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A team of researchers from Utah State University conducted the first comprehensive assessment of the Pando Aspen clone – the largest living organism on Earth – and the results show a continuing deterioration of this unique "forest of a tree".
The aspen clone of Pando at a distance (green foreground and middle – not yellow). Image credit: Lance Oditt, Studio 47,60 ° North.
The clone of Pando Aspen, also known as Trembling Giant, is the largest known organism of our planet in terms of dry mass.
The "forest of a tree" has an estimated mass of 5.9 million kg and covers about 43 hectares of the Fishlake National Forest in south-central Utah.
It consists of more than 47,000 genetically identical aerial rods or "ramets" from a single underground parent clone.
The clonal colony was described for the first time in the 1970s and was later named "Pando" (Latin: I was spewing) based on its vegetative reproduction strategy and its alleged ancient lineage.
In particular, it is threatened by herbivores and current management activities aim at reversing the potential for type conversion, which may change to a non-forest condition.
According to the new study, early protection against fencing was very promising to reduce the impact of browsers, which have virtually eliminated the recruitment of young aspen for decades. However, the fencing tracking of a larger area is currently down.
"After a significant investment in protecting the iconic clone Pando, we were disappointed with this result," said Dr. Paul Rogers, lead author of the study.
"In particular, the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) seem to find ways to enter through the weak points of the fence or by jumping over the eight-foot barrier. "
"While Pando probably existed for thousands of years – we have no method to firmly fix his age – he is now collapsing under our watch."
"A clear lesson here is that we can not independently manage wildlife and the forest."
The study is published in the journal PLoS ONE.
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P.C. Rogers & D.J. McAvoy. 2018. Deer prevent recovery of Pando: consequences for the resilience of aspen from a single-genotype forest. PLoS ONE 13 (10): e0203619; doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0203619
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