ecosystems it occurs in by colonizing disturbed areas, retaining snowpack, protracting snowmelt, and proving shelter in the form of a wind block and shade for other species to be able to grow in these harsh conditions (Smith et al. 2013; Tomback et al. 2016). White pine blister rust has had a profoundly negative impact on whitebark pine ecosystems. Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is a species of five-needle pine that is an extremely important component of many high-elevation ecosystems in the western part of North America. It is a long-lived, but slow-growing species of high mountain ecosystems in southwestern Canada and the western United States (Arno and Hoff 1989). According to Arno and Hoff, the distribution of whitebark pine is split between two broad sections. One section extends from the British Columbia Coast Ranges to the Cascade Range, and to the Sierra Nevada, while