Montana State professor hopes to help high elevation pines grow
Saturday, July 18, 2009 - 13:49
in Biology & Nature
Thread-like fungi that grow in soils at high elevations may play an important role in restoring whitebark and limber pine forests in Canada. Montana State University professor Cathy Cripps is looking for ways to use fungi to help pine seedlings get a strong start. Cripps' is working with resource managers and visitor relations staff from Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP). She is part of a project that aims to restore fire to the national park, reduce the impact of noxious weeds and restore disturbed sites to native vegetation, including whitebark and limber pine. The pines have declined from 40 to 60 percent across their range, and when the trees die, the fungi associated with them also die.