Plant Sciences Commons^™

Tree Biomass – A Fragile Carbon Storage In Old-Growth Birch And Aspen Stands In Hemiboreal Latvia, Laura Ķēniņa, Didzis Elferts, Ieva Jaunslaviete, Endijs Bāders, Guntars Šņepsts, Āris Jansons

Aspen Bibliography

Birch (Betula pendula Roth, Betula pubescens Ehrh.) and European aspen (Populus tremula L.) stands dominate the deciduous forests of Northern Europe. Due to increasing forest protections, more deciduous stands will reach the old-growth stage. Thus, data on the carbon storage potential in such areas are essential. We aimed to establish a benchmark for carbon stocks of the main carbon pools in old-growth deciduous hemiboreal stands. Carbon pools were calculated from measurements in forty old-growth (104–148 years-old) deciduous stands in forests on fertile mineral soil. The carbon stock in these stands is distributed across tree biomass (~ 60%), mineral soil (~ …

Aspen Leaves As A "Chemical Landscape" For Fungal Endophyte Diversity - Can Nitrogen And Herbivory Shape The Community Composition In Controlled Conditions?, Johanna Witzell, Vicki Huizu Guo Decker, Marta Agostinelli, Carmen Romeralo Tapia, Michelle Cleary, Benedicte Riber Albrectsen

Aspen Bibliography

The endophytic microbiome may influence the ecological performance of plants, including forest trees. Various abiotic and biotic factors may shape the endophyte communities directly but also indirectly, by modifying the quality of host plants as a substrate. We hypothesized that potentially antifungal or fungistatic condensed tannins (CTs) would determine the quality of aspen (Populus tremula) leaves as a substrate for endophytic fungi. By subjecting the plants to nitrogen fertilization (N) or herbivory (H; leaf beetles) we aimed to change the internal “chemical landscape”, especially the CT levels, in aspen leaves. We expected that this would lead to changes in the …

Pariette Wetlands Water, Sediment And Plant Total Selenium Concentration, Colleen P. Jones, Paul R. Grossl, Astrid R. Jacobson

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We measured total Selenium in plants from July through November of 2012 and in water, macroinvertebrates, plants, and sediments from July of 2014 from Pariette Wetlands, Utah, U.S.A. to test for spatial, temporal, plant species and plant tissue distribution of Selenium.

Invasive Fruit Pest Guide For Utah: Insect & Disease Identification, Monitoring & Management, Claudia Nischwitz, Diane G. Alston, Lori R. Spears, Clint Burfitt

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This invasive fruit pest guide covers insects and diseases affecting fruit in Utah and reviews monitoring and management.

Dahlia Cut Flower Production In Utah, Melanie Stock, Amanda Pratt, Claudia Nischwitz, Eli Oliver, Katie Wagner, Nick Volesky

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Dahlias are tuberous, herbaceous plants that are frost sensitive and therefore grown as a warm-season annual for cut flower production in Utah. Dahlias bloom in summer to fall, with peak production in late summer to early fall, and the season ending with first frost. Plants benefit from pinching to encourage branching and horizontal trellising or staking to promote straight stems and avoid toppling. High tunnels or extended low tunnels with shade, as well as optimum nitrogen and irrigation rates, improve production. As showstoppers in arrangements, dahlia cut flowers are highly desired on local markets and profitable to produce, particularly those …

Data For Gridding, Joseph D. Birch, James A. Lutz, Soren Struckman, Jessica Miesel, Justine Karst

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Background: Large-diameter trees have an outsized influence on aboveground forest dynamics, composition, and structure. Although their influence on aboveground processes is well studied, their role in shaping belowground fungal communities is largely unknown. We sought to test if (H1) fungal community spatial structure matched aboveground forest structure, (H2) fungal functional guilds exhibited differential associations to aboveground tree, snag, and deadwood, and (H3) that large-diameter trees and snags have a larger influence on fungal community richness than smaller-diameter trees. We used MiSeq sequencing of fungal communities collected from soils in a spatially intensive survey in a portion of Cedar Breaks National …

Anemone Cut Flower Production Budget, One High Tunnel, Northern Utah, 2022, Shannon Rauter, Melanie Stock, Ruby Ward

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This budget contains costs (preplant and site preparation, establishment and maintenance, and harvest and processing) and returns for the production and sale of anemone cut flowers that were grown in a high tunnel (14 feet by 40 feet). Production methods, yield, costs, and pricing were determined from Utah State University (USU) research trials, as well as feedback from Northern Utah producers. The costs and returns represent typical production in Northern Utah but should be adjusted where necessary for individual situations. Site selection, tunnel use, variety, harvest timing, pest management, and other practices will impact costs and returns to a cut-flower …

The Backyard Garden - Bean Pests, Nick Volesky, Bridger Carey, Marion Murray

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As part of a series, The Backyard Garden, this fact sheet examines bean pests. Insects and other pests include thrips, spider mites, cutworms and armyworms, Mexican bean beetle, and seedcorn maggot. Diseases include bean common mosaic virus, damping-off, beet curly top virus, common bacterial blight, and halo blight. The fact sheet includes general information about these issues, signs and symptoms on plants, and management.

The Backyard Garden - Pea Pests, Bridger Carey, Nick Volesky, Marion Murray

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As part of a series, The Backyard Garden, this fact sheet reviews pea pests. It includes general information, symptoms, and management for the following pea pest issues: thrips, spider mites, pea weevil, aphids, pea leaf weevil, damping-off, powdery mildew, fusarium wilt, fusarium root rot, and bacterial blight.

The Backyard Garden - Cole Crops Pests, Nick Volesky, Marion Murray

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This fact sheet contains information about pests and diseases that affect cole crops. Cole crops are plants that belong to the mustard (Brassica) family, including hardy, cool-season crops such as broccoli, kohlrabi, cabbage, rutabaga, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, and turnips. The fact sheet offers general information and guidance on severity, other hosts, symptoms, and management.

The Backyard Garden - Tomato Pests, Nick Volesky, Marion Murray

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This fact sheet contains information about pests and diseases that affect tomatoes. It includes general information and guidance on severity, other hosts, symptoms, and management.

The Backyard Garden - Leafy Greens Pests, Nick Volesky, Marion Murray

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This fact sheet provides information about the diseases that affect leafy greens. It includes general information, other hosts, disease symptoms to watch for, and management options.

Lisianthus Cut Flower Production In Utah, Melanie Stock, Sheriden M. Hansen, Maegen A. Lewis, Anna Collins, Brent Black, Dan Drost

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Lisianthus is a florist staple and excellent crop for local farms. Its limited cool-storage period, long vase-life, and broad range of pastel- to jewel-tone colors are superior to wholesale imports. This fact sheet reviews lisianthus groups, site preparation, germination, transplanting, fertilizing, and irrigation and disease and pest management. It also provides information on trellising, harvest and storage, and economics as a specialty crop option for local farms.

Backyard Fruit Production In Utah's High Mountain Valleys, Maegen Lewis, Jaydee Gunnell, Michael Pace, Teryl Roper

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Utah’s population has seen significant growth in recent years resulting in population increase outside of the Wasatch Front and into Utah's high mountain valleys. These locations include Bear Lake Valley, Ogden Valley, Morgan and Henefer, Park City, Wasatch Valley, and Sanpete Valley. Much of the information presented here would also apply to the Uintah Basin and other high elevation locations in eastern Utah. Common characteristics of these valleys include high elevations (greater than 5,000 feet) leading to short growing seasons. Many homeowners who are new to these regions wish to establish perennial fruit crops in their gardens. This publication outlines …

Assisted Migration Is Plausible For A Boreal Tree Species Under Climate Change: A Quantitative And Population Genetics Study Of Trembling Aspen (Populus Tremuloides Michx.) In Western Canada, Chen Ding, Jean S. Brouard

Aspen Bibliography

A novel method was tested for improving tree breeding strategies that integrate quantitative and population genetics based on range-wide reciprocal transplant experiments. Five reciprocal common garden tests of Populus tremuloides were investigated including 6450 trees across western Canada focusing on adaptation traits and growth. Both genetic parameters and home-site transplant models were evaluated. We found a genetic trade-off between growth and early spring leaf flush and late fall senescence. Coefficients of phenotypic variation (CVp) of cell lysis (CL), a measure of freezing injury, shrank from 0.28 to 0.10 during acclimation in the fall, and the CVp slope versus …

Lamb's Lettuce In The Garden, Evan Christensen, Dan Drost

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This fact sheet provides information on lamb's lettuce, also known as mâche, corn salad, fetticus, and Nüssli salat. It is native to southern Europe and a cool-season vegetable grown for edible leaves that add a mild, nutty flavor to any salad. This fact sheet offers reliable information about recommended varieties, how to grow lamb's lettuce, harvesting and storage, nutrition facts, and problems such as weeds, pests, and diseases.

Shallots In The Garden, Emmalee Rolfe, Dan Drost

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This fact sheet provides information about growing shallots, a cool-season vegetable that grows best in full sun and fertile, well-drained soil. The fact sheet offers reliable information about varieties, soil preparation, planting and spacing, fertilization, harvesting and storage, nutrition facts, and problems like weeds and insects and diseases that affect shallots.

Pando's Pulse: Vital Signs Signal Need For Course Correction At World-Renowned Aspen Forest, Paul C. Rogers

Aspen Bibliography

Upland aspen (Populus spp.) forests contribute significantly to biodiversity in their circumboreal role as keystone species. As aspen ecosystems flourish or diminish, myriad dependent species follow suit. The 43-hectare Pando aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) clone in Utah, USA, is thought to be the largest living organism on earth, but is faltering due to chronic herbivory. Long-term resilience in aspen communities, including Pando, rests on successful recruitment of vegetative suckers that are nutritiously desirable to browsing ungulates. Here, I evaluate aspen reproduction alongside numerous vital indicators of Pando's status in the first trend assessment of this embattled iconic forest. …

Ungulate Herbivores As Drivers Of Aspen Recruitment And Understory Composition Throughout Arid Montane Landscapes, Elizabeth S. Reikowski, Tyler Refsland, J. Hall Cushman

Aspen Bibliography

Herbivory by wild and domestic ungulates can influence tree recruitment and understory forest communities throughout the world. Herbivore-driven declines in tree recruitment have been observed for quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), a foundation species whose health and management is recognized as a critical priority throughout much of its range. Livestock fencing is commonly used to promote aspen regeneration, but its effectiveness is rarely assessed, especially across large spatial scales. Using a livestock-reduction experiment, we evaluated the effects of ungulate herbivory on aspen in the Great Basin and southern Cascades, an expansive and environmentally heterogeneous region where aspen faces the …

Ranunculus Cut Flower Production Budget, One High Tunnel, Northern Utah, 2022, Shannon Rauter, Melanie Stock, Ruby Ward

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This budget contains costs (preplant and site preparation, establishment and maintenance, and harvest and processing) and returns for the production and sale of ranunculus cut flowers that were grown in a high tunnel (14 feet by 40 feet). Production methods, yield, costs, and pricing were determined from Utah State University research trials, as well as feedback from Northern Utah producers. The costs and returns represent typical production in Northern Utah but should be adjusted where necessary for individual situations. Site selection, tunnel use, variety, harvest timing, pest management, and other practices will impact costs and returns to a cut-flower operation.

Continuous Ph Monitoring And Control: Selecting And Interfacing The Electrode, Controller, And Datalogger, Noah J. Langenfeld, Bruce Bugbee

Techniques and Instruments

pH control is essential to well-managed hydroponics. Here, we describe the selection and interfacing of electrodes, controllers, and loggers.

Dahlia Mosaic Virus On Dahlia, Savannah Gleeson, Melanie Stock, Claudia Nischwitz

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Dahlias are economically important crops in the cut flower industry, which is growing rapidly in US Mountain West. Dahlia stems can be sold at $4 to $5 each on wholesale markets, as locally produced dahlias are particularly sought after by florists due to their higher quality and longer vase life than imports. There are many different varieties of dahlias, and they can all be impacted by Dahlia Mosaic Virus (DMV), a widespread viral disease. DMV is causing significant losses in quality and yield of dahlias. This fact sheet details the symptoms, disease cycle, and management.

Landscape Tree Irrigation Calculator, Shital Poudyal

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Trees, undoubtedly, are the most valuable plant in a landscape and must be prioritized for irrigation in drought conditions. Grass easily recovers from a period of long drought; hence, it must be placed last on the priority list for irrigation. Many resources are available online that explain ways to irrigate landscape trees. However, growers and homeowners in Utah are still confused about quantifying and applying the appropriate amount of water a landscape tree needs. This Excel spreadsheet is an irrigation calculator designed to determine the amount of water a landscape tree needs in Utah’s hot and dry summer months. Find …

Limited Effects Of Precipitation Manipulation On Soil Respiration And Inorganic N Concentrations Across Soil Drainage Classes In Northern Minnesota Aspen Forests, Anna B. Stockstad, Robert A. Slesak, Alan J. Toczydlowski, Charles R. Blinn, Randall K. Kolka, Stephen D. Sebestyen

Aspen Bibliography

It is critical to gain insight into the responses of forest soils to the changing climate. We simulated future climate conditions with growing season throughfall reduction (by 50%) and winter snow removal using a paired-plot design across a soil drainage class gradient at three upland, Populus-dominated forests in northern Minnesota, USA. In situ bulk soil respiration and concentrations of extractable soil N were measured during the summers of 2020–2021. Soil respiration and N concentrations were not affected by throughfall reduction and snow removal, which was largely attributed to the limited treatment effects on soil moisture content and soil temperature. …

How Much Water Do Landscape Trees Require In Utah? An Irrigation Calculator, Shital Poudyal

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Trees, undoubtedly, are the most valuable plant in a landscape and must be prioritized for irrigation in drought conditions. Grass easily recovers from a period of long drought; hence, it must be placed last on the priority list for irrigation. Many resources are available online that explain ways to irrigate landscape trees. However, growers and homeowners in Utah are still confused about quantifying and applying the appropriate amount of water a landscape tree needs. This fact sheet includes a simple calculator designed to determine the amount of water a landscape tree needs in Utah’s hot and dry summer months.

Coping With Environmental Constraints: Geographically Divergent Adaptive Evolution And Germination Plasticity In The Transcontinental Populus Tremuloides, Roos Goessen, Nathalie Isabel, Christian Wehenkel, Nathalie Pavy, Lisa Tischenko, Lyne Touchette, Isabelle Giguère, Marie-Claude Gros-Louis, Jérôme Laroche, Brian Boyle, Raju Soolanayakanahally, Karen E. Mock, Javier Hernández-Velasco, Sergio Leonel Simental-Rodriguez, Jean Bousquet, Ilga M. Porth

Aspen Bibliography

Societal Impact Statement

Syntheses clearly show that global warming is affecting ecosystems and biodiversity around the world. New methods and measures are needed to predict the climate resilience of plant species critical to ecosystem stability, to improve ecological management and to support habitat restoration and human well-being. Widespread keystone species such as aspen are important targets in the study of resilience to future climate conditions because they play a crucial role in maintaining various ecosystem functions and may contain genetic material with untapped adaptive potential. Here, we present a new framework in support of climate-resilient revegetation based on comprehensively understood …

Oaks In The Landscape, Sheriden M. Hansen, Jaydee Gunnell, Andra Emmertson

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Oak trees (Quercus sp.) are generally a tough, drought tolerant, and beautiful addition to Utah landscapes. There are roughly 450 known species of oak, with about 60 cultivars that are native to North America. Oaks are known for slow growth, sturdiness, and easy care and can be used to create a focal point and ornamental interest in the landscape. This fact sheet reviews recommended cultivars for the Intermountain West and how to grow them, including site selection and preparation, planting and spacing, irrigation, and addressing challenges such as weeds, fertilization, pruning, and diseases and pests.

Growing Space Management In Boreal Mixedwood Forests: 22 Year Results, Richard Kabzems, George Harper, Che Elkin

Aspen Bibliography

Boreal mixed forests of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and white spruce (Picea glauca) can provide higher outputs of many ecosystem goods and services, combined with resilience for changing environmental conditions. In this study, we examine the growth of white spruce and aspen over a range of stand compositions created by spot and broadcast treatments of broadleaves using manual and chemical means, aspen spacing, and untreated control. Twenty-two growing seasons postharvest, treatment responses created a range of broadleaf densities and spatial arrangements, reflected in significant differences in heights and diameters of the spruce mixedwood component. At this …

High Tunnel Construction Cost Calculation Workbook, Shannon Rauter, Melanie Stock, Brent Black, Dan Drost

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The cost of building a high tunnel fluctuates over time with supply prices. This Excel workbook accompanies the USU Extension fact sheet, "Constructing a Low-cost High Tunnel" by Black, Drost, Rowley, and Heflebower (2011) and allows users to input local supply costs. The workbook then calculates the cost to build a USU low-cost high tunnel with several design options according to high tunnel length and door structure. It also provides an example calculation based on April 2022 pricing for reference.

Compensatory Phenolic Induction Dynamics In Aspen After Aphid Infestation, Rajarshi Kumar Gaur, Ilka Nacif De Abreu, Benedicte Riber Albrectsen

Aspen Bibliography

Condensed tannins (CTs) are polyphenolics and part of the total phenolic (TP) pool that shape resistance in aspen (Populus tremula). CTs are negatively associated with pathogens, but their resistance properties against herbivores are less understood. CTs shape resistance to pathogens and chewing herbivores and could also shape resistance to aphids. Being chemical pools that are highly variable it can further be questioned whether CT-shaped resistance is better described by constitutive levels, by the induced response potential, or by both. Here, aspen genotypes were propagated and selected to represent a range of inherent abilities to produce and store foliar …