Pando | |
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![]() Image of the approximate land mass of Pando shaded green | |
Map | |
Location in Utah | |
Geography | |
Location | Sevier County, Utah, United States |
Coordinates | 38°31′30″N111°45′00″W / 38.52500°N 111.75000°W |
Elevation | 2,700 m (8,900 ft) |
Area | 108 acres (43.6 ha) |
Administration | |
Established | +14000BP |
Ecology | |
Dominant tree species | Populus tremuloides |
Pando (Latin for "I spread"), [1] the world's largest tree, is a quaking aspen tree ( Populus tremuloides ) located in Sevier County, Utah in the Fishlake National Forest. A male clonal organism, Pando has an estimated 47,000 stems (ramets) that appear as individual trees, but are connected by a root system that spans 106 acres. Pando is the largest tree by weight and landmass and the largest known aspen clone. Pando was identified as a single living organism as each of its stems possesses identical genetic markers. [2] The massive interconnected root system coordinates energy production, defense and regeneration across its expanse. [3] Pando spans 0.63 miles by 0.43 miles of the southwestern edge of the Fishlake Basin in the Fremont River Ranger District of the Fishlake National Forest and lies 0.43 miles to the west of Fish Lake, the largest natural mountain freshwater lake in Utah. [4] Pando is located at an elevation of 2,700 m (8,900 ft) above sea level. [5]
Pando occupies approximately 106 acres (43 ha) and is estimated to weigh collectively 6,000 tonnes (6,000,000 kg), [6] or 13.2 million pounds, making it the heaviest known organism. [7] [8] Systems of classification used to define large trees vary considerably, leading to some confusion about Pando's status. In contrast to the General Sherman Tree, the largest single stem tree, Pando is often characterized as an "organism" or "plant". Pando, however, is a tree and commonly known as the "Pando Tree".
Within the United States, the Official Register of Champion Trees defines the largest trees in a species specific way, in this case, Pando is the largest aspen tree (Populustremuloides). In forestry, the largest trees are measured by the greatest volume of a single stem, regardless of species. While many emphasize that Pando is the largest clonal organism, other large trees, including Redwoods can also reproduce via cloning. This leaves Pando in a class of its own being the largest aspen tree, largest tree by weight and, the largest by land mass, combined.
Since the early 2000s, little information has been adequately corroborated about Pando's origins and how its genetic integrity has been sustained over a long period time (between 9,000 and 12,000 years). Researchers have argued that Pando’s future is uncertain due to a combination of factors including drought, grazing, and fire suppression. [9] [10] Each claim has met with controversy considering how little time the tree has been the subject of concern. In terms of drought, Pando's long lived nature suggests it has survived droughts that have driven out humans for centuries. In terms of grazing, a majority of Pando's land mass is fenced for permanent protection and management as a unique tree. What's more, grazing is only permitted 10 days a year in October in a small edge of Pando's boundary along the waters of Coots Slough, part of Fish Lake. In terms of fire suppression, research published in 2022 by Jan Novak et al. [11] seems to suggest Pando has survived conflagrations that would have likely leveled the tree many times, after which Pando regenerated itself from the root system. That paper suggest such large scale fire events are infrequent, which may be owed to the fact that aspen are water heavy and so, are naturally fire resistant earning them the name "asbestos forest" by Canadian Forest Ecologist Lori Daniels. [12] Regardless of controversies and how little is known today about Pando, there is broad consensus that protection from deer and elk who feed on the new growth faster than they can reach maturity is critical. However, such protection systems are only meaningful if they are coupled with ongoing management and restoration efforts which are under way.
Today, Friends of Pando [13] and the United States Forest Service are official partners working to study and protect Pando and work alongside Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to care for and protect the Pando Tree. [14] Notable organizations that also study and advocate to protect Pando's care include Western Aspen Alliance [15] and Grand Canyon Trust. [16]
The Pando tree was identified in 1976 by Jerry Kemperman and Burton V. Barnes. [17] [18] A posthumous biography by Burton V. Barnes' colleague, Daniel Kashian, [19] details Pando's discovery:
As a part of his aspen work in the West, Burt began to examine an extremely large trembling aspen clone southwest of Fish Lake, Utah, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Using aerial photography and the same morphological differentiation techniques he developed for aspen at UMBS for his dissertation, Burt concluded that the aspen forest that covered about 106 acres was a single aspen clone, quite possibly the “world’s largest organism.” Other than a single publication about aspen clone size and another great story to tell his students, Burt’s studies on the Fish Lake clone were relatively obscure.
— Daniel M. Kashian, BURTON V. BARNES (1930–2014)
Work by Fishlake National Forest to understand and protect the tree began in 1987, according to interviews and articles written by Fishlake Forest as well as accounts gathered by Friends of Pando. [20] Based of Barnes and Kempermans's 1976 paper noting Pando's discovery, Michael Grant, Jeffrey Mitton, and Yan Linhart of the University of Colorado at Boulder re-examined the clone in 1992 and described Pando as a single male aspen clone based on its morphological characteristics such as pollen production, leaves, and root structure. Michael Grant named the tree "Pando" which is latin for "I spread" in an editorial which was later published in Discover Magazine. [21] A large scale genetic sampling and analysis was published in 2008 by Jennifer DeWoody, Karen Mock, Valerie Hipkins and Carol Rowe. [22] The research team's genetic study confirmed morphological analysis by Barnes and Kemperman as well as Mitton, Grant and Linhart thus, verifying Pando's size and scale of operation.
In late 1987, Fishlake National Forest began work to remove diseased trees and promote new growth using coppicing, mechanical stimulation, [23] to simultaneously remove diseased stems while stimulating regeneration. [24] In 1993, Fishlake National Forest began work on the "Aspen Regeneration Project", [25] installing fences to help control deer and elk who threatened to destroy the productive results of the regeneration project. Today, 53 acres of Pando is protected by 8-foot fences to control populations of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and elk (Cervus canadensis), and to control human uses, such as permitted grazing by domestic cattle (Bos taurus).
Regeneration rates in portions of the "Aspen Regeneration Project" which started in the 1990's, and was expanded in 2014, showed promise based on photographic evidence and repeated survey plots by land managers, scientists and conservation groups between 1993 and today. [26] Despite this, many have argued more work needs to be done to control wildlife, as Pando is surrounded by 700 square miles of de facto wildlife preserve managed by people, groups and agencies who do not have Pando's sustainability as a central concern in their land management policies. Paul Rogers and Darren McAvoy of Utah State University completed an assessment of Pando's status in 2018 and stressed the importance of reducing herbivory by mule deer as critical to conserving Pando for the future. [10] In 2019, Rogers and Jan Šebesta surveyed other vegetation within Pando besides aspen, finding additional support for their 2018 conclusion that interactions between browsing and management strategy may have had adverse effects on Pando's long-term resilience to change. [27] In 2023, a team of researchers, land managers, wildlife biologists and citizen scientists groups began long term programs to monitor deer and elk using GPS collars and wildlife cameras to better understand wildlife, as well as deer and elk browsing on the tree. [28]
Most agree, based on Barnes' work and later work, that Pando encompasses 42.89 hectares (106 acres), weighs an estimated 6,000 metric tons (6,600 short tons) or 13.2 million pounds, and features an estimated 47,000 stems, which die individually and are replaced by genetically identical stems that are sent up from the tree's vast root system, a process known as "suckering". [2] [4] The root system is estimated to be several thousand years old, with habitat modeling suggesting a maximum age of 14,000 years. [29] [30] Individual stems do not typically live more than 100–130 years.
Mitton and Grant summarize the development of stems in aspen clones: [7]
... quaking aspen regularly reproduces via a process called suckering. An individual stem can send out lateral roots that, under the right conditions, send up other erect stems; from all above-ground appearances the new stems look just like individual trees. The process is repeated until a whole stand, of what appear to be individual trees, forms. This collection of multiple stems, called ramets, all form one, single, genetic individual, usually termed a clone.
Due to the progressive replacement of stems and roots, the overall age of an aspen clone cannot be determined from tree rings. In Pando's case, ages up to 1 million years have therefore been suggested. [7] An age of 80,000 years is often given for Pando, but this claim derives from a now-removed National Park Service web page, which redacted that claim in 2023 and, was inconsistent with the Forest Service's post ice-age estimate. [31] Glaciers repeatedly formed on the Fish Lake Plateau [32] over the past several hundred thousand years and the mountain above Fish Lake Basin occupied by Pando was crowned by glaciers as recently as the last glacial maximum. [33] Ages greater than approximately 16,000 years therefore require Pando to have survived at least the Pinedale glaciation, something that appears unlikely under current estimates of Pando's age and modeling of variation in Pando's local climate. [29] [30] A 2017 paper by Chen Ding et al. seems to support US Forest service service claims that Pando could not be older than the last Glacial Maximum in the area based on paleo-climate models and genetic traits of aspen sites throughout North America. [34]
Estimates of Pando's age have also been influenced by changes in the understanding of establishment of aspen clones in western North America. Earlier sources argued germination and successful establishment of aspen on new sites was rare in the last 10,000 years and therefore, Pando's root system was likely over 10,000 years old. [7] More recent observations, however, have shown seedling establishment of new aspen clones is a regular occurrence and can be abundant on sites exposed by wildfire. [35] These findings are summarized in the U.S. Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System: [36]
Kay documented post-fire quaking aspen seedling establishment following 1986 and 1988 fires in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, respectively. He found seedlings were concentrated in kettles and other topographic depressions, seeps, springs, lake margins, and burnt-out riparian zones. A few seedlings were widely scattered throughout the burns. In Grand Teton National Park, establishment was greatest (950–2,700 seedlings/ha) in 1989, a wet year, but hundreds to thousands of seedlings established each year despite drought conditions in 1986–1988 and 1990–1991. Seedlings surviving past one season occurred almost exclusively on severely burned surfaces.
Populus is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar, aspen, and cottonwood.
Populus section Populus, of the Populus (poplar) genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by contrast, is native to warmer regions, with hot, dry summers. These trees are all medium-sized deciduous trees ranging 15–30 metres (49–98 ft) tall.
The term bristlecone pine covers three species of pine tree. All three species are long-lived and highly resilient to harsh weather and bad soils. One of the three species, Pinus longaeva, is among the longest-lived life forms on Earth. The oldest of this species is more than 4,800 years old, making it the oldest known individual of any species. Many scientists are curious as to why this tree is able to live so long. In one study, they discovered that Pinus longaeva has higher levels of telomerase activity, which further slows or prevents the attrition rate of telomeres. This potentially contributes to the extended life of the bristlecone pine.
A clonal colony or genet is a group of genetically identical individuals, such as plants, fungi, or bacteria, that have grown in a given location, all originating vegetatively, not sexually, from a single ancestor. In plants, an individual in such a population is referred to as a ramet. In fungi, "individuals" typically refers to the visible fruiting bodies or mushrooms that develop from a common mycelium which, although spread over a large area, is otherwise hidden in the soil. Clonal colonies are common in many plant species. Although many plants reproduce sexually through the production of seed, reproduction occurs by underground stolons or rhizomes in some plants. Above ground, these plants most often appear to be distinct individuals, but underground they remain interconnected and are all clones of the same plant. However, it is not always easy to recognize a clonal colony especially if it spreads underground and is also sexually reproducing.
Fishlake National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in south central Utah. The namesake for the forest is Fish Lake, the largest freshwater mountain lake in the state.
Fish Lake is a high alpine lake located in the Fishlake/ Southern Wasatch Plateau region of south-central Utah, United States. It lies within and is the namesake of the Fishlake National Forest.
Betula populifolia, known as the gray birch, is a deciduous tree in the family Betulaceae. It is native to eastern North America and is most commonly found in the northeast United States as well as southern Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The tree is a pioneer species that is commonly found in sites following disturbance, such as fire or logging. Gray birches don't have as much economic value as other birch species but are still commonly used as ornamental trees.
Methuselah is a 4,856-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine tree growing high in the White Mountains of Inyo County in eastern California. It is recognized as the non-clonal tree with the greatest confirmed age in the world. The tree's name refers to the biblical patriarch Methuselah, who is said to have reached 969 years of age before his death, thus becoming synonymous with longevity or old age in many European languages including English.
Populus tremuloides is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, trembling poplar, white poplar, and popple, as well as others. The trees have tall trunks, up to 25 metres tall, with smooth pale bark, scarred with black. The glossy green leaves, dull beneath, become golden to yellow, rarely red, in autumn. The species often propagates through its roots to form large clonal groves originating from a shared root system. These roots are not rhizomes, as new growth develops from adventitious buds on the parent root system.
Populus deltoides, the eastern cottonwood or necklace poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as the southern Canadian prairies, the southernmost part of eastern Canada, and northeastern Mexico.
Populus tremula is a species of poplar native to cool temperate regions of the Old World.
State Route 25 (SR-25), also part of the designated Fishlake Scenic Byway, is a state highway in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. SR-25 runs from the junction of SR-24 near the town of Koosharem northeast to the west shore of Fish Lake. The highway runs for 9.995 miles (16.09 km).
The Crooked Trees, Crooked Bush, Twisted Trees, or the Crooked Trees of Alticane are a 3-acre (1.2 ha) grove of deformed trembling aspen trees of type Populus tremuloides Michx. found in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. They are approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) north-northwest of the town of Hafford and just over 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south-west of Alticane in the Rural Municipality of Douglas No. 436. The trees are on the southern slopes of the Thickwood Hills and within the Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve.
Populus grandidentata, commonly called large-tooth aspen, big-tooth aspen, American aspen, Canadian poplar, or white poplar, is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America.
This article lists the largest organisms for various types of life and mostly considers extant species, which found on Earth can be determined according to various aspects of an organism's size, such as: mass, volume, area, length, height, or even genome size. Some organisms group together to form a superorganism, but such are not classed as single large organisms. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest structure composed of living entities, stretching 2,000 km (1,200 mi) but contains many organisms of many types of species.
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section Populus, of the Populus genus.
Aspen trunk rot is a fungal disease that causes stem decay heart rot of living aspen trees. The pathogen that causes this disease is the fungus Phellinus tremulae. Most of the symptoms of this disease are internal, with the only external signs of a diseased aspen being fruiting bodies called conks. A single conk found on an aspen can indicate advanced decay of up to 82% of the tree volume. Internal decayed wood of freshly cut aspens is spongy, yellow/white colored, surrounded by black zones of discoloration, and contains a distinct wintergreen smell. The fungus is spread via airborne spores released from the fruiting body which can infect through dead branches, branch stubs, or wounds in the tree. Although no direct management control is known, harvesting aspen stands that have been damaged or harvesting stands before decay becomes advanced minimizes tree loss. Aspen wood is white, malleable but strong, and heat-tolerant and therefore has many commercial uses including matches, packing paper, lumber, plywood, pulp, and animal beds. Aspen trees diseased with aspen trunk rot decrease the economic value of the lumber.
Rivière-du-Moulin Ecological Reserve is a strictly protected ecological reserve in the province of Quebec, Canada. It contains a stand of mature eastern hemlock trees, with some white pines, a combination that was once common in Quebec but has almost disappeared due to forestry and farming.
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