Mount Rainier National Park

Clark’s nutcrackers favor the seeds of whitebark pines, which they cache in great numbers. Whitebark pines are largely dependent on nutcrackers for seed dispersal; many cached seeds are not retrieved and go on to germinate. The tree is in decline due to native bark beetles, a non-native fungus…

The study examines evidence of early plant species and fire events found in lake cores. The sediments of park lakes preserve the charcoal and pollen from both fires and plants going back almost 10,000 years.

A study of the interaction of climate change and competition in the establishment and growth of three common tree species at Mount Rainier; western hemlock, mountain hemlock and Pacific silver fir.