White Pines & White Pine Blister Rust Research

Project Scientist: Patricia Maloney

White pine diversity is unique to California with six of the ten North American species distributed across the State's coastal and interior forests, from low elevation to subalpine ecosystems.  All six species are host to the non-native pathogen, Cronartium ribicola J.C. Fisch., causal agent of white pine blister rust.

Our research team is taking an ecological and genetic approach to better understand the interactions of disease pressure, environment  (biotic, climate, soil, geology, physiognomy, fire, and land-use) and evolutionary processes (adaptation, gene flow, selection, and drift) on the population dynamics of white pine species in California.  We are also actively involved in resource and genetic conservation of white pine species in California and Nevada.