Five-needle white pine species provide important ecosystem services throughout the western U.S., and many of these species have become susceptible to stressors including warmer temperatures, insect epidemics, nonnative disease, and altered disturbance regimes. The objective of this study was to characterize recent broad-scale demographic patterns, including species abundance (i.e., numbers of individuals, tree density, size-class distributions, recruitment, growth rates, mortality rates, and causes of mortality, for the six species of five-needle pine that occur in the western US. We used the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) dataset, spanning greater than 10 years, to quantify demographic status and trends for each species. FIA data were compiled from a probabilistic sample design and consistent analysis framework that included not only the dominant community types of five-needle pines, but also all other forest community types, which have previously been demonstrated to encompass abundant regeneration of five-needle pine species. Our analysis revealed similar trends for whitebark and limber pines: both species exhibited increased levels of mortality that are occurring faster than growth of surviving trees, as well as abundant regeneration in forest types that are not dominated by five-needle pines. Although limber pine has experienced lower mortality rates than whitebark pine, it nonetheless showed signs of decline that are comparable to broad-scale indicators exhibited by whitebark pine 10 years prior. In contrast to whitebark and limber pines, Great Basin bristlecone and foxtail pine mortality rates were relatively low, and their populations exhibited a flat diameter distribution except for restricted recruitment from seedling to sapling size-classes. Our findings suggest that five-needle white pine species would benefit not only from increased seedling recruitment, but also from enhanced recruitment among older and larger age and size classes. Thus, it may be important to apply a variety of management strategies – including artificial regeneration with disease-resistant seedlings, direct seeding, and early intervention to decrease competition that may allow natural regeneration to achieve recruitment inter large size-classes – and also apply silviculture techniques to forest types that may be dominated by other species. The consistent monitoring conducted by FIA can allow future assessment of the demographic trajectory of each five-needle pine species, and thus can help prioritize management and restoration priorities, both within communities dominated by five-needle pines and in other community types that may be important targets for silvicultural interventions or restoration treatments.

五针白松树种在整个美国西部提供重要的生态系统服务，其中许多树种已经变得容易受到压力因素的影响，包括温度升高、昆虫流行、非本地疾病和干扰机制改变。本研究的目的是描述最近的大尺度人口统计模式，包括六种物种的物种丰度（即个体数量、树木密度、大小等级分布、补充、生长率、死亡率和死亡原因）生长在美国西部的五针松。我们使用美国林务局的森林清单和分析 (FIA) 数据集，跨越超过 10 年，量化每个物种的人口统计状况和趋势。FIA 数据是根据概率样本设计和一致的分析框架编制的，该框架不仅包括五针松的主要群落类型，还包括所有其他森林群落类型，这些类型之前已被证明包含五针松物种的大量再生. 我们的分析揭示了白皮松和椴树松的类似趋势：这两个物种的死亡率增加水平高于幸存树木的生长速度，并且在不以五针松为主的森林类型中具有丰富的再生能力。尽管柏树的死亡率低于白皮松，但它仍显示出下降的迹象，与 10 年前白皮松表现出的广泛指标相当。与白皮松和软松相比，大盆地狐尾松和狐尾松死亡率相对较低，除了从幼苗到树苗大小等级的限制补充外，它们的种群表现出平坦的直径分布。我们的研究结果表明，五针白松树种不仅会受益于幼苗补充的增加，而且还会受益于年龄较大、年龄和规格等级较大的幼苗补充。因此，应用各种管理策略可能很重要——包括用抗病苗人工再生、直接播种和早期干预以减少竞争，这可能允许自然再生实现大规格级之间的补充——并应用造林可能由其他物种主导的森林类型的技术。