VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Pinus monticola | Western White Pine 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Western white pine is highly valued as a timber species.  Its wood is
straight grained, nonresinous, lightweight, and exhibits dimensional
stability.  These qualities render the wood useful in the production of
window and door sashes.  The wood is also used in the production of
doors, paneling, dimension stock, matches, and toothpicks [11].  The
dimension stock works well.  It takes nails without splitting, and it
takes a nice finish.  The wood is also excellent for carving [1].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Western white pine provides habitat for a variety of mammals, aviafauna,
and insects [3,11,64,66].  Western white pine comprises less than 1
percent of the winter diet of elk [61]; however, it is browsed by
black-tailed deer in the winter when other browse is limited [3].  The
seeds of western white pine are an important part of the diet of red
squirrels and deer mice [11].


PALATABILITY : 
The palatability of western white pine's foliage to large ungulates is
generally rated as poor [3,61,64].  Blue grouse prefer western white
pine needles over those of western hemlock [21].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
The foliar nutrient levels for current year's growth of western white
pine were listed as follows [65].

            Percent                             Parts per million

 P      K     Ca    Mg      S              B       Zn      Fe      Mn        

 0.20   1.10  0.24  0.10    0.09           30      45      45      240


COVER VALUE : 
Western white pine provides nesting, thermal, and foraging cover for a
variety of aviafauna [52]; it also provides hiding and thermal cover for
elk [19].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Native Americans chewed the resin, wove baskets from the bark, concocted
a poultice for dressing wounds from the pitch [62], and collected the
cambium in the spring for food [68].

Western white pine forests have aesthetic and recreational value.  Cones
of western white pine are collected for novelty items [11].  The tree is
also planted as an ornamental [26].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
White pine blister rust:  The most serious damaging agent of western
white pine is white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) [1,11,23].
This rust was introduced into this country at the turn of the century
from infected seedlings that had been imported from nurseries in France
[1].  White pine blister rust has a life cycle requiring alternate hosts
for its completion: five-needled pines and currants (Ribes spp.).  The
rust produces spores on currants that infect white pines.  These spores
can be dispersed by wind [28] up to 10 miles (17 km) [1].  The spores
germinate on the needles, and use the stomatal openings as a vector to
the bole of the tree.  This usually results in the death of the host
tree [28].

Breeding programs have produced strains that are 65 percent resistant to
intense exposure to white pine blister rust [2].  Selection of naturally
rust-resistant trees for seed sources for natural regeneration and
planting rust-resistant nursery stock may keep future damage from bister
rust minimal [11].  In established stands that are not rust resistant,
thinning tends to increase the number of new lethal infections, while
pruning tends to decrease the number of new lethal infections [18].

Fungi:  Western white pine is susceptible to three species of needle
cast fungi:  Lophodermella arcuata, Lophodermium nitens, and Bifusella
linearis.  It is also susceptible to butt-rot fungi, the most important
being Phellinus pini, Phaeolus schweinitzii, and Heterobasidion annosum
[11].

The most damaging root disease of western white pine is Armillaria spp.,
which causes fading foliage, growth reduction, dead and rotten roots,
and black rhizomorphs, resulting in weakened or dead trees [11,70].
Annosus root disease (Heterobasidion annosum) also causes some mortality
[11].  It spreads radially, infecting an area up to 0.25 acre (0.1 ha)
away from stumps [70].  Treating freshly cut stumps with borax has been
proven effective in preventing the spread of annosus root disease [22].

Insects:  Western white pine is susceptible to mountain pine beetle
(Dendroctonus ponderosae) and emarginate ips (Ips emarginatus), and is
the principal host for the ips beetle (Ips montanus) [11].

Pole blight:  Pole blight is a physiological disorder brought on by
drought.  This disease caused significant mortality from 1935 to 1960.
Tree mortality was believed to have resulted from rootlet mortality,
which reduced western white pine's ability to absorb moisture [11].  The
disease is restricted to sites with shallow soils or soils with low
moisture retention [30].

Other:  Western white pine is sensitive to sulfur dioxide and flouride
smelter fumes.  These contaminants cause the foliage to yellow and drop
prematurely.  Dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium spp.) attacks western white
pine [11].

Silvicultural practices:  The method of choice is clearcutting.
Selection cutting is not practical because it favors more shade-tolerant
species.  The composition of a western white pine stand is determined in
the first 30 years.  Until that time it is fairly plastic, and the stand
can be modified by thinning to enhance western white pine growth [11].

Planting:  Western white pine seedlings are well suited for planting.
Both bareroot and container-grown stock exhibit excellent survival and
growth [11].  When planting seedlings on droughty sites, it is
beneficial to mound the seedbed, as this incorporates organic matter,
increases microbial activity, decreases density, and increases the
moisture capacity of the soil.  This results in increased nutrient
availability for seedling growth and increases root penetration [41].
The soil should be packed lightly around the seedling.  This practice
inceases the growth rate in the first year by up to 30 percent [31].
Seedlings planted in fall have a significantly reduced height growth
compared with those planted in the spring; however, there is little
difference in their survival rates [35].

Nitrogen can be limiting on some sites after harvest.  The application
of nitrogen at 200 pounds per acre (225 kg/ha) has been found to
increase the growth rate of young western white pine stands (less than
10 years old) by 30 percent [37].

Frost tolerance:  When dormant, western white pine is one of the more
frost-tolerant species of the Northwest [36].

Competitors:  Competing vegetation of western white pine can be
effectivly controlled by the application of Roundup herbicide
(isopropylamine salt of glyphosate).  The recommended rate of
application is 1 to 3 quarts (1-3 l) of Roundup to 10 gallons (38 l) of
aqueous solution per acre (0.4 ha).  This treatment had no observable
effects on western white pine [33].

Related categories for Species: Pinus monticola | Western White Pine