Dear Connie. One of our esteemed colleagues, here in RG, Rui Elias, is a well known young researcher and Professor in the University of the Azores. I am sure he might be helpful in your research and I strogly suggest you contact him since most of his past and presente work is precisely devoted to Juniperus sp.

Best regards and good luck,

JP

First a bias--with the exception of endangered species, I think we must be very careful about assisted migration in general. Man's attempts to engineer nature often, if not usually, have unintended consequences as evidenced by many, many invasive species. As far as Juniperus deppeana is concerned, I have seen little evidence yet that the species is in trouble in its Arizona range. It is definitely far from endangered. In my study area in the Santa Catalina Mountains, there has been some die-off of old trees during our current drought (since the late 1990s). But there has certainly been no change in the range of the species in the mountains in southern Arizona. Recently I helped voucher a specimen in the Catalinas at 2750 feet elevation, a good 2000 feet lower than I ever would have expected it. (The individual had two 60 cm diameter trunks arising from a base about 120 cm in diameter, so it has been in this canyon bottom for several hundred years.) Recruitment seems pretty limited, not surprising given that trees live for hundreds of years, but there is a wide range of age classes. Recently I make a point of looking for young trees under 2 m high and found that although numbers are limited, there are several distinct height groups--roughly 10 cm, 30 cm, 60 cm, 90 cm, etc. The number of individuals in these groups was remarkably similar (3-6). My impression is that germination is dependent on particular climate conditions (i.e., wet periods), the latest here being in 2006, in the middle of the drought. The 10 cm plants may have germinated in 2006, but I must admit I don't have a good idea of how slowly trees grow.

Dear Connie. I insist you should contact our colleague Rui B. Elias ([email protected]). He'll be a valuable contact for your research.

Best regards and good work,

JP

Followup to Charles B: Great info! I will be in Tucson for 1 day, April 6, as my husband is giving a church talk that morn and aft to promote climate action. Are you available to take me on a hike to see that magnificent juniper? Prescott College folks will take me on a reverential hike to the champion Allig Jun in Prescott area on April 13. Alligator Juniper will be episode 4 in my 2014 videoblog series on youtube, "Climate, Trees, and Legacy" (episodes 1 and 2 are available thus far). So I would be grateful to include photos and commentary from a hike with you. If interested, please email me at Connie at thegreatstory dot org.