Golden Aspen Trees - a photo on Flickriver

Golden Aspen Trees

Golden Gate Canyon State Park (Rocky Mountains, Colorado).

Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section Populus, of the poplar genus.
All of the aspens typically grow in large clonal colonies, derived from a single seedling, and spread by means of root suckers; new stems in the colony may appear at up to 30–40 m (98–130 ft) from the parent tree. Each individual tree can live for 40–150 years above ground, but the root system of the colony is long-lived. In some cases, this is for thousands of years, sending up new trunks as the older trunks die off above ground. For this reason, it is considered to be an indicator of ancient woodlands. One such colony in Utah, given the nickname of "Pando", is estimated to be 80,000 years old, making it possibly the oldest living colony of aspens. Some aspen colonies become very large with time, spreading about 1 m (3.3 ft) per year, eventually covering many hectares. They are able to survive forest fires, because the roots are below the heat of the fire, with new sprouts growing after the fire burns out.

Aspens do not thrive in the shade, and it is difficult for seedlings to grow in an already mature aspen stand. Fire indirectly benefits aspen trees, since it allows the saplings to flourish in open sunlight in the burned landscape. Lately, aspens have an increased popularity in forestry, mostly because of their fast growth rate and ability to regenerate from sprouts, making the reforestation after harvesting much cheaper, since no planting or sowing is required.

In contrast with many trees, aspen bark is base-rich, meaning aspens are important hosts for bryophytes and act as food plants for the larvae of butterfly (Lepidoptera) species—see List of Lepidoptera that feed on poplars.

Young aspen bark is an important seasonal forage for the European hare and other animals in early spring. Aspen is also a tree of choice of the European beaver.(Wikipedia)

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© 2013 Ursula Sander - All rights reserved

Taken in: United States / Colorado / Gilpin (show map)

Taken on: October 3, 2013

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Camera: Canon PowerShot G11, f/4.0, 1/500 sec, 9.8mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot G11
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Focal Length:	9.8mm
ISO:	80
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Scene Capture Type:	Landscape
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 7.0
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