Proactive limber pine conservation strategy for the Greater Rocky Mountain National Park Area

Schoettle, Anna W.; Burns, Kelly S.; Cleaver, Christy M.; Connor, Jeff

doi:10.2737/rmrs-gtr-379

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…Still, the current distribution of WPBR is likely underestimated since detection is especially difficult during the early stages of invasion. In the more recently identified outbreak areas, such as the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Poudre South, blister rust was likely present for at least 10-15 years before it was detected and reported (Burns, 2006;Schoettle et al, 2018). More frequent surveys that coincide with the timing of sporulation on pines are needed to get a more accurate estimate of disease distribution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The resistance gene Cr4 conveys this immunity response in limber pine (Schoettle et al, 2014). An average of 5% of the pre-WPBR invaded limber pine population in the southern Rockies is estimated to have the Cr4 R gene and that frequency can be 13.9% or higher in some stands (Schoettle et al, 2014(Schoettle et al, , 2019a. Therefore, it is likely that many of the remaining disease-free trees at Pole Mountain have the Cr4 resistance allele.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All nine North American white pine species are susceptible to the rust. WPBR was first reported in natural limber pine stands in southern Idaho in 1945 (Krebill, 1964) and has since slowly spread throughout a large portion of limber pine's range, now occurring in areas once thought to be too inhospitable for the pathogen to flourish (Blodgett and Sullivan, 2004;Burns, 2006;Vogler et al, 2017a,b;Jacobi et al, 2018a;Schoettle et al, 2018). The only states where WPBR has not been detected in limber pine to date include Utah, Oregon, and California (Kliejunas and Dunlap, 2007;Maloney, 2011;Dunlap, 2012;Vogler et al, 2017a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interactions between white pine blister rust, bark beetles, and climate over time indicate vulnerabilities to limber pine health

Burns¹,

Tinkham

Leddy

et al. 2023

Front. For. Glob. Change

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IntroductionLimber pine is a keystone species in the Rocky Mountains that grows on harsh, high elevation sites where few other tree species can. Recent studies suggest the species is threatened by the combined impacts of the exotic, invasive disease, white pine blister rust (WPBR), native bark beetles, and climate change. Information on changes in the health of limber pine populations and long-term impacts posed by these threats is needed to inform management efforts.MethodsWe established 106 long-term monitoring plots in 10 study areas that were surveyed three times between 2004 and 2017. We assessed site and stand factors, tree health, and regeneration over time to detect changes in limber pine abundance and health, cumulative impacts of WPBR and bark beetles, and to evaluate the drivers of WPBR occurrence and severity.ResultsLimber pine health declined significantly over the study with more than 20% of initially live limber pine trees dead by the last measurement cycle, primarily due to WPBR and bark beetles. While some recruitment occurred, mortality rates greatly outpaced recruitment of ingrowth. Disease incidence and how it changed over time was variable, but disease severity increased substantially overall and in all study areas. Limber pine regeneration was low or absent in most sites and mortality caused by WPBR increased significantly. We found strong relationships between WPBR and aridity. Trees in habitats with high vapor pressure deficit were less likely to be infected with WPBR, but trees that were already infected were more likely to develop severe symptoms and die. Longer growing seasons increased the likelihood of WPBR presence and mortality. Growing season length and vapor pressure deficit tended to increase over the study, suggesting that climate change may exacerbate disease impacts.DiscussionDeclining health of limber pine coupled with high mortality rates, increasing disease severity, and low levels of natural regeneration indicate successful recovery may not occur in some locations without management intervention. Proactive management strategies to reduce insect and disease impacts and promote stand recovery and resilience should be pursued in remaining, healthy limber pine ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interactions between white pine blister rust, bark beetles, and climate over time indicate vulnerabilities to limber pine health

Burns¹,

Tinkham

Leddy

et al. 2023

Front. For. Glob. Change

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“…Thus, there is an urgent need to identity novel R genes, especially those with broad-spectrum resistance, and QDR loci in the host trees as well as the pathotypes targeted by them, making it possible to breed five-needle pines carrying different R genes for sustainable WPBR management. Until these genetic resources are available, management strategies to minimize the proliferation of a virulent rust strain to Cr4 , should recommend that limber pine planting stock include a mix of both Cr4 and susceptible seedlings [ 58 , 59 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine dissection of limber pine resistance to Cronartium ribicola using targeted sequencing of the NLR family

et al. 2021

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Background Proteins with nucleotide binding site (NBS) and leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domains (NLR) make up one of most important resistance (R) families for plants to resist attacks from various pathogens and pests. The available transcriptomes of limber pine (Pinus flexilis) allow us to characterize NLR genes and related resistance gene analogs (RGAs) in host resistance against Cronartium ribicola, the causal fungal pathogen of white pine blister rust (WPBR) on five-needle pines throughout the world. We previously mapped a limber pine major gene locus (Cr4) that confers complete resistance to C. ribicola on the Pinus consensus linkage group 8 (LG-8). However, genetic distribution of NLR genes as well as their divergence between resistant and susceptible alleles are still unknown. Results To identify NLR genes at the Cr4 locus, the present study re-sequenced a total of 480 RGAs using targeted sequencing in a Cr4-segregated seed family. Following a call of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and genetic mapping, a total of 541 SNPs from 155 genes were mapped across 12 LGs. Three putative NLR genes were newly mapped in the Cr4 region, including one that co-segregated with Cr4. The tight linkage of NLRs with Cr4-controlled phenotypes was further confirmed by bulked segregation analysis (BSA) using extreme-phenotype genome-wide association study (XP-GWAS) for significance test. Local tandem duplication in the Cr4 region was further supported by syntenic analysis using the sugar pine genome sequence. Significant gene divergences have been observed in the NLR family, revealing that diversifying selection pressures are relatively higher in local duplicated genes. Most genes showed similar expression patterns at low levels, but some were affected by genetic background related to disease resistance. Evidence from fine genetic dissection, evolutionary analysis, and expression profiling suggests that two NLR genes are the most promising candidates for Cr4 against WPBR. Conclusion This study provides fundamental insights into genetic architecture of the Cr4 locus as well as a set of NLR variants for marker-assisted selection in limber pine breeding. Novel NLR genes were identified at the Cr4 locus and the Cr4 candidates will aid deployment of this R gene in combination with other major/minor genes in the limber pine breeding program.

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“…The species is documented to have broad environmental tolerances (Schoettle, 2004) and occupies a large elevational breadth within the Great Basin (1830–3540 m), thus cooccurring with a wide range of montane and subalpine tree species, including aspen ( Populus tremuloides ), lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta ), and subalpine fir ( Abies lasiocarpa ) (Steele, 1990; Tomback & Achuff, 2010). Limber pine produces large, wingless seeds, predominantly during masting years (Schoettle et al, 2019). Seeds are dispersed by birds, such as the Clark's nutcracker ( Nucifraga columbiana ), and small mammals into dry rocky soils and regenerate from seed caches in highly aggregated clusters (Tomback et al, 2011; Williams, 2017).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Let it snow? Spring snowpack and microsite characterize the regeneration niche of high‐elevation pines

Hankin

Bisbing

2021

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim:The persistence potential of forests under rapid climate change will depend on species-specific tolerances to increasing growing season soil moisture stress as snowpack declines. High-elevation tree species may be particularly vulnerable to increasing water stress and associated changes to disturbance regimes because they occur at the environmental margins of tree distributions and are considered snowpack dependent. Here, we evaluate the interacting effects of climate, disturbance, and microsite conditions on tree regeneration in high-elevation, migration-limited pines that have experienced recent disturbance-induced tree mortality.Location: Great Basin (California and Nevada), USA Taxon: Gymnosperms; Pinaceae Methods: We used field observations from 70 sites that varied in climate, disturbance, and local site conditions across semi-arid, high-elevation forests of the Great Basin.We employed structural equation models to evaluate how climate and disturbance interact with microsite conditions to influence regeneration. Results:We found a broad range of establishment conditions for high-elevation conifers-whitebark, limber, and bristlecone pines-across climatic and disturbance gradients in the Great Basin, but our research detected clear differences in the regeneration niche for each species that may lead to differential survival as climate and disturbance conditions continue to change. Regeneration of whitebark and bristlecone pines diverged in their responses to spring snowpack conditions, with whitebark pine increasing and bristlecone pine decreasing with greater spring snowpack. Limber pine regenerated across a range of climatic and landscape conditions, and this generalist strategy may be advantageous if future climate and disturbance conditions exceed tolerances of more specialized high-elevation conifers.Main Conclusions: Our findings highlight the critical role that spring snowpack, and consequently growing season soil moisture, plays in determining the persistence potential of high-elevation conifers. However, this role varies among species and thus may drive compositional changes as earlier snowmelt drives soil moisture declines across mountainous landscapes of the western United States.

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Proactive limber pine conservation strategy for the Greater Rocky Mountain National Park Area

Cited by 11 publications

References 101 publications

Interactions between white pine blister rust, bark beetles, and climate over time indicate vulnerabilities to limber pine health

Interactions between white pine blister rust, bark beetles, and climate over time indicate vulnerabilities to limber pine health

Fine dissection of limber pine resistance to Cronartium ribicola using targeted sequencing of the NLR family

Let it snow? Spring snowpack and microsite characterize the regeneration niche of high‐elevation pines

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