Aspen [Chapter 3]

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is the most widely distributed broadleaf tree in North American (Little 1971; Sargent 1890). Aspen forests occur from Labrador on the east coast to Alaska in the north to Mexico in the south. In its eastern range, aspen is relatively continuously distributed. In the western United States, however, it occurs on the more suitable sites on mountains and high plateaus (Jones 1985). On xeric sites, it is found primarily in riparian zones. Most western aspen occur on public lands and exist as pure clones, successional to conifer, or as small-scattered decadent groves. At least 75 percent of aspen in the western United States occurs in two states, Utah and Colorado. Almost 25 percent of Utah’s forests are aspen (Mueggler 1988).