Editing Pinus longaeva (section)

==Distribution and ecology==
[[File:GBBP_distribution_map.png|thumb|left|upright|''Pinus longaeva'' distribution map<ref name=":0" /> (click map to enlarge)]]
The species occurs in [[Utah]], [[Nevada]] and eastern [[California]]. In California, it is restricted to the [[White Mountains (California)|White Mountains]], the [[Inyo Mountains]], and the [[Panamint Range]], in [[Mono County|Mono]] and [[Inyo County|Inyo]] counties. In Nevada, it is found in most of the higher ranges of the [[Basin and Range Province|Basin and Range]] from the [[Spring Mountains]] near [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] north to the [[Ruby Mountains]], and in Utah, northeast to South Tent in the [[Wasatch Range]]. Due to the inaccessibility of many of the sites that this species occupies, information on their location and abundance is incomplete, and thus is needed.  [[Environmental niche modelling]] has been used to better map the distribution of Great Basin bristlecone pine using topographic and spectral variables calculated from a [[geographic information system]] (GIS).<ref name=":0">{{Cite thesis|last=Gray|first=Curtis|title=Impact of Climate Variability on the Frequency and Severity of Ecological Disturbances in Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Sky Island Ecosystems|date=2017|publisher=Utah State University|url=https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/6529/|language=en|access-date=2018-11-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207045541/https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/6529/|archive-date=2018-12-07|url-status=live}}</ref>

The tree grows in large open stands, unlike the related [[foxtail pine]], which sometimes form dense forests. ''Pinus longaeva'' trees generally do not form closed canopies, usually covering only 15-50%.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> ''Pinus longaeva'' shares habitats with a number of other pine species, including the [[ponderosa pine]], the [[white fir]] and, notably, the [[limber pine]], a similarly long-lived high-elevation species.<ref name="FEIS"/> The tree is a "vigorous" [[primary succession]] species, growing quickly on new open ground.<ref name="FEIS"/> It is a "poor competitor" in good soils, however, and the species does best in harsh terrain. ''Pinus longaeva'' is often the dominant species in high-elevation dolomite soils, where few plants can grow.<ref name="FEIS"/>

[[Image:Bristlecone hillside.jpg|thumb|left|Bristlecones on dolomite hillside, [[Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest]]]]
Bristlecone pines are protected in a number of areas owned by the United States federal government, such as the [[Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest]] in the [[White Mountains (California)|White Mountains]] of California and the [[Great Basin National Park]] in Nevada.<ref name=Sonic/><ref name="Global">{{cite web|url=http://www.globaltrees.org|title=Global Trees Campaign|date=March 2008|access-date=30 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711113113/http://globaltrees.org/|archive-date=11 July 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> These areas prohibit the cutting or gathering of wood.<ref name=Global/>

[[Clark's nutcracker]]s may play a role in seed distribution for ''P. longaeva'', though direct observations of the birds foraging on these seeds have not been reported.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lanner |first1=Ronald M. |last2=Hutchins |first2=Harry E. |last3=Lanner |first3=Harriette A. |date=1984 |title=Bristlecone Pine and Clark's Nutcracker: Probable Interaction in the White Mountains, California |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41712083 |journal=The Great Basin Naturalist |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=357–360 |jstor=41712083 |issn=0017-3614}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Lanner |first=Ronald M. |date=1988 |title=Dependence of Great Basin Bristlecone Pine on Clark's Nutcracker for Regeneration at High Elevations |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1551268 |journal=Arctic and Alpine Research |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=358–362 |doi=10.2307/1551268 |jstor=1551268 |issn=0004-0851|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The nutcrackers use conifer seeds as a food resource, storing many for later use in the ground, and some of these stored seeds are not used and are able to grow into new plants; these trees often exhibit a "multi-trunk" growth form from several seeds germinating at the same time. The prevalence of multi-trunk ''P. longaeva'' individuals in areas in which Clark's Nutcrackers are present has been used as evidence that the birds disperse ''P. longaeva'' seeds.<ref name=":1" />

An introduced fungal disease known as white pine blister rust (''[[Cronartium ribicola]]'') is believed to affect some individuals. The species was placed on the [[IUCN Red List]] and listed as "Vulnerable", or [[threatened species|threatened]], in 1998.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> In 2011, however, a population survey found the population of ''Pinus longaeva'' to be stable, with no known subpopulations decreasing in size. White pine blister rust was found to have a negligible effect on the population. As a result, the species was moved to "Least Concern".<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />

===Fire ecology===
[[Image:Bristlecone CA.JPG|thumb|Bristlecone pine, [[White Mountains (California)|White Mountains]], California]]
The tree is extremely susceptible to fire, and is damaged by even low-intensity burns. The resinous bark is capable of igniting quickly, and a crown fire will almost certainly kill the tree. However, populations of ''Pinus longaeva'' are known to be extremely resilient, and as a primary succession species, it is believed that populations of the tree would reestablish itself quickly after a fire. That said, large-scale fires are extremely uncommon where the species grows, and are not a major factor in the species' long-term viability.<ref name="FEIS"/>  Historically, ''Pinus longaeva'' stands experienced low to high severity fires, and fuels structures changed considerably across elevational gradients. In low elevation, mixed species stands, fuels are often heavy and in close proximity to anthropogenic ignition sources. Yet at high elevations near [[Tree line|treeline]], ''Pinus longaeva'' typically grow on limestone outcroppings that provide little or no surface fuels to propagate a [[wildfire]]. However, warmer temperatures will likely increase the duration of fire season, and thus the frequency of fire in ''Pinus longeava'' systems at low and mid elevations could increase where stands are typically denser and surface fuel is greatest. While rare, wild fires such as The [[Carpenter 1 Fire|Carpenter 1 fire]] in southern Nevada (July 2013) and the Phillips Fire in [[Great Basin National Park]], (September 2000) that started in lower elevation fuel types and moved through the crowns of trees with the aid of extreme fire weather, could become more likely.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gray|first=C|date=2017-05-15|title=Climate warming alters fuels across elevational gradients in Great Basin bristlecone pine-dominated sky island forests|journal=Forest Ecology and Management|language=en|volume=392|pages=125–136|doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2017.03.004|issn=0378-1127|doi-access=free|bibcode=2017ForEM.392..125G}}</ref>