Population Monitoring of Packera castoreus

Authors

Autumn Gudmundsen, Brigham Young University - ProvoFollow
Madison Huie, Brigham Young University - Provo
Steve Flinders, Fishlake National Forest
Loreen Allphin, Brigham Young University, Provo, UTFollow

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Keywords

rare plant, alpine, monitoring, conservation

Abstract

Packera castoreus is a rare flowering plant, endemic to high elevations in the Belknap volcanic substrates of the Tushar Mountains of Utah (fig.1 & 2).

• The species has been classified as high priority for monitoring and conservation by the Utah Native Plant Society.1

There have been conservation concerns for rare alpine species recently due to increased threats, primarily:

• Grazing from large ungulates (mountain goats, deer, & elk)2
• Human impacts (especially hiking)1
• Climate change1

To better understand the impacts of these various threats on P. castoreus, we monitored populations from 2018-2022 and assessed plant morphology, community composition, and population data.
This data is part of a larger project on rare plant communities in the Tushars and provides analysis of one of the plant species of the project’s focus.

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Gudmundsen, Autumn; Huie, Madison; Flinders, Steve; and Allphin, Loreen, "Population Monitoring of Packera castoreus" (2025). Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025. 20.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/library_studentposters_2025/20

Document Type

Book

Publication Date

2025

Language

English

College

Life Sciences

Department

Plant and Wildlife Sciences

University Standing at Time of Publication

Senior

Copyright Use Information

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