Sustaining Pinus flexilis ecosystems of the Southern Rocky Mountains (USA) in the presence of Cronartium ribicola and Dendroctonus ponderosae in a changing climate
Conference Paper
Development
Rocky Mountains, USA
Limber pine, Pinus flexilis James, is characterized by a patchy distribution that displays metapopulation dynamics and spans a broad latitudinal and elevational range in North America (Webster and Johnson 2000). In the southern Rocky Mountains limber pine grows from below the forest-grassland ecotone up to the forest-alpine ecotone, from ~1600 m above sea level in the short grass steppe to > 3300 m at the continental divide (Schoettle and Rochelle 2000). In this region, limber pine’s altitudinal range is wider than any of its co-occurring tree species. Limber pine ecosystems serve a variety of important ecological roles, such as (1) occupying and stabilizing dry habitats, (2) defining ecosystem boundaries (treelines), (3) being among the first tree species to colonize a site after fire, (4) facilitating the establishment of late successional species and (5) providing diet and habitat for animals (Schoettle 2004).
