World’s Largest Living Organism Threatened by Herbivory
Collaborative Problem-Solving, Fishlake NF, Utah
• Aspen Primer • Pando in Peril • Monitoring as if it Matters • Way Forward
NFF, Collaborative Restoration Workshop PAUL C. ROGERS, Western Aspen Alliance Denver, Colorado Wildland Resources & Ecology Center April 27, 2016 Utah State University
Aspen Primer Seral Aspen • 1 – 3 conifer species • Shade intolerant • Stand-replacing disturbance Stable Aspen • Aspen cohorts • Single species • 80-120 year “rotation” • Multiple layer/age • Species dynamics • Gap/phase dynamic • Fire uncommon • No single cohort • Structure dynamics
(Rogers et al., Forest Science, 2014) Pando in Peril
Pando Vitals: Name: Pando = “I spread”
Size: 43 ha
Weight: est. 5.8 million kg
Stems: estimated 47,000
Age, genet: est. 100s-1000s yrs. (TBD)
Age, ramets: older Pando stems 120-150 years. Pando in Peril
2011 Pando in Peril
1992 Henningson
Monitoring as if it Matters
• U.S. Forest Service • Utah Dept. Wildlife Res. • Utah Dept. Agriculture • Grand Canyon Trust • Utah State U. Extension • Western Aspen Alliance Monitoring as if it Matters
Plot Design
P 2 m
30 m N Monitoring as if it Matters
ASPEN INDICATORS: • visual impact rating • regeneration • recruitment • live/dead trees • recent disturbance • pellet counts • browse percent • plant diversity • remeasure/change
Rogers & Mittanck, JVS, 2014 What herbivores?
Pellet counts • cattle • mule deer?
60 Totals cattle14 50 Totals cattle15
40
30
20 Fecal Counts
10
0 Sample Plots Browse levels?
• % of regeneration browsed
100
90 Browse%14 80 70 Browse%15 60
50
40
30
20
10 % regeneration % regeneration browsed
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Sample Plots Regeneration? • 2014 : Outside Mean/plot = 1 Inside Mean/plot = 4.6 • 2015: Outside Mean/plot = 1.8 Inside Mean/plot = 14.8
350 2015 300
250
200
150 2014 100
50
Regeneration Count 2014 2015 0 Fence No Fence Recruitment (2015)?
3 Treatment effects (regen.)?
Fence
2015
Active v. Passive
Burn
Selective Burn, Remove, Cut Cut
Juniper Removal Way Forward
Pando Preliminary Findings • Fences work, cost? • Treatments increase regen.
BUT X • Regen. # as right metric? • Passive v. active cost? • Real Restoration Goals: Recruit., root biomass
Way Forward (a word of caution) Thanks! western-aspen-alliance.org