Assessing the Impact of Blister Rust Infected Whitebark Pine in the Alpine Treelines of Glacier National Park and the Beartooth Plateau, U.S.A. Presented by Emily Smith-Mckenna at the "Perth II: Global Change and the World's Mountains" conference in Perth, Scotland in September 2010.

1. Assessing the Impact of Blister Rust Infected
Whitebark Pine in the Alpine Treelines of Glacier
National Park and the Beartooth Plateau, U.S.A.
Emily K. Smith-McKenna*
PhD Student, GEA program
Dr. Lynn M. Resler
Associate Professor
Department of Geography
Virginia Tech, U.S.A.

2. Topics Discussed
Background: Whitebark Pine, Blister Rust,
and Treeline
Data Collection and Analysis
Preliminary Findings
Continuing Research

3. Importance of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis)
A high elevation five-needled white pine that serves multiple
roles as a foundation and keystone species (Keane and Arno,
1993; Kendall, 1994; Resler and Tomback, 2008)
 Provides many ecosystem services:
 Provides food for wildlife (Grizzly Bears, Red Squirrels, Clark’s
Nutcracker)
 Facilitates other tree species
 Stabilizes soil, rock, preserves snowpack
Don Piggott USGS,1999

4. Decline of Whitebark Pine
 Whitebark Pine is distributed throughout Western North American
Mountain Ranges
 Found in high elevation forests
 Subalpine, as erect trees
 Alpine, dwarfed, krummholz form
 One reason for decline (in addition to
mountain pine beetle, fire suppression)
is White Pine Blister Rust
(Cronartium ribicola) which has
devastated populations of
subalpine whitebark pine.
(Keane and Arno, 1993)
 Highest infection rate in subalpine
Northern Rockies
 Infection levels 70-90% (Kendall and Keane, 2001) (Kendall, 1995)

5. Blister Rust Incidence
 Exotic,
invasive, fungal disease (Cronartium ribicola)
 Two host species needed to complete life cycle
 White pine (host species)
 Ribes species (alternate host species)
 Black Currants, Gooseberries
 Other potential alternate hosts are: Scarlet
Indian Paintbrush, and Sickletop Lousewort
(McDonald et al., 2006)
Ribes spp.
 Five cycles of spore production
 Transfer between alternate host plant and
White pine
 Returns to white pine to complete life cycle
(Hoff and Hagle, 1990)
Blister Rust canker
with aecial sacs on
Whitebark pine

6. Ramifications to Alpine Treeline
 Blister rust was originally thought to
be more prevalent in milder, moist
climates (Van Arsdel et al.,1956)
 Researchers have discovered that
it can spread to dryer, colder
regions of WBP ecosystems
(Resler and Tomback, 2008)
 How does disease effect treeline
dynamics?
 Declining WBP populations
 Decline in tree islands?
 Change in treeline dynamics
 Treeline response to climate?
 Vegetation response to changing climate
(Hall and Fagre, 2003)

7. Research Objectives
1) To investigate and quantify blister rust incidence and
intensity in the alpine treeline ecotone
 Across a N-S latitudinal range east of Continental Divide
 Sample whitebark pine, enumerate cankers
 Treeline study areas in Glacier National Park, Beartooth Plateau
2) To determine what environmental variables correlate
strongly to the intensity of blister rust incident areas.
 Characterize the terrain and derive topographic factors with a
GPS-created DEM
 GPS Whitebark Pine and other conifers in plot
 Derive variables in a GIS
 Distance to water
 Topographic variables

8. Sampling Blister Rust Incidence
Quadrat Sampling
 Sample WBP/BR incidence at alpine treeline ecotone
 15m x 15m Quads
15m
15m
• # Whitebark Pine
• # Cankers, if any
• Intensity of Blister Rust
• Measure environmental
conditions

9. Background Weather Data
 Monitoring
weather during growing season:
July-September
 Wind direction/speed/gusts
 Temp/Relative Humidity
 Soil Moisture
 PAR (photosynthetically
active radiation)

10. Modeling Terrain: Creating a High
Resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
GPS-derived DEM
Pilot Study
•Compare w/ LiDAR
•Develop field technique
(MS. in progress, Smith et al.)
Create DEM for
each Quad in GNP
Generate Elevation
Surfaces
Geostatistical Analysis
= Finalize DEMs

11. Data Analysis: Derive Variables in GIS
Derive Variables in GIS
• Slope
• Aspect
• Curvature
• Flow Accumulation
• Potential Solar Radiation
• Distance to Perennial Stream
• Distance to Lakes
• Distance to Wetlands

12. Data Analysis: Compare to Field Observations
Derive Variables in GIS Compare Variables to
Blister Rust Intensity
• Slope
• Aspect • Density of Blister Rust:
• Curvature Total Cankers per Whitebark
• Flow Accumulation
• Potential Solar Radiation
• Distance to Perennial Stream
• Distance to Lakes
• Distance to Wetlands

13. Treeline Research: 2008
 2008 Research Study, Glacier National Park (M.S. Thesis work)
 30 sampling plots
 Among 6 treelines
 N = 333 WBP
 46% BR infection
 Largest WBP
population at
White Calf/Divide
Mountain

14. Treeline Research: 2010
 2010 Research in Glacier National Park and Beartooth Plateau
(NSF Grant awarded to Lynn Resler, Diana Tomback, George Malanson)
 30 sampling
plots Glacier NP
 N = 581 WBP
 24% BR infection
 30 sampling
plots Beartooth
 N = 326 WBP
 20% BR infection

15. Treeline Implications
WBP growing
in lee of rock
Dead WBP, most due Dead WBP, former
to Blister Rust Initiator of tree island

16. Treeline Implications
 Size of patch seems to influence infection
 A significant correlation (rs = 0.36, p < 0.001) existed between length of
the tree island and incidence of active and inactive blister rust cankers.
Length of the longest dimension of the tree islands ranged from 0.02 to
35 m. (Resler and Tomback, 2008).
 Whitebark pine associated with tree islands had higher blister rust
intensity than solitary trees. (Smith, 2009)
 Whitebark pine in tree islands: N=219, 56% infected, 581 total cankers
(2.65 cankers per tree)
 Solitary whitebark pine: N=114, 29% infected, 97 total cankers
(0.85 cankers per tree)

17. Treeline Implications
 How does Blister Rust affect treeline dynamics?
 How will the absence of WBP affect
patch dynamics?

18. Research continues…
 Expand latitudinal range of
study
 Conduct WBP and Blister
Rust sampling in Jasper and
Banff Park, Alberta Canada
 Tree island metrics
 Model surface terrain
 Examine spatial relationships
between environmental
variables and blister rust
incidence
 Model Treeline Dynamics
 NetLogo
 Consider environmental
factors
 Integrate field observations
in a simulated, learning
environment

19. Acknowledgements
Financial Support:
 NSF, funded project awarded to Lynn Resler, Diana
Tomback, and George Malanson
 Graduate Research Development Program, Virginia
Tech
 Department of Geography, Virginia Tech
Field Assistance:
 2010: Lauren Franklin, Kathryn Prociv, Diana
Tomback, Jill Pyatt, Sarah Blakeslee
 2008: Lynn Resler, Amos Desjardins,
Allisyn Hudson-Dunn, Cindy Smith, Matt Foley

20. Questions?

21. References Cited
Butler, D. R., G. P. Malanson, S. J. Walsh, and D. B. Fagre. 2007.
Influences of geomorphology and geology on alpine treeline in
the American West - More important than climatic influences?
Physical Geography 28 (5):434-450.
Hall, M. H. P., and D. B. Fagre. 2003. Modeled Climate-Induced
Glacier Change in Glacier National Park, 1850-2100.
BioScience 53 (2): 131-140.
Keane, R. E., and S. F. Arno. 1993. Rapid decline of whitebark
pine in western Montana: evidence from 20-year
remeasurements. Western journal of applied forestry 8 (2):44-
47.
Kendall, K. C., and R. E. Keane. 2001. Whitebark pine decline:
infection, mortality, and population trends. In Tomback, D. F., S.
F. Arno, and R.E. Keane. (eds.), Whitebark pine communities:
Ecology and restoration. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 221-
242.

22. Kendall, K. C. 1994. Whitebark pine conservation in North American
National Parks. In Proceedings : International Workshop on Subalpine
Stone Pines and Their Environment: the Status of Our Knowledge, St.
Moritz, Switzerland, September 5-11, 1992, 302-307. Ogden, Utah:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
McDonald, G. I., B. A. Richardson, P. J. Zambino, N. B. Klopfenstein,
and M. S. Kim. 2006. Pedicularis and castilleja are natural hosts of
Cronartium ribicola in North America: A first report. Forest Pathology
36 (2): 73-82.
Resler, L.M., and D.F. Tomback. 2008. Blister Rust Prevalence in
Krummholz Whitebark Pine: Implications for Treeline Dynamics. In
Press. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research.
Resler, L. M., D. R. Butler, and G. P. Malanson. 2005. Topographic
shelter and conifer establishment and mortality in an alpine
environment, Glacier National Park, Montana. Physical Geography 26
(2):112-125.
Smith, E. K. 2009. Modeling blister rust incidence in whitebark pine at
Northern Rocky Mountain alpine treelines: A geospatial approach.
Master’s thesis, Department of Geography, Virginia Tech.

23. Thornton, P. E., S. W. Running, and M. A. White. 1997. Generating surfaces
of daily meteorological variables over large regions of complex terrain.
Journal of Hydrology 190 (3-4):214-251.
Tomback, D. F., J. K. Clary, J. Koehler, R. J. Hoff, and S. F. Arno. 1995. The
Effects of Blister Rust on Post-Fire Regeneration of Whitebark Pine: The
Sundance Burn of Northern Idaho (U.S.A.). Conservation Biology 9 (3):654-
664.
Tomback, D. F., and L. M. Resler. 2007. Invasive pathogens at alpine treeline:
Consequences for treeline dynamics. Physical Geography 28 (5):397-418.
U.S. Geological Survey, 1999, Digital representation of "Atlas of United States
Trees" by Elbert L. Little, Jr. http://climchange.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/,
accessed 27-Nov-2001.
Van Arsdel, E. P., A. J. Riker, and R. F. Patton. 1956. The effects of
temperature and moisture on the spread of White Pine blister rust.
Phytopathology 46 (6):307-318.
White, M. A., T. N. Brown, and G. E. Host. 2002. Landscape analysis of risk
factors for white pine blister rust in the Mixed Forest Province of Minnesota,
U.S.A. Canadian Journal of Forest Research/Revue Canadienne de
Recherche Forestiere. 32 (9):1639-1650.