mike hagen wrote in message ...
Daniel B. Wheeler wrote:
mike hagen wrote in message ...

snip

Really?

No Pinus contorta, aka Lodgepole or Shore pine? Must be a barren place indeed.


ha - I knew you'd pick up on the biological content. Beach pine runs in
a very narrow strip along, hey - the beach. It's essentially all in the
national park. Pinus monticola does exist on forest service lands at
about a frequency and spacing of a tree per 40 acres. Seems to be the
reason it hasn't all died from blister rust.

Since the only pine I'm aware of in the PNW that is found close to the
Pacific Ocean outside of California is Pinus contorta, I presume that
your Beach pine above and my Lodgepole pine may be synonymous.

As for Pinus monticola: you have that in the Forks area? I'm amazed.
Here in Oregon it is found only at elevations above 2500 feet, and
even then is relatively rare. I know that east of Forks there would be
suitable habitat, but I didn't think it would be found native at that
low an elevation.

Daniel B. Wheeler
www.oregonwhitetruffles.com
You can find individual white pines all through the washington cascades
and Olympics. Frequency seems equally low everywhere. I used to
consider it rare but after twenty years of cruising here, I find I can
count on several individuals per day.
Blister rust is present. Often the tree is dead or dying when I find
one. They do live long enough to re seed. Most are in 75-100 year old
stands. I imagine the frequency of western white pines (and other minor
species like Yew) will drop even lower in modern managed forests.

P. monticola in my experience are associated with far older stands:
100-600 year old trees often surround the ones I have seen, with
usually some Western hemlock, Whitebark pine, and even Engelmann
spruce present. But I _think_ it is more common in OR than in WA.

Both age and health may be a function of soil types in this case. Much
of the Puget Sound area of WA is geologically formed on a cobble base,
which allows for wonderful drainage, but also allows for little humus
soil build-up. I would expect more variety in soils for the Forks
area, but also a lot of steep slopes.

South of Forks, near Aberdeen, the late Gary Menser inoculated
Douglas-fir with French Black truffle (Tuber melanosporum), hoping to
get some truffle production. T. melanosporum requires soil pH of
8.0-8.7 to fruit. To date, no truffles have been found at the site.
And yet...examination of the roots shows T. melanosporum mycelium is
still present. If an area with higher soil pH and existing Douglas-fir
could be found, it might be possible to establish a whole new economic
crop from such areas. Since the pH would have to be kept high, it
would also provide an area where crushed oyster shells would be
welcomed and recycled.

Daniel B. Wheeler
www.oregonwhitetruffles.com