VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Pinus torreyana | Torrey Pine 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Seeds of Torrey pine are eaten by birds, rodents, and other mammals.
The dusky-footed and desert woodrats consume large quantities of Torrey
pine seeds and may greatly reduce their numbers in the seedbank [26].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Torrey pines are planted on wildlands and disturbed sites in San Diego,
California.  Near Point Loma, San Diego, they provide wildlife habitat
and protect existing coastal sage scrub shrubs [19].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Torrey pine is widely planted as an ornamental and has been evaluated as
a commercial species in Kenya, Australia, and New Zealand [26].  


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
The Torrey pine population in TPSR consists of large, mature
individuals; seedlings and saplings are infrequent [40].  Given the low
rate of seedling establishment and survival in the recent past, stand
age of Torrey pine will continue to increase within the TPSR [26]. 

Cattle grazing has significantly reduced the amount of native shrub
cover within Torrey pine stands on Santa Rosa Island.  The average
amount of open ground on four transects on Santa Rosa Island is about 78
percent compared to 30 percent on the mainland.  Seedling establishment
is higher on Santa Rosa Island than on the mainland [26].

Because of low genetic variability, Torrey pine has little capacity to
respond to change through natural selection.  Native populations should
be managed to maintain the maximum number of trees possible to minimize
the chance of catastrophic loss [21].   

Both the island and mainland populations of Torrey pine are threatened
by air pollution.  The mainland population is adjacent to densely
populated areas that generate extreme amounts of air pollution.  The
island population is threatened by seasonal easterly Santa Ana winds
carrying air with high concentrations of ozone and other pollutants from
the Los Angeles Basin [8,22].   

In 1988, a bark beetle (Ips paraconfusus) infestation occurred at TPSR.
By 1990, 12 percent of the adult trees had been killed.  In 1991, the
U.S. Forest Service utilized synthetic pheromones to lure ips beetles
into traps placed on trees.  Nine weeks after placement of the traps
130,000 beetles were captured [2].  Only one additional tree was
attacked after the trapping began.  The number of trapped beetles
eventually fell to about 100 per week [2].  
  

Related categories for Species: Pinus torreyana | Torrey Pine