[ad_1]
On 106 acres of the Fishlake National Forest in Richfield, Utah, a 13 million pound giant has been looming for thousands of years. But few people have heard of him.
This is "the trembling giant", or Pando, of the Latin word for "I'm spreading". A single clone, and genetically male, it is the most massive organism on Earth. It is a unique forest: a plantation of about 47,000 poplars – Populus tremuloides – connected by a single root system, all with the same DNA.
But this majestic monster may be more of a Goliath, suggests a study published Wednesday in PLOS ONE. Threatened by hungry animal herds and human encroachment, Pando is fighting a losing battle in advance.
The study, which includes recent field studies and a 72-year aerial photography analysis, revealed that this unrealized natural treasure and this key species – with hundreds of dependents – are contracting. And without more cautious management of the forest, mule deer and cattle that feed it, the Tremblant Giant will continue to shrink.
"It has been flourishing for thousands of years, and now it is undoing under our watch," he said. Paul Rogers, ecologist at Utah State University, who led the study.
[[[[Like the Science Times page on Facebook. | Sign up for the Science Times Bulletin.]
How Pando became so big is a mystery. Maybe he's been living among other clones and has become dominant over time. Or maybe the relatively flat terrain where it grows has favored its spread. Maybe Pando has just competed with other trees.
Pando is not the only one: there are other stands of single-clone aspen trees in North America that dominate their landscape, but none so massive. They reproduce asexually. Instead of sprouting from seeds, germs emerge directly from the roots of the tree's underground network. Each tree is a stem among thousands belonging to a single clone. When they are damaged, aspen transmit hormonal signals saying, "Hey roots, time to make replacements."
Pando is constantly reproducing, which is essential to his resilience. Lacking genetic diversity, it is based on trees of different sizes and ages. In this way, if a layer or a generation dies, it expects another one to replace it.
But Pando's critical demographic data is unbalanced. When Dr. Rogers and Darren McAvoy, a forestry colleague from Utah State, studied the forest. They found that the older trees were dying, as expected, but that, overall, the young trees were not replacing them.
"If it was a human community, it would be like a whole city of 47,000 people was only 85 years old," said Dr. Rogers. "Where is the next generation?"
Maybe they are to be eaten or trampled.
An inadequate fence or lack thereof appear leaving young patches of forest at the mercy of the hungry mule deer, who seek refuge with hunters and increase in human activity. Fodder cattle, allowed in the park in summer, are contraction factor of Pando.
Aerial photos also revealed that Pando's crown was gradually dwindling as human activity grew, particularly over the last fifty years, with the addition of land camping, huts and a phone line that drew animals grazing on the leaves and shoots of forests.
"All these human actions have favored these navigators – their numbers, their lack of movement – so that they have a safe haven," said Dr. Rogers. "And all this is detrimental to the survival of this clone."
But Pando hopes managers will learn from past mistakes and benefit from a better understanding of forest ecology.
Where part of the forest has been properly fenced and managed, the trees have grown several tens of feet in just a few years. Pando's genetics could promote its rapid growth in new areas.
According to him, more fencing, deer slaughter and experimentation with the natural ecology of the forest could save Pando, said Dr. Rogers. And educating the public about the importance of the giant can encourage new methods of conservation. For example, saving common species such as aspen, which support high biodiversity, could be just as important as saving rare and charismatic species.
"If we can save that, some lessons could help us save hundreds if not thousands of species around the world," said Dr. Rogers. "If we can not manage these 106 acres and restore them, what does that say?" sure our greatest interactions with the earth? "
Source link
