The Whitebark Pine is important to its ecosystem because it provides homes and shelter for other species. It also serves as a food source for many species too. The pine is a common pioneer species and also has a rather large role in the ecosystem. The Whitebark assists many plants in the successions and growths of their species. In the article it states this happens by having the Whitebark’s seeds spread around the area by Clark’s Nutcracker birds (Tomback 1982, Hutchins and Lanner 1982 in Why Whitebark Pine Matters). An important role the Whitebark plays in people’s lives is how it keeps the runoff from heavy rain and melting snow under control. The trees canopy provides shade to delay some of the snow’s melting so it’s more dispersed and not all at once (Farnes 1990 in Why Whitebark Pine Matters).…show more content… One of those things happen to be a fungal disease called White Pine Blister Rust. This disease has become a huge issue, causing the tree to have a 50%+ mortality rate (Kendall and Keane, 2001 in Threats). Another culprit of the Whitebark Pine deaths are the Mountain Pine Beetles. These bugs destroy the trees from the inside out, eventually killing them. With rising temperatures due to climate change, pine beetles are able to reproduce for longer and their populations increase. This rapid growth of the beetle population is in direct correlation to the decrease of the Whitebark Tree population. These bugs burrow in the trees and completely overtake them, causing them to die (Strain 2012 in Climate Change Sends Beetles Into
