January 12, 2011
Overstory and understory dynamics of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) ecosystems of Northwestern British Columbia
Alana Clason, MSc, PhD Student, University of Northern BC/Université Laval, Associate Researcher, Bulkley Valley Research Centre
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is declining across its range due to disturbances such as mountain pine beetle and white pine blister rust. In this talk Alana will discuss the findings of her MSc thesis, in which she assesses the response and vulnerability of whitebark pine ecosystems to multiple stressors and disturbances at the northern edge of P.albicaulis’ range in the Coastal Mountains of British Columbia. Both compositional change over time of overstory and understory communities as well as vegetation spatial patterns suggest that different site types housing whitebark pine may differ in their response to disturbance and stress.