08-24-11 Field Note: OHVs, Alder Tongue Galls, White Pine Browse Study, and Insects

Jonathan Carvella's field note discusses a solution to unwanted Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) traffic and the impact of tongue galls on speckled alders.

Posted on 8/24/2011 by Anonymous

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MPG North Field Note August 22-24 Jonathan Carvella

This summer, MPG North received frequent OHV traffic. Motorized vehicles displace wildlife, spread weeds, and degrade roads. We also saw tracks off roads on the property.

We built buck and rail barriers to OHV entrance at major access points on the property. The map above shows barrier locations; the numbers on the map correspond to the images on this page. We tied a rope gate across the road (location (A), map) and will install a metal gate at the main property entrance (location (B), map). Next week, we’ll install signs on the barriers that welcome foot traffic only.

The ascomycete Taphrina robinsoniana induces tongue gall formation (image 6) on speckled alders (Alnus incana ssp. rugosa). The fungus reduces seed production but causes no further harm to the plant. The tongue galls persist on the tree throughout the winter and hang on during successive seasons. This alder (image 7) displayed three seasons of old galls (image 8).

The white pines planted last year to learn about fertilizer effects on deer browsing (2009 project proposal and 061510 field note ), continue to thrive, but the seedlings fertilized at planting showed little difference in foliar nutrients this summer. This week we supplemented the treatment trees with 12-6-12 fertilizer to boost foliar nutrients. Control trees received an equal amount of water without fertilizer. This fall we will remove the exclosures and start the study.

An animal dug up these yellow jacket (Vespula vulgaris) nests last week. Yellow jackets build multi layered nests that can contain thousands of individuals—and their nutritious larvae. A black bear is the likely culprit.

15.Pine White Butterfly (Neophasia menapia) on a Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) 16.Pacific Spiketail (Cordulegaster dorsalis) 17.Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala) 18.Marbled Orbweaver (Araneus marmoreus) and its meal—a large crane fly (Family Tipulidae) 19.Striped Meadowhawk (Sympetrum pallipes) on timothy grass (Phleum pretense)

We used our Big Shot Slingshot to launch lines into local trees to collect cones for future plantings. We collected from white pine, Douglas-fir, spruce, larch, lodgepole pine and ponderosa pine.

Work Completed White pine fertilization for browsing project Buck & rail construction Cone collection Road maintenance assess- ment Plant field guide photos Camera maintenance Exclosure repairs

About MPG North

Established in 2005, the property boundary at MPG North encloses 200 undeveloped acres in Western Montana’s Swan Valley. Researchers and field staff manage the property to improve habitat quality for wildlife, discover new ways to restore damaged landscapes and study forest ecology. We also create opportunities to share what we've learned with local conservation organizations, students of all ages, management agencies and volunteers. Through these education and outreach efforts, we seek to inspire others to work together and protect undeveloped landscapes.