View source for Biology:Willamette Valley ponderosa pine

{{Short description|Population of conifer}}
{{Population taxobox
|genus = Pinus
|species = ponderosa
|population = Willamette&nbsp;Valley ponderosa pine
}}

The '''Willamette Valley ponderosa pine''' is a population of the ponderosa pine (''[[Biology:Pinus ponderosa|Pinus ponderosa]]'') native to the Willamette Valley in Oregon.  It is adapted for Western Oregon's wet winter and dry summer.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

==History==
The Willamette Valley ponderosa variant only grows on the valley floor, unlike the Douglas-fir, which grows on hillsides, and the wood is softer and easier to mill than the native hardwoods.<ref name=Lifeline>{{cite news |url= http://www.hcn.org/issues/44.5/loggers-give-unique-oregon-ponderosa-pine-a-lifeline |title= Loggers Give Unique Oregon Ponderosa Pine a Lifeline |first= Catherine |last= Ryan |date= March 28, 2012 |newspaper= High Country News |access-date= March 12, 2015}}</ref> Because of this, when early settlers used wood from the trees to build homes and cleared land for agriculture, the population was "decimated".<ref name=Lifeline/> Prior to restoration efforts, the pine survived only in scattered stands between Hillsboro and Cottage Grove.<ref name=Lifeline/> The [[Biology:Lewis's woodpecker|Lewis's woodpecker]] and the slender-billed nuthatch (a subspecies of the white-breasted nuthatch) nest in the tree and rely on it for food–their populations were reduced along with that of the pine.<ref name=Lifeline/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://cedarmill.org/news/archive/606/valley_ponderosa.html The Nature of Cedar Mill: Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine]
* {{cite web |title=Ponderosa Returns to the Willamette Valley |url=http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/node/1080 |publisher=OSU Extension Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402142945/https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/node/1080 |archive-date=2 Apr 2015 |url-status=dead}}
*[http://extension.oregonstate.edu/mwm/sp11fhbarkbeetles Bark Beetles and Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine: Populations, Geographical Distribution and Management Recommendations]
*[https://www.westernforestry.org/wvppca/ Willamette Valley Ponderosa Pine Conservation Association]

[[Category:Pinus]]



{{Sourceattribution|Willamette Valley ponderosa pine}}