Pando: Documenting a tree that redefines what a tree can be

Lance Oditt
National Forest
Fri, 20 Sep 2024 18:47 UTC

© Lance Oditt

A green outline indicates the approximate boundaries of Pando, a 106-acre aspen tree located in Fishlake National Forest in Utah.

In the high wilds of Southern Utah in the Fishlake National Forest stands Pando, a 106-acre aspen tree that is the largest, heaviest and, very likely, the oldest tree on earth. Comprised of over 40,000 stems that appear on first glance to be individual trees, each branch of Pando is in fact, a genetically identical part of the same tree connected by a vast underlying root system that could span some 12,000 miles if laid end-to-end according to rapid field estimates by scientist Paul Rogers. Weighing in at 13.2 million pounds, Pando is the largest tree by weight, three to five times larger than the largest known redwoods. Although Pando cannot be aged using current techniques, most scientists agree that the Pando seed set down sometime between 8,000 and 12,000 years ago when climate currents in the region shifted at the end of the last ice age. The largest, the heaviest and likely the oldest tree, above ground and below, Pando redefines what a tree is or, can be. It serves as an extraordinary reminder that there is much we have to learn about the planet we call home.

Documenting Pando

© Tonia Lewis

Lead Photographer Lance Oditt trains students Ngawang Salaka, Tiesha Smith and Carson Utley for the Pando Photographic Survey.

Despite being the world's largest tree, to date, we have lacked a detailed and comprehensive photographic record of Pando and the land it calls home. This summer, working as stewardship partners with Fishlake National Forest, the volunteer-led Friends of Pando worked to create the first comprehensive visual scientific record of Pando. A systematic and detailed account of the tree that scientists can use to study Pando and which can be replicated so the tree can be monitored for generations to come. Employing 25 volunteer students and citizen scientists aged 13-69 years old, the Pando Photographic Survey documented over 8,000 locations of Pando using high-resolution 360-degree cameras. A record Friends of Pando is now beginning to process so that it can be made freely available for study. A record we will also use to educate the public via immersive interactive engagements.

The Challenges Ahead

© Lance Oditt

The full moon illuminates Pando’s branches in late summer. One of a number of mysteries we have yet to fully understand, Pando’s bark contains chlorophyll allowing it to produce energy without its leaves in winter and in low light conditions.

As the Pando Photographic Survey is the largest picture of a tree ever taken, I have often been asked about the most difficult aspect of this project. Cameras are fussy, weather disrupts progress and people make mistakes, none of which I find newsworthy. What I do find newsworthy is this: Research suggests the tree is shrinking due to over-browsing by ungulates and Pando is struggling to fight off three diseases commonly found in aspen. Large scale problems neither the Forest Service nor independent researchers can solve alone. These are challenges that indicate it will involve generations of research, collaboration and stewardship to protect Pando. Until now, Pando has not had the support of a group dedicated to the tree's wellbeing. It is Friends of the Pando's hope and aspiration that, while working alongside the Forest Service, we can educate the public, support research and inspire stewardship so that the tree can be preserved and celebrated for generations to come.

Comment: More on the remarkable organism that is the aspen:

It's hard to decide what is most memorable about aspen: the vibrant yellow in the fall, the tall, tube-like clusters of white stands or the sound of the "quaking" leaves. Regardless of what comes to mind when you think of aspens, they hold the title of the most widespread tree in North America. From the Midwest, across Canada, north into Alaska and across the West through to Arizona and New Mexico, quaking aspens dot the edge of conifer forests in clusters or "clones."

One aspen tree is actually only a small part of a larger organism. A stand or group of aspen trees is considered a singular organism with the main life force underground in the extensive root system. Before a single aspen trunk appears above the surface, the root system may lie dormant for many years until the conditions are just right, including sufficient sunlight. In a single stand, each tree is a genetic replicate of the other, hence the name a "clone" of aspens used to describe a stand.

Older than the massive Sequoias or the biblical Bristlecone Pines, the oldest known aspen clone has lived more than 80,000 years on Utah's Fishlake National Forest. Not only is the clone the oldest living organism, weighing in at an estimated 6,600 tons, it is also the heaviest. Even if the trees of a stand are wiped out, it is very difficult to permanently extinguish an aspen's root system due to the rapid rate in which it reproduces.

Among swaths of dark green conifers, the deciduous aspen stands thrive in a variety of environments. Aspens quickly colonize recently burned or bare areas to establish a stand of young trees given the proper conditions. They prefer moist soil but can survive near springs in desert conditions. Of the many variables for a healthy clone of aspens, the one that cannot waver is the need for abundant sunshine.

Aspens grow all the time — even in winter. Beneath the thin, white outer bark layer is a thin green photosynthetic layer that allows the tree to create sugars and grow when other deciduous trees would otherwise be dormant. During hard winters, the green, sugary layer provides necessary nutrients for deer and elk. Throughout the year, young aspens provide food or a variety of animals including moose, black bear, beaver, porcupine, ruffed grouse and rodents .

Although a soft wood, aspen is relatively strong and has been used in unique ways.

• Matches - aspen wood is not as flammable as other species
• Saunas - aspen wood does not splinter easily
• Chopsticks - aspen is flexible and strong for your next tasty eggroll.
• Ailments - historically used because aspen contains salicylates, chemicals similar to aspirin

Today, many places in the West have seen diebacks of aspen. In areas where grass is limited, deer and other ungulates are heavily feeding on young aspens, preventing the trees and clone from reaching maturity.