Quaking Aspen

More info for the terms: basal area, cover, density, forbs, forest, fuel, hardwood, herbaceous, litter, mesic, restoration, seed, shrub, shrubs, tree

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Populus tremuloides
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
Quaking aspen is one of the most important timber trees in the East.
Its wood is used primarily for particleboard, especially waferboard and
oriented strandboard, and for pulp.  In the Great Lakes States, quaking
aspen is the preferred species for making oriented strandboard.  Quaking
aspen fibers are well suited for making fine paper.  Some quaking aspen
is used for lumber.  Quaking aspen lumber is used for making boxes,
crates, pallets, and furniture.  A small but growing volume is made into
studs.  Quaking aspen wood is little used in the West, except in
Colorado, where it is used for pulp and particleboard [125].  Specialty
products from quaking aspen wood include excelsior, matchsticks, and
tongue depressors.  Quaking aspen pellets are used for fuel [125,170].

The wood of quaking aspen is light, soft, and straight grained.  It has
good dimensional stability and it turns, sands, and holds glue and paint
well.  It has relatively low strength, however, and is moderately low in
shock resistance.  Both sapwood and heartwood have low decay resistance
and are difficult for preservatives to penetrate [125,170].  Quaking
aspen wood warps with conventional processing, but saw-dry-rip
processing controls warping [101].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Quaking aspen forests provide important breeding, foraging, and resting
habitat for a variety of birds and mammals.  Wildlife and livestock
utilization of quaking aspen communities varies with species composition
of the understory and relative age of the quaking aspen stand.  Young
stands generally provide the most browse.  Quaking aspen crowns can grow
out of reach of large ungulates in 6 to 8 years [116].  Although many
animals browse quaking aspen year-round, it is especially valuable
during fall and winter, when protein levels are high relative to other
browse species [159].

Large wild ungulates:  Elk browse quaking aspen year-round in much of
the West, feeding on bark, branch apices, and sprouts [38,42,102].  In
some areas, elk use it mainly in winter [116].  In northwestern Wyoming,
elk begin browsing quaking aspen as soon as they move onto winter ranges
in November and continue to use it through March [6].

Quaking aspen is important forage for mule and white-tailed deer.  Deer
consume the leaves, buds, twigs, bark, and sprouts [42,102,158].  New
growth on burns or clearcuts is especially palatable to deer [42,43].
Deer in many areas use quaking aspen year-round [23], although in some
western states, deer winter below the aspen zone [42,43].  Quaking aspen
communities are described as the major "deer-producing forest type" in
the north-central United States [31].  In the Great Lakes States,
quaking aspen is primary browse for white-tailed deer and moose [23].
Stands less than 30 years of age provide optimum forage for deer in
Minnesota [31].  In some locations, sprouts provide key summer forage
for deer after herbaceous species have cured [42,43].  Quaking aspen is
one of the most important items in the summer diet of mule deer on the
Kaibab National Forest of Arizona [159,161], and comprises up to 27
percent of the summer diet of mule deer in parts of central Utah [113].
However, it is relatively unimportant deer browse in parts of South
Dakota [159].  Mule deer in Utah have been observed consuming large
amounts of quaking aspen leaves after autumn leaf fall [42,161].

Quaking aspen is valuable moose browse for much of the year [23].  Moose
utilize it on summer [42] and winter ranges [23,42,135].  Quaking aspen,
paper birch (Betula papyrifera), and willows (Salix spp.) make up more
than 95 percent of the winter hardwood browse utilized by moose on
Alaska's Kenai Peninsula [149].  Relatively high levels of moose use
have been reported from early summer through late fall in Minnesota [84]
and Idaho [135].  Young stands generally provide the best quality moose
browse [42].  However, researchers in Idaho found that in winter, moose
browsed mature stands of quaking aspen more heavily than nearby
clearcuts dominated by quaking aspen sprouts [135].

Bison once favored quaking aspen-grassland transition zones in Manitoba
and Saskatchewan [32,102].  However, little is known about the historic
importance of quaking aspen browse to bison.  Meagher [105] found that
woody plants made up only 1 percent of the diet of bison in Yellowstone
National Park, and she did not list quaking aspen as one of the woody
species bison used.

Bears:  Black and grizzly bears feed on forbs and berry-producing shrubs
in quaking aspen understories.  Quaking aspen forests in Alberta provide
excellent denning and foraging sites for black bear [42].

Lagomorphs:  Rabbits and hares feed on quaking aspen in summer and
winter [42,43].  In winter, snowshoe hare and cottontail rabbits eat
quaking aspen buds, twigs, and bark [42,43].  Quaking aspen is one of
the most important and nutritious summer browse species for rabbits in
Alberta [42], and is a preferred winter food of snowshoe hare in
Manitoba [20].  Pikas also feed on quaking aspen buds, twigs, and bark
[158].  Lagomorphs may girdle suckers or even mature trees [23,102].  In
some parts of Canada, fairly high quaking aspen mortality has been
attributed to rabbits and hares [20,102].

Rodents and shrews:  Small rodents such as squirrels, pocket gophers,
mice, and voles feed on quaking aspen during at least part of the year
[43,88,158].  Mice and voles frequently consume quaking aspen bark below
snow level, and can girdle suckers and small trees [23,43,88,152].  The
southern red-backed vole, deer mouse, and white-footed mouse are
dominant small mammals in quaking aspen communities of northern
Minnesota and upper Michigan.  Small mammal populations in quaking aspen
generally fluctuate widely with stand age and annual variation in animal
population size.  Highest densities typically occur in mature quaking
aspen stands.  Field mice (Peromyscus spp.), for example, are most
abundant in mature quaking aspen communities [129].  The red-backed
vole, however, is most abundant in sapling stands, somewhat less
abundant in mature stands, and least common in clearcuts.

Quaking aspen provides food for porcupine in winter and spring
[23,42,43].  In winter, porcupine eat the smooth outer bark of the upper
trunk and branches.  Porcupine girdling of quaking aspen has killed
large tracts of merchantable trees in Minnesota.  In spring, porcupine
eat quaking aspen buds and twigs [43].

Beaver consume the leaves, bark, twigs, and all diameters of quaking
aspen branches [43].  They use quaking aspen stems for constructing dams
and lodges [42,102].  At least temporarily, beaver can eliminate quaking
aspen from as far as 400 feet (122 m) from waterways [6,23].  An
individual beaver consumes 2 to 4 pounds (1-2 kg) of quaking aspen bark
daily, and it is estimated that as many as 200 quaking aspen stems are
required to support one beaver for a 1-year period [42,43].

Birds:  Quaking aspen communities provide important feeding and nesting
sites for a diverse array of birds [39].  Bird species using quaking
aspen habitat include sandhill crane, western wood pewee, six species of
ducks, blue, ruffed, and sharp-tailed grouse, band-tailed pigeon,
mourning dove, wild turkey, red-breasted nuthatch, and pine siskin.
Quaking aspen is host to a variety of insects that are food for
woodpeckers and sapsuckers [42].  Generally, moist to mesic quaking
aspen sites have greater avian species diversity than quaking aspen
stands on dry sites [40,42].

Many bird species utilize quaking aspen communities of only a particular
seral stage.  Research at a northern Utah site suggests that blue
grouse, yellow-rumped warbler, warbling vireo, dark-eyed junco, house
wren, and hermit thrush prefer mature quaking aspen stands.  The
MacGillivray's warbler, chipping and song sparrows, and lazuli bunting
occur in younger stands [39,42].  Bluebirds, tree swallow, pine siskin,
yellow-bellied sapsucker, and black-headed grosbeak favor quaking aspen
community edges [39].

Ruffed grouse:  Through most of its range, ruffed grouse depends on
quaking aspen for foraging, courting, breeding, and nesting sites
[23,42,70].  It uses quaking aspen communities of all ages.  Favorable
ruffed grouse habitat includes quaking aspen stands of at least three
different size classes [23,70].  Young (2- to 10-year-old) stands
provide important brood habitat, and 10- to 25-year-old stands are
favored overwintering and breeding areas [122].  Quaking aspen leaves
and buds are readily available in abundant quantities in stands greater
than 25 years of age, and such older stands are used for foraging
[70,122].

Ruffed grouse chicks find protection in dense, young aspen suckers as
early as 1 year after fire or other disturbance [70].  Pole-size stands
appear to offer the best breeding habitat and may support one breeding
bird per 3 to 4 acres (1.2-1.6 ha).  Breeding generally does not occur
in stands exceeding 25 years of age or with a density less than
approximately 2,000 stems per acre [23].

Quaking aspen buds, catkins, and leaves provide an abundant and
nutritious, year-long food source for ruffed grouse [23,70].  Vegetative
and flower buds are the primary winter and spring foods of the ruffed
grouse.  Ruffed grouse eat 6 times more quaking aspen buds than buds
from all other species combined [70].  It is estimated that ruffed
grouse can consume more than 45 quaking aspen buds per minute and can
satisfy their daily winter food needs in as little as 15 to 20 minutes
[23].  Ruffed grouse generally begin feeding on staminate flower buds
from several weeks prior to the period of snow accumulation, and continue
well into early spring [23,70].  Male ruffed grouse feed on staminate
catkins until at least early May [70].  Nesting hens consume large
quantities of new quaking aspen leaves early in the spring [23,70].
Ruffed grouse consume quaking aspen leaves throughout the summer [23],
and the leaves are considered to be the second most important food
source during the fall.  Ruffed grouse appear to prefer certain clones.
Buds from some clones may be up to 30 percent richer in protein than
buds from neighboring clones [70].

Livestock:  Most classes of domestic livestock use quaking aspen.
Domestic sheep and cattle browse the leaves and twigs [158,161].
Domestic sheep browse quaking aspen more heavily than cattle [158,161].
It is estimated that domestic sheep consume 4 times more quaking aspen
sprouts than cattle.  Heavy livestock browsing can adversely impact
quaking aspen growth and regeneration [42,43,161].


PALATABILITY :
Quaking aspen is palatable to all browsing livestock and wildlife
species [38,23,42,84,161,169].  The buds, flowers, and seeds are
palatable to many bird species including numerous songbirds and ruffed
and sharp-tailed grouse [42,168].

Palatability of quaking aspen for livestock and wildlife species has
been rated as follows [48]:

                       CO       MT       ND       OR       UT       WY
Cattle                Fair     Fair     Fair     ----     Fair     Fair
Domestic sheep        Fair     Good     Good     ----     Fair     Good
Horses                Fair     Fair     Fair     ----     Fair     Fair
Pronghorn             ----     ----     Poor     ----     Fair     Fair
Elk                   Good     Fair     ----     ----     Good     Good
Mule deer             Good     Fair     Fair     ----     Good     Good
White-tailed deer     Good     Fair     Fair     ----     ----     Good
Small mammals         ----     Fair     ----     ----     Fair     Good
Small nongame birds   ----     Fair     Fair     ----     Fair     Fair
Upland game birds     ----     Good     Good     ----     Fair     Good
Waterfowl             ----     ----     ----     ----     Poor     Poor


NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Overall energy and protein values of quaking aspen are rated "fair"
[48].  Nutritional content of quaking aspen browse varies seasonally, by
plant part, and by clone [11,40,159].  Protein content drops as the
growing season progresses [42,179].  On a Utah site, average leaf
protein dropped from 17 percent in early June to 3 percent at
abscission.  Clonal variation in leaf protein ranged from 13.4 to 20.9
percent in June and from 10.1 to 14.6 percent in September.  Average
twig protein dropped from 17 percent in spring to 6 to 7 percent in
winter.  Twig nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels dropped from
spring to winter, but twig calcium, magnesium, sodium, and fat levels
increased.  Phosphorus values in September averaged only 58 percent of
those in June [159].

Mean composition of quaking aspen terminal shoots, collected in March
and April in Soldotna, Alaska, was as follows [149]:

     dry matter (%)                       43.6
     gross energy (kcal/g)                 5.1
     crude protein (%)                     7.9
     neutral-detergent fiber (%)          54.9
     acid-detergent fiber (%)             40.1
     lignin (%)                           10.5
     ash (%)                               1.9
     in-vitro digestibility for moose (%) 42.0


COVER VALUE :
Wild and domestic ungulates use quaking aspen for summer shade, and
quaking aspen provides some thermal cover for ungulates in winter
[42,35,152].  Seral quaking aspen communities provide excellent hiding
cover for moose, elk, and deer [42,161].  Deer use quaking aspen stands
for fawning grounds in the West [94].  Ungulates generally do not use
quaking aspen much in winter.  Perala [122] reported that in the Great
Lake States, pure quaking aspen stands provided white-tailed deer with
relatively poor insulation and protection from winter winds compared to
adjacent stands of conifers.

Quaking aspen provides good hiding and thermal cover for many small
mammals [152].  Snowshoe hare use it for hiding and resting cover in
summer [42,43].  Beaver use quaking aspen branches for dams and lodges.

A variety of bird species use quaking aspen for hiding, nesting, and
roosting cover [42].  Sapling and pole-size stands provide especially
good winter cover for birds [23].  Snow tends to accumulate earlier and
deeper in quaking aspen than in adjacent conifer stands, and ruffed
grouse use the deep snow for burrowing cover in winter [122].  Dense
stands of fairly small diameter stems ( less than 6 inches [15cm]) provide the
best protection from predators.  Overall cover value for ruffed grouse
is enhanced in stands containing several size classes [70].
       
Over 4 years, 22 to 65 pairs of breeding birds were found in 10 acres (4
ha) of quaking aspen in northern Utah.  Species nesting in quaking aspen
included the broad-tailed hummingbird, northern flicker, house wren,
American robin, warbling vireo, yellow-rumped warbler, junco, western
wood pewee, and lazuli bunting [39].  The following other species also
nest in mature quaking aspen communities [42]:

       canopy nesters -  pewees, vireos, western tanager, Cassin's finch,
         least flycatcher
       ground nesters -  hermit thrush, Townsend`s solitaire, dark-eyed junco,
         white-crowned and Lincoln`s sparrows, veery, ovenbird, nighthawk,
         Connecticut and mourning warblers
       shrub nesters - flycatchers (Empidonax spp.), rose-breasted and
         black-headed grosbeaks, chipping, clay-colored, and song sparrows,
         yellow and MacGillivray`s warblers, rufous-sided and
         green-sided towhees, black-billed cuckoo
       cavity nesters - chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, owls,
         sapsuckers, hairy and downy woodpeckers

General cover value of quaking aspen has been rated as follows [48]:

                       CO       MT       ND       OR       UT       WY
Pronghorn             ----     ----     Poor     ----     Poor     Poor
Elk                   Fair     Good     ----     ----     Good     Good
Mule deer             Fair     Good     Poor     ----     Good     Good
White-tailed deer     Fair     Good     Fair     ----     ----     Good
Small mammals         ----     Good     ----     ----     Good     Good
Small nongame birds   Good     Good     Good     ----     Good     Good
Upland game birds     Poor     Good     Good     ----     Good     Good
Waterfowl             ----     ----     ----     ----     Poor     Poor


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Aspens (Trepidae) are unique in their ability to stabilize soil and
watersheds.  Fire-killed stands are promptly revegetated by root sprouts
(suckers).  The trees produce abundant litter that contains more
nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, and calcium than leaf litter of most other
hardwoods.  The litter decays rapidly, forming a nutrient-rich humus
that may amount to 25 tons per acre (oven-dry basis).  The humus reduces
runoff and aids in percolation and recharge of ground water.  Litter and
humus layers reduce evaporation from the soil surface.  Compared to
conifers, more snow accumulates under quaking aspen and snowmelt begins
earlier in the spring.  Soil under quaking aspen thaws faster and
infiltrates snow more rapidly than soil under conifers [23].

Wide adaptability of quaking aspen makes it well-suited for restoration
and rehabilitation projects on a wide range of sites.  Seedlings
transplanted onto disturbed sites have shown good establishment [33].
Seedlings have some advantages over vegetative cuttings.  In large-scale
greenhouse production, quaking aspen seedlings are more economical to
establish and grow [57].  Seedlings grow a taproot and secondary roots
quickly, while quaking aspen cuttings can be slow to establish an
adequate root system [145].  Also, genetic diversity is greater among
seedlings than cuttings [146].  Seed stored at 4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20
deg C) has retained viability for at least 2 years.  Fung and Hamel [57]
and Schier and others [145] provide procedures for collecting and
processing quaking aspen seed.

The major advantage of using quaking aspen cuttings is that clones with
desirable traits can be selected as parent stock.  Quaking aspen
vegetative cuttings are difficult to root, however [123,146].  Stem
cuttings are especially difficult to root unless taken from young
sprouts.  Root cuttings taken from young sprouts are generally most
successful.  Schier and others [146] provide information on growing
quaking aspen cuttings in the greenhouse.

Case examples - Riparian:  In riparian and lodgepole pine (Pinus
contorta) zones of Lost Canyon near Fresno, California, restoration was
needed after a hydroelectric plant pipe broke, scouring part of the
canyon.  Quaking aspen seedlings showed 99.2 percent survival (or 357
live seedlings) and had a mean height of 10.6 inches (26.6 cm) 1 year
after transplant [33].

Strip-mined sites:  Some old strip-mined sites in Pennsylvania, Ontario,
and elsewhere have not revegetated due to extreme acidity of the soil.
Quaking aspen is one of the first native tree species to volunteer on
these soils after application of lime [81,168].   

Mine spoils:  Quaking aspen transplants were successfully established on
phosphate mine spoils in southeastern Idaho that received only 18 inches
(450 mm) of annual precipitation [145].


OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Mountain slopes covered by quaking aspen provide high yields of
good-quality water.  Quaking aspen intercepts less snow than conifers,
so snowpack is often greater under quaking aspen [44].

Well-stocked quaking aspen stands provide excellent watershed
protection.  The trees, the shrub and herbaceous understories, and the
litter of quaking aspen stands provide nearly 100 percent soil cover.
Soil cover and the intermixture of herbaceous and woody roots protect
soil except during very intense rains [44].

Quaking aspen is valued for its aesthetic qualities at all times of the
year.  The yellow, orange, and red foliage of autumn particularly
enhances recreational value of quaking aspen sites [85].

Quaking aspen is widely used in ornamental landscaping [85].


OTHER
It is somewhat unclear why some quaking aspen stands break up and die
while others remain stable.  The age at which quaking aspen clones begin
to die probably has a genetic component.  Site quality can also be a
major factor [143].  Is it well documented in the Great Lakes States
that environmental variables affect quaking aspen longevity [63,93].
Stands in this region may deteriorate* rapidly; more than half the trees
in a well-stocked stand may die in 6 years [63].  In Utah, however,
clone deterioration was found to occur over a number of generations of
sprouts [141].  Schier and Campbell [143] found that on the Wasatch
National Forest near Logan, Utah, concentrations of phosphorus and
percent silt were significantly lower on soils with deteriorating clones
than on soils with healthy clones.  Ten deteriorating clones and ten
healthy clones were studied.

*Deteriorating stands are defined as those stands with a low density of
stems that are younger and smaller in size, and with poorer form and
higher crown:stem ratios, than healthy stands [143].

Cryer and Murray [36] speculated that both soil type and disturbance are
important in quaking aspen stability.  As a quaking aspen stand matures,
a humus-rich (mollic) soil layer develops.  Quaking aspen thrive for a
time, but without disturbance gradually begin to age and deteriorate.
With deterioration, the soil loses organic matter and thickness.  With
loss of humus and litter, rapid percolation leaches the soil, which
becomes thinner, more acidic, and lower in nutrients.  Acidic,
low-nutrient soils support conifers more readily than quaking aspen.
Disturbances such as burning or clearcutting tend to maintain quaking
aspen.  If soil is already thin and acidic, however, clearcutting will
probably convert the site to conifers.  Quaking aspen on such sites has
been observed to sprout, grow to about 3 feet (0.9 m) in height, and
begin to die.  A deteriorating stand that is burned may be more likely
to revert to quaking aspen because burning increases soil pH and adds
organic carbon and nutrients to the soil.  However, fire will probably
not rejuvenate the stand if quaking aspen biomass is so low that burning
does not appreciably raise soil pH and nutrient levels.  Sucker vigor
will probably be low.

Range:  There is increasing concern that in the West, poor quaking aspen
regeneration is due, at least in part, to wildlife overbrowsing young
sprouts [67].  Where browsing pressure is heavy, ungulates may remove
quaking aspen regeneration before it grows above browseline.  To provide
for quaking aspen regeneration in such areas, enough quaking aspen must
be removed to create an unbrowsed surplus of new growth [122].  A few
areas of the West have such large elk populations that even after
large-scale wildfires, quaking aspen sprouts attained little height
growth because of intense browsing.  In such areas, quaking aspen
sprouts probably require protection from browsing [90].

Promoting quaking aspen:  Prescribed burning is one method of promoting
quaking aspen (see FIRE MANAGEMENT).  When prescribed burning is not
desired or feasible, clearcutting or bulldozing is recommended [77,177].

Clearcutting often results in a sucker stand of 50,000 to 100,000 stems
per hectare [17,35,49].  A basal area of less than 4 trees/sq m/ha is
recommended to promote sprouting [87,122].  Partial cuttings seriously
inhibit sprouting because apical dominance is retained in standing
stems, and shade from standing stems reduces vigor of the few suckers
that do appear [49].

Clearcutting in southeastern boreal forest:  Lavertu and others [98]
found that in balsam fir-northern white-cedar (Abies balsamea-Thuja
occidentalis) forest in Quebec, quaking aspen showed strong sprouting
response regardless of forest seral stage, number of quaking aspen
present before cutting, quaking aspen stem age, or quaking aspen root
density.  After clearcutting on sites that had burned 46, 74, 143, 167,
and 230 years earlier, quaking aspen sprouted vigorously even on the
site that had not burned for 230 years, had only a single, living
quaking aspen stem, and the lowest quaking aspen root density of all
five site types.  Initial sprouting densities were greater in younger
stands, but due to greater mortality of sprouts in younger stands,
differences in sprouting density between different-aged stands were not
significant 3 years after clearcutting.

Bulldozing:  Carefully done, whole-tree bulldozing can stimulate quaking
aspen suckering [177,178].  Operations that cause deep cutting or
compaction of soil will reduce sprouting [177].  Shepperd [178] obtained
good quaking aspen regeneration by pushing over whole trees using a
rubber-tire skidder with the blade positioned above ground level.  This
technique severed large roots to a distance of 3.3 to 5 feet (1-1.5 m)
from the stem.  Five years after treatment, quaking aspen suckers
averaged 37,888 per hectare when slash was removed and 10,131 per
hectare with slash intact.  In contrast, sites that were clearcut
averaged 17,544 stems per hectare (no slash) and 7,038 stems per hectare
(slash) [178].

Quaking aspen control:  On some sites, it may be desirable to convert
quaking aspen to another vegetation type.  Stand conversion may be
relatively easy on dry or poorly drained sites, or on sites were quaking
aspen is exposed to snow damage.  Quaking aspen production is usually
low on such sites to begin with, and such stands are prone to breakup.
On other sites, it may not be possible to eliminate quaking aspen, but
quaking aspen can probably be reduced [49].  Very small clearcuts reduce
quaking aspen abundance because sprouting response is weak after such
treatment [114].  Girdling also reduces abundance; sprouting occurs
after girdling, but shade provided by standing dead stems increases
sprout mortality.  Also, it is thought that girdling promotes decay of
the root system [147].  Use of glyphosate after cutting has been shown
to control quaking aspen regeneration for some time [122,123].

In Quebec, quaking aspen in a quaking aspen-paper birch stand
originating after a 1944 fire was partially controlled by removing
overtopping quaking aspen when the stand was 7 and 14 years of age.
Stocking varied as follows at postfire year 34 [96].

_______________________________________________________________________________
         Treatment            |                   Stocking
______________________________|________________________________________________
control (no treatment)        |  5% paper birch; 90% aspen;  5% mixed hardwoods
Aug. 1951 cut & Nov. 1958 cut | 90% paper birch; 10% aspen
Nov. 1951 cut & Nov. 1958 cut | 44% paper birch; 41% aspen; 15% mixed hardwoods
Nov. 1951 cut & May 1959      | 
  herbicide (injection in     | 32% paper birch; 63% aspen;  5% mixed hardwoods
____aspen only)_______________|________________________________________________

Quaking aspen grows with a large number of trees and shrubs over its extensive range. It is a major component of three forest cover types (72), Aspen (Eastern Forest) (Society of American Foresters Type 16), Aspen (Western Forest) (Type 217), and White Spruce-Aspen (Type 251). It is a minor component of 35 other types and an occasional to rare component in 3 types.

Shrub species commonly associated with quaking aspen in the eastern part of its range include beaked hazel (Corylus cornuta), American hazel (C. americana), mountain maple (Acer spicatum), speckled alder (Alnus rugosa), American green alder (A. crispa), dwarf bush -honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera), raspberries and blackberries (Rubus spp.), and various species of gooseberry (Ribes) and willow (Salix). Additional species occurring with quaking aspen in the prairie provinces include: snowberry (Symphoricarpos spp.), highbush cranberry (Viburnum edule), limber honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica), red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), western serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), Bebb willow (Salix bebbiana), and several species of rose (Rosa). The latter two also occur in Alaska plus such additional species as Scouler willow (Salix scouleriana), bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), russet buffaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis), mountain cranberry (Vaccinium vitisidaea), and highbush cranberry. In the Rocky Mountains, shrubs commonly occurring with quaking aspen include mountain snowberry (Symphoricarpos oreophilus), western serviceberry, chokecherry, common juniper (Juniperus communis), creeping hollygrape (Berberis repens), woods rose (Rosa woodsii), myrtle pachistima (Pachistima myrsinites), redberry elder (Sambucus pubens), and a number of Ribes (69,70,72,78,85,91).

Herbs characteristic of quaking aspen stands in the east include largeleaf aster (Aster macrophyllus), wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), Canada beadruby (Maianthemum canadense), bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), yellow beadlily (Clintonia borealis), roughleaf ricegrass (Oryzopsis asperifolia), sweetscented bedstraw (Galium triflorum), sweetfern (Comptonia perigrina), lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina), bracken (Pteridium aquilinum), and several species of sedges (Carex spp.) and goldenrods (Solidago spp.). In the West, the herbaceous component is too rich and diverse to describe. Forbs dominate most sites, and grasses and sedges dominate others (72).

Climatic conditions vary greatly over the range of the species, especially winter minimum temperatures and annual precipitation. The known widest range in temperatures aspen has endured in the conterminous United States is in Montana, where January lows of -57° C (-70° F) and summer highs of 41° C (105° F) have been recorded. In Alaska and northwest Canada, part of the range lies within the permafrost zone, but quaking aspen grows only on the warmest sites free of permafrost (28,91).

At the eastern end of the range, in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, the climate is mild, humid, and snowfall is extremely heavy, 300 cm (120 in) or more per year. Some representative climates for the northern and eastern limits of quaking aspen as well as for the warmer parts of its eastern range are as follows (78):

Interior Alaska Gander, NF Ft. Wayne, IN Temperature, C:       Minimum  -61° -34° -31° January average -30° -7° -3° Maximum  38° 32° 41° July average 16° 16° 23° Precipitation, mm:       Total  180 1020 860 Growing season 80 250 330 Frost-free days 81 160 176 Temperature, F:       Minimum -78° -29° -24° January average -22° 19° 27° Maximum 100° 90° 106° July average 61° 61° 73° Precipitation, in:       Total 7 40 34 Growing season 3 10 13 Frost-free days 81 160 176 In the central Rocky Mountains, where altitude plays an important role in the distribution of aspen, the lower limit of its occurrence coincides roughly with a mean annual temperature of 7° C (45° F). In Colorado and southern Wyoming, quaking aspen grows in a narrow elevational belt of 2100 to 3350 m (6,900 to 11,000 ft). Average annual precipitation in this belt ranges from 410 to 1020 mm (16 to 40 in). The southern limit of the range of aspen in the Eastern United States is roughly delineated by the 24° C (75° F) mean July temperature isotherm. In Canada the mean annual degree-day sum of 700° C (1260° F) with a threshold temperature 5.6° C (42° F) coincides closely with the northern limit of the species (51,69, 70,78,80).

Quaking aspen occurs where annual precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration. It is abundant in interior Alaska where annual precipitation is only about 180 mm (7 in) because evapotranspiration is limited by cool summer temperatures. In the interior west the 2.5 cm (I in) average annual surface water runoff isopleth is more coincident with the range of aspen than is any isotherm. This isopleth also is coincident with the southern limit of aspen in the prairie provinces of Canada eastward to northwestern Minnesota and south to Iowa where high summer temperatures limit growth and longevity. In summary, the range of quaking aspen is limited first to areas of water surplus and then to minimum or maximum growing season temperatures (33,71,91).

Numerous factors other than competition injure or kill young stands (25,40). Young trees are sometimes killed by bark-eating mammals, such as meadow mice and snowshoe hares, which may girdle the stem at or near the ground line. Also, larger animals, such as mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, and moose, frequently seriously damage reproduction by browsing and by rubbing their antlers against the stems. Elk and moose can also damage pole- and saw log-size trees by "barking" them with their incisors. Such injuries often favor secondary attack by insects or pathogens. Heavy use by overwintering big game animals can greatly reduce the number of aspen trees in localized areas. Cattle and sheep browsing is a serious problem in many areas of the Rockies because livestock are allowed to range through recent aspen clearcuts. Mature aspen stands adjacent to livestock concentrations (water holes, salt blocks, isolated stands in large open areas) often have root damage, are declining, and have few if any suckers present. Excessive use and vandalism by recreationists has caused aspen to deteriorate in many campsites (41,70).

Beaver feed on the young tender bark and shoots of aspen and often cut down large numbers of trees near their colonies. A high population of porcupines can greatly damage tree crowns both directly by feeding, and indirectly by increasing the trees' susceptibility to attack by insects and diseases.

The red-breasted and yellow-bellied sapsuckers may seriously sear trees with drill holes. Minor damage is caused by such woodland birds as the ruffed grouse and the sharp-tailed grouse, which feed on the buds of quaking aspen; ruffed grouse also feed on the leaves during the summer months (78).

Aspen is susceptible to a large number of diseases (28,39,41,81,82). Shoot blight of some aspen caused by Venturia macularis is periodically severe. Angular black spots appear on the leaves, enlarging until the leaf dies. If the infection occurs at the top of the tree, the entire new shoot may be infected, blackened, killed, and bent to form a "shepherd's crook." This disease is common in young stands. A similar leaf disease in Wisconsin is caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.

Two or more species of Ciborinia cause a leaf spot on trees of all ages. When the disease is severe, small trees may be killed, but older ones rarely die. Marssonina populi causes a leaf spot and shoot blight that is especially prevalent and damaging in the western states. It is responsible for occasional severe defoliation. Severe, repeated infection can cause mortality, although susceptibility to this disease varies greatly among clones. Another leaf spot of aspen is caused by Septoria musiva.

Several leaf rust fungi of the genus Melampsora infect aspen. M. medusae is common east of the Rocky Mountains. M. abietis-canadensis occurs throughout the range of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and M. albertensis in the West. All can discolor and kill aspen leaf tissue and cause premature autumn leaf drop, but their damage is not serious.

Powdery mildew, Erysiphe cichoracearum in the West and the widespread Uncinula salicis can be conspicuous on aspen leaves but probably do little damage.

Recently, viruses have been detected in a few quaking aspen clones. Once trees in the clone are infected, regeneration by suckering maintains the infection, which is then impossible to eliminate except by artificially culturing virus-free tissue. The full extent and seriousness of viruses in aspen is unknown but decline of some clones has been attributed to them in both the East and the West.

Stain and decay have the greatest direct impact of the many stem pathogens on wood production. The role of microorganisms frequently associated with discoloration is poorly understood because staining also develops in their absence. Bacteria and yeast organisms are commonly associated with "wetwood," a water-soaked condition of live trees that leads to wood collapse during lumber drying.

A number of different bacteria and fungi are found in aspen tissue, apparently interacting to follow one another successionally, with bacteria appearing first. Phellinus tremulae causes a white rot of the heartwood at first but may eventually invade the entire stem. It causes the greatest volume of aspen decay and is so prevalent it conceals rot caused by other fungi. Sporophores (fruiting bodies) are the most reliable external indicator of decay. They provide a means to estimate present and future decay. Resistance to this fungus is strongly genetically controlled. Incidence and extent of infection increases with tree age or size but is not strongly related to site (76).

Peniophora polygonia is the second most important trunk rot fungus in the West and in Alaska, but it causes little actual cull. Libertella spp. is also an important trunk rot fungus in the West. Other less important trunk rot fungi found on aspen include Radulodon caesearius, Peniophora polygonia, P. rufa, and Pholiota adiposa.

More fungi species cause butt and root rots than trunk rots-as much as one-third of the decay volume in Colorado. Collybia velutipes is found in Alaska and causes the greatest amount of butt cull in the West. Ganoderma applanatum may be as important because it also decays large roots, which leads to windthrow. Less important butt rot fungi include Pholiota squarrosa, Gymnopilus spectabilis, Peniophora polygonia, and Armillaria mellea. The latter is primarily a root rot which can infect a high proportion of the trees (74). Other locally important root rots in the West include Phialophora spp. and Coprinus atramentarius.

Stem cankers are common diseases of aspen that have a great impact on the aspen resource. Depending on the causal fungus, cankers can kill a tree within a few years or persist for decades. Hypoxylon canker caused by Hypoxylon mammatum is probably the most serious aspen disease east of the Rockies, killing 1 to 2 percent of the aspen annually. It is not an important disease in the West, nor has it been found in Alaska. The infection mode of Hypoxylon is poorly understood but seems to be related to ascospore germination inhibitors in bark. Most canker infections seem to originate in young branches with scars or galls formed by twig-boring insects (4). Once infected, the host bark tissue is rapidly invaded and the fungus girdles and kills the tree in a few years (5).

Ceratocystis canker is a target-shaped canker caused by Ceratocystis fimbriata, C. moniliformis, C. piceae, C. pluriannulata, C. ambrosia, C. cana, C. serpens, C. crassivaginata, C. populina, C. tremuloaurea, and C. alba. This canker is found throughout the range of aspen, with C. fimbriata the most common causal pathogen. These cankers seldom kill aspens but can reduce usable volume of the butt log. Infection is primarily through trunk wounds and insects are the primary vectors.

Sooty-bark canker of aspen is caused by Phibalis pruinosa and is common and a major cause of mortality in Alaska and the West. The fungus infects trunk wounds and spreads rapidly, killing trees of all sizes. The fungus has been found only as an innocuous bark saprophyte on quaking aspen in the East.

Cytospora canker is caused by Cytospora chrysosperma, a normal inhabitant of aspen bark. The fungus is not considered a primary pathogen and causes cankers, lesions, or bark necrosis only after the host tree has been stressed, such as by drought, fire, frost, suppression, or leaf diseases. The disease is most serious on young trees and is found throughout the range of aspen.

Dothichiza canker, caused by Dothichiza populea, occurs in the eastern range of aspen. It is an endemic disease of young or weakened trees and is not found in vigorous stands.

In Ontario, a canker caused by Neofabraea populi has been found on young aspen. Few trees have been killed by it, however, and the disease is not known in the United States.

Cryptosphaeria populina cause a long, narrow, vertical canker that may spiral around an aspen trunk for 1 to 6 in (3 to 20 ft) or more. It is common in the West as far north as Alaska. Trees with large cankers have extensive trunk rot and are frequently broken by wind.

Aspen is susceptible to three types of rough-bark which are caused by the fungi Diplodia tumefaciens, Rhytidiella baranyayi, and Cucurbitaria staphula. Rough, corky bark outgrowths persist for many years but do little harm.

Quaking aspen hosts a wide variety of insects (28,81). One Canadian survey recorded more than 300 species, but only a few are known to severely damage trees. They may be grouped into defoliators, borers, and sucking insects.

Defoliators of aspen belong primarily to the orders Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. The forest tent caterpillar (Malacasoma disstria) and the western tent caterpillar (M. californicum) have defoliated aspens over areas as large as 259 000 km² (100,000 mi²). Outbreaks usually persist for 2 to 3 years and may collapse as quickly as they begin (88). Aspen growth losses during defoliation have been as high as 90 percent and may take as long as 3 or 4 years for total growth recovery. Some trees never recover and die as much as 20 to 80 percent of them on poor sites (90). On good sites mortality may be restricted to suppressed trees (59).

The large aspen tortrix (Choristoneura conflictana) is found throughout the range of aspen. It has defoliated trees over an area as large as 25 900 km² (10,000 mi²) in Canada and Alaska. Caterpillars predominantly infest the leaves of early flushing clones (89). Outbreaks normally collapse in 2 or 3 years and, although aspen growth is reduced, few trees are killed.

In the East, aspen is a favored host for the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) and the satin moth (Leucoma salicis) (78).

A great number of leaf tiers defoliate aspen. Sciaphila duplex is one that is often associated with the large aspen tortrix and has been a major pest in Utah. Other Lepidopterous defoliators of aspen include the Bruce spanworm, Operophtera bruceata, and Lobophora nivigerata.

Three species of leaf-rolling sawflies of the genus Pontania sometimes erupt in local outbreaks in the Lake States. Anacampsis niveopulvella is a Lepidopterous leaf roller that causes local damage in the West. Sawflies of the Platycampus genus chew holes in leaves.

The more common leaf miners of aspen are aspen leaf miner (Phyllocnistis populiella), the aspen blotch miners (Phyllonorycter tremuloidiella and Lithocolletis salicifoliella), and a leaf-mining sawfly (Messa populifoliella).

Defoliating beetles include the aspen leaf beetle (Chrysomela crotchi), the cottonwood leaf beetle (C. scripta), the American aspen beetle (Gonioctena americana), and the gray willow leaf beetle (Pyrrhalta decora). All have similar feeding habits; the larvae skeletonize lower surfaces of leaves, and adults feed on whole leaves.

Wood-boring insects that attack aspen are primarily beetles of the Cerambycidae (round-headed borers or long-horned beetles) and Buprestidae (flatheaded borers or metallic beetles). The poplar borer (Soperda calcarata) is the most damaging. The larvae tunnel in the bole, weakening and degrading the wood. Breakage by wind increases and the tunnels serve as infection courts for wood-rotting fungi. S. moesta is a smaller related borer that attacks small suckers and aspen twigs. It is important only in the West. Xylotrechus obliteratus has killed large areas of aspen in the West above 2130 in (7,000 ft).

The root-boring saperda (Saperda calcarata) feeds on phloem and outer sapwood near the base of young aspen suckers. Oviposition incisions of the poplar gall saperda (S. inornata) frequently cause globose galls to form on the stems of young suckers and on small branches of larger trees. These oviposition wounds can serve as infection sites for Hypoxylon that can then grow from a branch gall down into the bole of the tree causing a canker (4). The poplar branch borer (Oberea schaumi) attacks larger suckers and tree limbs. Damage by all these insects can lead to stem breakage. Site quality is not an important variable, and maintaining high stocking density of vigorous suckers is the best practice to minimize loss.

Two flatheaded borers, the bronze poplar borer (Agrilus liragus) and the aspen root girdler (A. horni), bore galleries that disrupt nutrient and water movement. The former attacks sucker stems and makes zig-zag galleries; the latter girdles the sucker with a spiral gallery from the lower trunk to the roots and back. A. anxius also girdles and kills aspen twigs in the West.

Some other Buprestids attacking aspen in the East are the flatheaded apple tree borer (Chrysobothris femorata), the Pacific flatheaded borer (C. mali), and the flatheaded aspen borers (Dicerca tenebrica, D. divaricata, and Poecilonota cyanipes). The first two and the latter are also reported in the West, along with the aspen ambrosia beetle (Typodendron retusum). None of these cause serious injury in well-managed stands.

A widespread weevil, the poplar and willow borer, Cryptorhynchus lapathi, can riddle aspen stems with galleries, especially planted trees.

A clear-wing moth of the genus Aegeria, and willow shoot sawfly (Janus abbreviatus) are examples of borers from nonbeetle families.

In the West, the fungus Ceratocystis fimbriata is carried by Epurea spp., Nudobius spp., and Rhisophagus spp. (28).

Sucking insects are represented mainly by aphids and leafhoppers. The poplar vagabond aphid (Mordvilkoja vagabunda) causes a peculiar curled and twisted gall of leaves as large as 5 cm (2 in) in diameter at the tip of twigs. Poplar petiole gall and twig gall aphids of the genus Pernphigus produce swellings on leaf petioles. Increased forking of aspen suckers may be caused by high populations of the speckled poplar aphid (Chaitophorus populicola) and the spotted poplar aphid (Aphis maculatae). They are commonly found on expanding aspen sucker leaves (35,81).

The genera Idiocerus, Oncomtopia, Macropsis, Oncopsis, and Agallia have several species of leafhoppers that cause leaf browning and slitlike ruptures in the bark of twigs. Only Idiocerus spp. have been found in the West. Several species of scale insects such as the oystershell scale (Lepidosaphes u1mi) are found on aspen but do little damage to healthy trees. Cutworms (moth family Noctuidae larvae) sometimes can cut a large number of succulent new suckers at the ground line. Black carpenter ants (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) frequently use and extend the tunneling made by the poplar borer, causing further damage (35,78).

Aspen is highly susceptible to fire damage. Fires may kill trees outright or cause basal scars that serve as avenues of entrance for wood-rotting fungi. Intense fires can kill or injure surface roots and thereby reduce sucker regeneration (19,56,78).

Early spring frosts may kill new leaves and shoots and, when especially severe, some of the previous year's shoots. Overwinter freezing can cause frost cracks. Strong wind can uproot or break mature aspen and even moderate wind can crack the bole of trees with lopsided crowns. Hail can bruise the bark of young aspen and, in severe storms, kill entire sapling stands. Aspen suffers little from ice storms or heavy wet snow, except when in leaf. Snow creep on steep slopes can bend or break aspen suckers as tall as 1.2 in (4 ft) (28).

Aspen suddenly exposed to full sunlight may suffer sunscald. Pole-size trees are more susceptible than saplings (19,58).

Aspen growth and vigor suffer from drought (79), and drought- stressed trees become predisposed to secondary agents such as insects and disease. Mechanical injuries inflicted on aspen bark by thoughtless recreationists can lead to infection by canker disease and eventual death in as few as 10 to 20 years.

Quaking aspen is primarily dioecious. The pendulous flower catkins, 3.8 to 6.4 cm (1.5 to 2.5 in) long, generally appear in April or May (mid-March to April in New England, May to June in central Rockies) before the leaves expand (28,66,78,91). Local clonal variation provides early and late flowering clones of each sex in most stands. In addition, certain flowers bloom later than others, usually those on the distal end of a given catkin or small catkins on spurlike shoots (13). Maximum air temperatures above 12° C (54° F) for a period of about 6 days appear to be the principal factor governing timing of flowering. Flowers are pollinated by wind. The fruiting catkins are about 10 cm (4 in) long when mature, usually in May or June-about 4 to 6 weeks after flowering. Each catkin may bear several dozen one-celled capsules, light green, each nearly 6 min (0.25 in) long. Each capsule contains about 10 small brown seeds, each of which is surrounded by tufts of long, white silky hairs. Although the flowers are typically unisexual, 10 to 20 percent of the predominantly female trees and 4 to 5 percent of the predominantly male trees bear perfect flowers. Trees in a given clone, therefore, are usually either all male or all female. Some studies in the eastern United States found male-to-female ratios of about 3 to 1 in natural populations; others have reported no deviation from an expected 1-to-1 ratio (66,78). In the Colorado Rockies, male clones were more common at high elevations and female clones were more common at low elevations. Furthermore, female clones had faster radial growth than male clones, especially at lower elevations. This runs counter to the theory that the high metabolic cost of sexual reproduction for females is compensated for by reduced vegetative growth (36).

The vegetative cells of aspen, as well as those of nearly all aspen hybrids, contain 19 pairs of chromosomes. A number of triploid aspen (with three sets of chromosomes rather than the normal two) have been located in Utah, the Lake States, and Colorado. A few albino aspen seedlings have been observed, as have two albino aspen suckers, which were thought to result from a somatic mutation in aspen root tissue (30,37,78).

Quaking aspen is a small- to medium-sized, fast-growing, and short-lived tree. Under the best of conditions, however, it may attain 36.5 in (120 ft) in height and 137 cm (54 in) in d.b.h. The current national champion is 114 cm (45 in) d.b.h. and 26 in (86 ft) tall near Fort Klamath, OR. More typically, mature stands may range from 20 to 25 in (66 to 82 ft) tall and average 18 to 30 cm (7 to 12 in) d.b.h. A few vigorous trees attain a maximum age of about 200 years (oldest recorded is 226 years) in Alaska and the Rocky Mountain region (28,42). Although individual ramets of a clone may be short lived, the clone may be thousands of years old (46) and longer lived than the oldest giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum).

The tallest quaking aspen are found in a belt bordering the midcontinental prairie region at about latitude 55° N., and in north-central Minnesota, northern Michigan, and in the Southwest. Few quaking aspen exceed 26 or 27 in (85 to 90 ft) in Alaska (38).

Growth and decay are both generally slower in Alaska and the West than in the East, hence pathological rotations are longer-80 to 90 years in Utah and 110 to 120 years for Colorado and Wyoming. In northern Minnesota, the pathological rotation is about 55 to 60 years and even shorter in southern Wisconsin and Michigan (35,69,70).

Now and in the foreseeable future, most aspen will be extensively managed (complete clearing for site preparation, no thinning) for fiberboard, pulpwood, flakeboard, and some sawtimber. Aspen is harvested either as whole-tree chips or as bolewood to a nominal top size for pulpwood or sawtimber. Some of the very best stands can be thinned to increase the production of large bolts (57,58).

Site quality varies regionally, being highest in the Lake States, followed by Alaska and the West. Biomass mean annual increment on the better sites in the Lake States and Canada culminates at about age 30 and at 4.4 to 4.8 mg/ha (2-2.2 tons/acre) dry weight (16,60). Mature stands in Newfoundland typically carry 64 m²/ha (280 ft²/acre) basal area. This amounts to 376 mg/ha (167 tons/acre) at age 90 years, or 4.2 mg/ha/yr (1.9 tons/acre/year) (54). However, exceptionally good growth of quaking aspen is possible in Arizona and in Colorado and southern Wyoming (44,70). A natural triploid clone in Minnesota produced an annual yield of 14.6 m³/ha (208 ft³/acre) of bolewood over 38 years (59).

Aspen responds to intensive management. Production by thinned stands for a 50-year rotation, including thinnings removed at ages 10, 20, and 30, is about 511 m³/ha (7,300 ft³/acre), or 10.2 m³/ha (146 ft³/acre) per year. This is about 42 percent greater than for similar, but unthinned, stands (58). Quaking aspen growth can be further increased by fertilization and irrigation (24,26,29,59,84). Sub-optimal fiber yield and the threat of Armillaria mellea root rot limit the practicality of rotations shorter than 1520 years (77).

In both the eastern and western parts of its range, quaking aspen is classed as very intolerant of shade, a characteristic it retains throughout its life. Natural pruning is excellent, and long, clean stems are usually produced when side shade is present. However, this is a clonally variable characteristic and self-pruned and unpruned clones exist side by side in some stands (69,78). The intolerance of aspen to shade dictates an even-aged silvicultural system, that is, clearcutting, for regenerating fully stocked sucker stands and maximizing growth (19,57,75),

The tree has a pronounced ability to express dominance, and overstocking to stagnation of growth is extremely rare.

Quaking aspen is an aggressive pioneer. It readily colonizes burns and can hold invaded land even though subjected to fires at intervals as short as 3 years. In the northeastern United States, it is an old-field type, and in Canada it invades grassland if fire is excluded. In the Central Rocky Mountains, it constitutes the typical fire climax at the lower elevations of the subalpine forest. The extensive stands of aspen in that area are usually attributed to repeated wildfires, and aspen is generally regarded as a successional species able to dominate a site until replaced by less fire-enduring but more shade-tolerant conifers, a process that may take only a single aspen generation or as long as 1,000 years of fire exclusion. Aspen is considered a permanent type on some sites in the intermountain region of Utah, Nevada, and southern Idaho, but conifers would invade the type if seed trees were available.

The uneven-aged character of some western aspen stands suggests that under certain conditions aspen is self-perpetuating without major disturbance. These stands are relatively stable and can be considered de facto climax. Seral and stable aspen stands seem to be associated with certain indicator species (28,78,82).

In its eastern range, aspen in the absence of disturbance is regarded as transient. Successional patterns are determined by soil water regime (61). Pure aspen stands gradually deteriorate to a "shrubwood" dominated by the shrub component of the stand and with only a few scattered aspen suckers. If intolerant associates are present, they will outlive the aspen and eventually dominate but in turn will be replaced again by the shrubwood type. If tolerant hardwoods or balsam fir (Abies balsamea) are associated with aspen, they will eventually dominate by their longevity and ability to regenerate in their own shade (81).

The deterioration of aspen stands begins earliest at the southern limits of its eastern range and seems to be related to summer temperatures. Deterioration begins when crowns in old stands can no longer grow fast enough to fill the voids in the canopy left by dying trees. Increased breakage accelerates the deterioration process, which may be completed in as few as 3 or 4 years (81). Deterioration is a much slower process in the West, where aspen often is replaced by conifers. Dry sites may revert to rangeland dominated by shrubs, forbs, and grasses. Sometimes suckers appear in a deteriorating stand and ultimately an all-age climax aspen forest develops (28).

Seedlings initially have a short taproot, but a heart root system develops on deep, well-drained soils. Clonal ramets have a flat root system when young but again will develop a heart system on deep, well-drained soils. If rooting depth is restricted, a flat root system develops regardless of regeneration origin (28,59).

The shallow and extensive laterals have cordlike branch roots that undulate and meander for great distances without tapering. These roots are the main producers of suckers, particularly when they are close to the soil surface. Roots tend to follow soil surface irregularities and may even grow into decaying stumps or logs. The fine feeding roots are found at all levels down to 0.6 to 0.9 in (2 to 3 ft) except in restrictive horizons. Sinker roots occur as frequently as every meter or so on the lateral roots. They may descend to depths of 3 in (10 ft) or more where they end in a dense fan-shaped fine root mass. Sinkers are capable of penetrating strongly massive soil horizons or cracks in bedrock and often use vacated root channels (28,78).

Good seed crops are produced every 4 or 5 years, with light crops in most intervening years. Some open-grown clones may produce seeds annually, beginning at age 2 or 3. The minimum age for large seed crops is 10 to 20; the optimum is 50 to 70. One 23-year-old quaking aspen produced an estimated 1.6 million seeds (51,59,78). Seeds are very light, 5,500 to 8,000 clean seeds per gram (156,000 to 250,000/oz).

Seeds begin to be dispersed within a few days after they ripen and seed dispersal may last from 3 to 5 weeks. The seeds, buoyed by the long silky hairs, can be carried for many kilometers by air currents. Water also serves as a dispersal agent (78,91).

The viability of fresh fertile seeds is high (usually greater than 95 percent) but normally of short duration. Under favorable conditions viability lasts only 2 to 4 weeks after maturity and may be much less under unfavorable conditions. When air dried and stored in polyethylene bags at -10° C (14° F), seed retains high viability for at least I year. Seedlings are sturdiest when germinated at 5° to 29° C (41° to 84° F) and grown at about 20° C (68° F). Ripe quaking aspen seeds are not dormant, and germination occurs within a day or two after dispersal if a suitably moist seedbed is reached. Because germination declines rapidly after water potential exceeds -4 bars (-.4 MPa), a water-saturated seedbed is critical. Seeds germinate even when totally submerged in water or in the absence of light (32,47,50,66,78,92).

Germination is epigeal. The primary root of a seedling grows very slowly for several days, and during this critical period the young plant depends upon a brush of long delicate hairs to perform the absorptive functions and anchor the seedling to the seedbed. Exposed mineral soils are the best seedbeds and litter the poorest seedbeds (28,51,60,78).

During the first year seedlings may attain a height of 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 in) and develop a 20- to 25-cm (8- to 10-in) long taproot and from 30- to 40-cm (12 to 16-in) long laterals. During the second and third years, wide-spreading lateral roots are developed, reaching lengths of 2 m (6 ft) or more in the second year. Quaking aspen roots form ectomycorrhizae if suitable inoculum is present (28,78,86).

Despite the abundance of aspen seed and high germinative capacity, few aspen seedlings survive in nature because of the short period of seed viability, unfavorable moisture during seed dispersal, high soil surface temperatures, fungi, adverse diurnal temperature fluctuations during initial seedling growth, and the unfavorable chemical balance of some seedbeds (51,52).

Height growth of the young trees is rapid for about the first 20 years and slows thereafter. During the first several years, natural seedlings grow faster than planted seedlings but not as fast as suckers. High mortality characterizes young quaking aspen stands regardless of origin. In both seedling and sucker stands natural thinning is rapid, and trees that fall below the canopy stop growing and die within a few years (78,93).

Aspen provides habitat for a wide variety of wildlife needing young forests, including hare, black bear, deer, elk, ruffed grouse, woodcock, and a number of smaller birds and animals. Ruffed grouse use all age classes of aspen-sapling stands for brooding, pole stands for overwintering and breeding, and older stands for nesting cover and winter food (53,55,67,68).

Aspen forests allow more water or ground water recharge and streamflow than do conifer forests. This is primarily due to lower seasonal water losses to interception and transpiration by aspen compared to conifers (34). Clearcutting the aspen type may increase streamflow by as much as 60 percent during the first year. Subsequently, water yields gradually decline to preharvest levels and stabilize when maximum leaf area is attained at about age 10 to 25 (53).

The aspen type is esthetically appealing. The light bark and autumn colors are a pleasing contrast to dark conifers. In the West in particular, the type is used by recreationists during all seasons of the year.

Aspen stands produce abundant forage-as much as 1100 to 2800 kg/ha (1,000 to 2,500 lb/acre) in the Rockies annually, or three to six times more than typical conifer stands. These amounts are comparable to forage production on some grasslands. Although the type is sought after for summer sheep and cattle range in the West, its use for grazing in the East is much more limited (28).

Aspen stands, because of low fuel accumulations, are low in flammability and make excellent firebreaks. Violent crown fires in conifers commonly drop to the ground and sometimes are even extinguished when they reach an aspen stand (28).

Whole-tree aspen chips can be processed into nutritious animal feed ("Muka") or biomass fuels (82). Aspen could be grown for such purposes in dense sucker stands on biological rotations of 26 to 30 years (16).

Wood products from aspen include pulp, flakeboard, particleboard, lumber, studs, veneer, plywood, excelsior, shingles, novelty items, and wood flour. Aspen makes particularly good sauna benches and playground structures because the wood surface does not splinter.

The aggregation of stems (ramets) produced asexually from a single sexually produced individual (the genet) is termed a clone. In aspen a clone is formed from the root system of the seedling genet following an event (cutting, fire) that destroys the genet (9).

Quaking aspen seedlings at 1 year of age are already capable of reproducing by root sprouts (suckers), and mature stands reproduce vigorously by this means (19,43). Root collar sprouts and stump sprouts are produced only occasionally by mature trees but saplings commonly produce them (77). Aspen clones vary widely in many characteristics, even over a small area. Members of a clone are indistinguishable but can be distinguished from those of a neighboring clone by electrophoresis and often by a variety of traits such as leaf shape and size, bark character, branching habit, resistance to disease and air pollution, sex, time of flushing, and autumn leaf color (9,10,11,17,22,23,57,87). Clones typically have many ramets over an area up to a few tenths of a hectare in stands east of the Rocky Mountains (45,76). In the Rockies, clones tend to be much larger-one Utah clone covered 43.3 ha (107 acres) and contained an estimated 47,000 ramets. Clone size in an aspen stand is primarily a function of clone age, number of seedlings initially established, and the frequency and degree of disturbance since seedling establishment (46).

The root suckers are produced from meristems on the shallow, cordlike lateral roots within 2 to 10 cm (1 to 4 in) of the soil surface (28,81). In response to clone disturbance, the meristems may develop into buds and then elongate into shoots. Frequently, however, they remain in the primordial stage until stimulated to develop further. These preexisting primordia are visible as small bumps when cork is peeled off an aspen root (63).

The development of suckers on aspen roots is suppressed by apical dominance exerted by auxin transported from growing shoots, while cytokinins, hormones synthesized in root tips, apparently initiate adventitious shoot development. When an aspen is cut, cytokinins accumulate in the roots, the supply of inhibitory auxins is eliminated, and suckers are initiated. If aspen is girdled, the downward transport of auxin again is stopped, but upward translocation of cytokinins via the xylem is unimpeded. Cytokinins in this case do not accumulate in the roots, with consequently less sucker production. Thus high cytokinin-to-auxin ratios favor shoot initiation while low ratios inhibit it. A gibberellic-acid-like growth regulator also stimulates shoot elongation after sucker initiation.

Carbohydrate reserves supply the energy needed by elongating suckers until they emerge at the soil surface to carry on their own photosynthesis. Therefore, the density of regeneration varies according to the level of these reserves. However, the number of suckers initiated by aspen roots is independent of variation in carbohydrate levels. Apical dominance by elongating suckers further limits the total amount of regeneration. Carbohydrates can be exhausted by grazing, repeated cropping or killing of sucker stands, or insect defoliation (63,77,82).

Soil temperature is the most critical environmental factor affecting suckering. Initiation and development of suckers is optimum at about 23° C (74° F). High temperatures tend to degrade auxin and promote cytokinin production, which may account in part for the aspen invasion of grassland without apparent clone disturbance (51,82).

Excess soil moisture (impeded aeration) or severe drought inhibit sucker production (25,57,82).

Light is not needed for sucker initiation but is essential for secondary growth (78). Large clonal. differences in ability to produce suckers may be due to differences in growth regulators, carbohydrate reserves, and developmental stages of shoot primordia (63). Some clones in the interior West are unevenaged, suggesting weak apical control or high concentration of growth-promoting hormones so that they sucker at the least disturbance (69,82).

Suckers are initially sustained by the root system of the parent tree, but they may form as much as 4.7 in (15.5 ft) of new main roots in 10 weeks. In contrast, suckers of some Utah clones produce only weak adventitious roots and depend on the distal parent root for sustenance. The parent root usually thickens at the point of sucker origin distal to the parent tree. This indicates that translocation of food produced by the sucker is toward the growing tip of the parent root, which usually becomes part of the new root system (28,51,78,81). These connections readily conduct water and solutes from tree to tree (27). True root grafts, in contrast, are rare in aspen.

Suckers from the roots of badly decayed trees are not infected by the parent stump. Heart rot usually terminates in the base of the stump. Deteriorating clones, however, produce few suckers.

In general, sucker regeneration is proportional to the degree of cutting, with most suckers arising after a complete clearcut (43,57,64,65,75,78). Typically, from 25,000 to 75,000 suckers per hectare (10,000 to 30,000/acre) are regenerated in Alaska and the Great Lakes region and about half as many in the Rockies (28,91).

Light burning on heavily cut areas increases the number of suckers and stimulates their initial growth. However, hot slash fires diminish sucker vigor. Repeated burning increases stand density because it stimulates sucker numbers and prepares mineral soil seedbeds for seedling establishment; however, it reduces stand growth (6,19,28,56,64,78). Surface fires in established aspen stands are not common because of aspen's inherently low flammability. When they do occur, fire wounds and loss of shallow feeder roots substantially reduce aspen productivity. Fire is a useful tool, however, to stimulate regeneration and to reduce competition if clearcutting is not practiced. It is especially valuable for regenerating deteriorated stands and for maintaining wildlife habitat (21,57).

Disking stimulates suckering, but sucker growth and survival are usually diminished because of injury to their sustaining parent roots. Rows of suckers often appear along furrows prepared for planting conifers.

Herbicides have been used to kill residual trees and to increase suckering without affecting sucker growth or vigor (19,57,78).

Dormant season cutting generally produces vigorous suckers the next growing season. Summer cutting produces a sparse stand initially, but the number of suckers after 2 years is usually the same regardless of cutting season (15). Suckering sometimes fails inexplicably after hay-vesting aspen on fine-textured soils during the growing season (59).

The number of suckers following cutting increases as stocking density of the parent stand increases up to full site utilization. The effect of age and site index on aspen suckering is not clear (35,81).

Age of wood is the most important factor in rooting quaking aspen cuttings. With rare exceptions, the species roots poorly from woody stem cuttings, even when treated with indolebutyric acid (IBA). However, newly initiated shoots can usually be induced to root by dipping in IBA or other commercially available rooting powders. These softwood stem cuttings should be taken from actively growing shoots except during the period of extremely rapid mid-season elongation (14,63,78). Propagation by excising succulent young sucker shoots from root cuttings is easily accomplished by treating the shoots with IBA and growing them in a suitable medium in a misting chamber until rooted, in about 2 to 3 weeks (62). Quaking aspen scions can be grafted onto balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera), willows (Salix spp.), or bigtooth aspen (P. grandidentata). Quaking aspen plantlets have been produced by tissue culture (81).

Salicaceae -- Willow family

D. A. Perala

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) is the most widely distributed tree in North America. It is known by many names: trembling aspen, golden aspen, mountain aspen, popple, poplar, trembling poplar, and in Spanish, álamo blanco, and álamo temblón (49). It grows on many soil types, especially sandy and gravelly slopes, and it is quick to pioneer disturbed sites where there is bare soil. This fast-growing tree is short lived and pure stands are gradually replaced by slower-growing species. The light, soft wood has very little shrinkage and high grades of aspen are used for lumber and wooden matches. Most aspen wood goes into pulp and flake-board, however. Many kinds of wildlife also benefit from this tree.

Quaking aspen grows singly and in multi-stemmed clones over 111° of longitude and 48° of latitude for the widest distribution of any native tree species in North America (48). The range extends from Newfoundland and Labrador west across Canada along the northern limit of trees to northwestern Alaska, and southeast through Yukon and British Columbia. Throughout the Western United States it is mostly in the mountains from Washington to California, southern Arizona, Trans-Pecos Texas, and northern Nebraska. From Iowa and eastern Missouri it ranges east to West Virginia, western Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Quaking aspen is also found in the mountains of Mexico, as far south as Guanajuato. Worldwide, only Populus tremula, European aspen, and Pinus sylvestris, Scotch pine, have wider natural ranges.


-The native range of quaking aspen.

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 meters (82 feet) 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 (the ortet).

Populus tremuloides is the most widely distributed tree in North America, being found from Canada to central Mexico. It is the defining species of the aspen parkland biome in the Prairie Provinces of Canada and extreme northwest Minnesota.