Managing Southwestern Piiion-Juniper
Woodlands: The Past Half Century
and the Future
Elbert L. Little, ~ r . '
-
Abstract
The dominant species in southwestern pinon-juniper woodlands
is pilion or twoleaf pilion (Pinus edulis Engelm.). Though productivity is low
because of low precipitation, this type is very important because of its vast
acreage and increasing demands. A great change in management during
the 1950's and 1960's was eradication of trees on several million acres.
Subjects of high priority among the research needs for managing
southwestern pinon-juniper woodlands include: preparation of a new
bibliography; a new forest survey or inventory; annual pifion nut forecasts;
establishment of small pifion arboretums or orchards; a new economic
analysis; harvesting pinon nuts; shelling pinon nuts; and marketing pinon
nuts.
The lively discussion on research needs suitably ended this
Symposium. Interested persons can look forward to additional
symposia and the valuable volumes with summaries of m n t
research. I wish to share my unique opportunity to obseme
piiion-juniper woodlands in southwestern United States for more
than a half centuxy, after four years of basic field research there
(1937-41). Several subjects of high priority among the many
research needs proposed at the Symposium will be discussed
here. This article follows mine at the 1991 Symposium (Little,
1991).
The dominant species in the piiion-juniper woodland of New
Mexico and Arizona, piiion or twoleaf p h n (Pinus edulis
Engelm.) is associated with four species of juniper (Juniperus).
In the Great Basin of Utah, Nevada, and eastern and southern
California, singleleaf piiion (Pinus monophylla Ton: & Frdm.)
is dominant. This mar@ woodland of small evergreen conifers
occupies an altitudinal climatic zone below the commercial
humid forests of pines and other conifers in high mountains and
the semiarid grasslands and shrub vegetation of low plains. The
term juniper-paon woodland is also appropriate, because
junipers extend beyond pifions to great expanses in the
Northwest. These two distinct species are the only pine species
native in the United States that are commercially important for
their edible seeds. They differ in forest management as well as
'
Dendrologjst (retired), USDA Forest S e ~ c e Washington,
,
D.C.,
and Research Associate, Dept. of Botany, Smitbsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C.
in nuts commercially, such as size, shell thickness, and taste.
The small nut of Pinus edulis high in oil content produces a
taste suggesting bacon when toasted and is preferred by most
persons to the mealy nuts of other species. Two to four other
species of piiions native in southwestern United States have
small ranges and produce no commercial nuts.
This marginal piiion-juniper woodland type is of low
productivity because of low precipitation. However, it is very
important because of its vast acreage and increasing demands
from expandmg local populations. Under multiple use, piiIon
nuts are a valuable renewable natural resource.
"Managmg woodlands for piilon nuts" was the title of a
botanical note published more than a half century ago (Little,
1941). Progress has been slow. Durrng and soon after World
War 11, pifion nut harvests declined somewhat, apparently
because of shortage of pickers. Eradication of several million
acres of woodlands, discussed below, reduced harvests. Now,
annual harvests appear to be back to normal.
In the United States, p&n (mostly Pinus edulis) is the native
nut of greatest economic importance for its harvest from wholly
wild trees, Because of low values and high costs, introduction
into cultivation of this small tree of slow growth adapted to
semiarid regions seems impractical. Pifion should not be
compared with pecan (Carya illinoensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch),
another native tree of humid regions widespread in cultivation
and even inigated in southern Arizona However, slight incmse
in piiion nut production may be possible through management
of wild trees on good sites. Silvicultutal treatments include
thinning by removal of less productive trees, pruning, addition
of chemical fertilizers, and control of runoff water through
ditches to trees, Possibly, superior tree seedlings could be planted
in openings, though commercial nut production may be 75 or
more years distant.
Watershed and Air Management is the staff in which
piiion-juniper woodlands on National Forests in the
Southwest have been placed. The first goal of management
of wild lands is soil conservation, including saving topsoil,
reduction of accelerated erosion, control of flood waters, and
improvement of water quality and yield. I learned this
principle in two years (1935-37) of watershed management
research at Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest (Parker Creek)
on the Tonto National Forest in central Arizona. Much erosion
control was accomplished by the Civilian Conservation Corps
in the decade beginning in 1933. Some gullies still may need
erosion control by rock check dams and piling of brush.
Reduction in numbers of livestock may be desirable where
grazing is heavy.
The great change in management of piflon-juniper
woodlands during the 1950's and 1960's was eradication of
trees on several million acres of better sites on the National
Forests and other public lands over the Southwest and Great
Basin regions (Arnold, Jameson, Reid, 1964). The case
against eradication has been summarized by Eanner (1981,
Ch. 12). "Broken Treaty at Battle Mountain," the film
narrated by Robert Redford A d shown at this Symposium,
vividly records the destruction of large junipers by chaining.
The false, unscientific excuse was that this eradxation was
"control" of "invasion." However, this woodland is a
climatic climax type, and the mature trees destroyed were one
or two centuries old, not invaders of grasslands. Two
questions are whether this conversion was cost effective and
whether it is temporary. Junipers have invaded some areas of
grasslands following grazing by domestic livestock. However,
reports of invasion by piiions probably refer to
reestablishment of piiions in areas cut for mine timbers and
fuelwood long ago. Any future proposals for clearcutting and
conversion should have thorough review, including
preparation of environmental impact statements and approval
by conservation groups. Continuing assurance is needed from
land managers that some piiion-juniper woodlands will be
managed for multiple use includmg piiion nuts. Further
eradication of piiion, New Mexico's state tree, on public lands
must not be permitted!
Convetsion was the subject of a detailed study by the USDA
Forest Service on the Beaver Creek watershed in central
Arizona. It was concluded that removal of piiion-juniper did not
increase water yield (Clw, Baker, O'Connell, 1974).
The question of fire in management of piiion-juniper
woodlands used partly for livestock grazing has been raised in
recent years. Genedy, fm damage to mes has been minor
because of their wide spacing, especially at lower altitudes. No
burning (with rare fire outbreaks) usually is preferred over
uncontrolled fire. However, at higher altitudes, the tree stands
may become dense for forage and piiron nut production. More
research is desired to determine whether prescribed burning is
practicable on lands managed under multiple use.
A new bibliogaphy or compilation of new references on piiions
and junipers is b u d , though numemus publications during the
past half cenhuy are listed in bibliographies and cited in symposium
volumes. Three publications available at this Symposium merit
specla1 mention Lanner (1981) has p q a d an interesting natural
and cultural histo~yof piilon with a detailed bibliography. ccSSva
of North America" contains chapters on Pims edulis by Ronco
(1991) and Pims mnophylla by Meeuwig, Budy, and Everett
(1991), both with literature cited
A new forest survey, inventoIy, or compilation of public lands
in the Southwest is needed to determine ownership, composition,
areas of potential piiion nut production, present management,
and future plans. Areas eradicated and converted into grasslad
should be mapped as excluded fi-om piiron nut production
Annual piilon nut forecasts should be published, based on
summer surveys of public lands in the Southwest to locate areas
with commercial cone crops. These informal surveys to aid
pickers began in 1938 were continued for about ten years. There
is a commercial crop of piiion nuts somewhere in the Southwest
eveIy autumn. The simplest way to increase the harvest is to
pay the pickers more. Of lower priority is forecast of cone crops
two years in advance by correlation with weather conditions in
late summer, the time of formation of earliest microscopic stages
(primordia) of cones.
Small arboretums or orchards of piiions and other nut pines
should be established in both New Mexico and Arizona to
determine the best adapted species and varieties. These could
be small groves near ranger stations. The only similar collection
of living piiions is at the Institute of Forest Genetics, USDA
Forest Service, near Placerville, CA. Those trees have borne
cones and have been crossed. (I brought fresh specimens to the
Reno Symposium, Jan. 1986.) If I had started similar groves 55
years ago, the trees now would show differences in xate of
growth and adaptation
A new economic analysis of the piiion nut industry is desired.
Subjects to be Mewed include fees charged to pickers, methods
of harvesting piilon nuts, shelling piilon nuts, marketing
including packaging and advertising, and competition from
imported nuts.
Hawesting piiion nuts needs further study. At present, the
Bureau of Land Management charges pickers a small fee per
pound for nuts of slngleleaf pifbn in the Great Basin region.
The USDA Forest Sewice has no similar fees. Harvesting of
Pinus monophylla is by closed cones in the trees in early autumn,
as illustrated in the film showed at the Symposium, "Broken
Treaty at Battle Mountain," narrated by Robert Redford.
Most harvesting of Pinus edulis is by individual seeds on the
ground with fingers of both hands. At 1 seed a second and up
to 1800 seeds in a pound, a person can pick up to 2 p o d s an
hour where nuts are thick, not includmg travel time or cost.
Hawesting of mature closed cones could be tested during the
month of September and perhaps end of August. Incidentally,
these cones are very resinous or sticky, but the resin can be
removed with powdered borax mixed with water as needed.
During the month of October the cones (with resin) dry and
open their scales to shed the seeds by gravity. Then the seeds
can be picked from the ground until winter or until harvest by
wildlife. Pinus edulis has smaller cones than Pinus monophylla,
with fewer, smaller nuts, roughly 20 to a cone. Most closed
cones could be picked with a pruning pole or hook or from a
stepladder or longer ladder, though tree climbing could be tried.
Raking or sweeping the nuts on the ground into piles could be
followed by sifting with a frame of coarse screen, then
rescattering of litter. Before the nuts fall, a plastic sheet could
be placed on the ground, and then the branches beaten with
poles or shaken to release the seeds. (A small truck with bucket
11% suggested in one article, seems impractical on rough ground
as well as expensive.) My suggestion is to develop a portable
vacuum cleaner to pick up nuts from the ground.A rechargeable
battery and a screen to sepamte out most needle litter and trash
would be needed.
A machine for shelling piiion nuts was invented by one dealer
in Albuquerque in the 1930's. After the dealer's death, this
machine was acquired by another local company. Similar
shellers could be adapted from those for other nuts and seeds
or for pine nuts in other countries. Some imported nuts may be
shelled partly by cheap hand labor. The simplest way to crack
nuts of Pinus edulis with the teeth or a hammer is by pressure
from the ends. The shell collapses and breaks into pieces without
damage to the nutmeat. One nut cracker sold for home use has
the shape of the letter V and grooves for holding a nut with
thumb and finger while pressure is applied. At the 1991
symposium I described and demonstrated the Little Pifion
Nutcracker (Little, 1991). It consists of pliers with a block of
wood about 318-112 inch square and about 1inch long (or 2 short
pencils) fastened within by a rubber band. The nut held between
thumb and finger is cracked by pressure from closing jaws f
pliers.
Studies in marketing, including packaging and advertising,
can be done by specialists in those fields. Piiion nuts, among
the smallest of commercial nuts and a wholly wild crop, cannot
be produced as cheaply as commercial nut crops. For example,
peanuts are harvested in billions of pounds annually, instead of
millions, at much lower costs and with government subsidy to
growers. M o n nuts have three main markets: local residents,
tourists, and luxuty nut stores, such as at airports.
Irregularity of pifbn nut crops is a problem in marketing,
involving storage and treatment as a commodity to obtain loans
and to keep prices stable. As noted before, there is a commercial
crop of pifion nuts somewhere in the Southwest every autumn.
Also, the simplest way to i n c m e the harvest is to pay the
pickers more and thus increase retail prices. However, estimates
of the crop not harvested seem high. A light crop is eaten by
insects and wildlife ahead of humans. Also, within a few months
after maturing, pifion nuts lose about a fifth of their weight in
water loss or shrinkage.
"Pine nuts (Pinus) imported into the United States" is the
subject of my other paper at this symposium. At present,
unshelled pine nuts are imported in relatively small quantities.
Shelled nuts are imported in increasing quantities about equal
to native production. Competition may become serious. Recently
in Israel I saw a small plantation of Italian stone pine (Pinus
pinea L.), the commercial pignolia of subtropical southern
Europe, there slightly outside the natural range. The wingless
seeds have a thick shell too hard for cracking with the teeth A
sample bought in a nearby town apparently was shelled by hand.
The local name from French pignon is pronounced like piiion
Incidentally, Israel no longer tests this pine in forests and has
no nuts for export. A new forestry monograph of this species
is by two Ita&ms, Agrimi and Ciancio (1992).
LITERATURE CITED
Agrimi, M.; Ciancio, 0 . 1992. Le pignon (Pinus pinea L.).
Quinzieme Session du Comite CFFSAICEFICFPO des
Questions Forestieres Meditemennes, Silva Meditema,
Faro (Portugal), 18-20 mars 1992. 52 p.
Arnold, Joseph F.; Jarneson, Donald A.; Reid, Elbert H. 1964.
The paon-juniper type of Arizona: effects of grazing, fire,
and tree control. USDA Forest Sewice, Product Research
Report, 84 28 p.
Clary, Warren P.; Baker, Malchus B., Jr.; O'Connell, Pad F.;
and others. 1974. Effects of pifion-juniper removal on natural
resource products and uses in Arizona. USDA Forest Service,
Research Paper RM-128, 28 p.
Lanner, Ronald M. 1981. The pifion pine: a natural and cultural
history. 208 p. University of Nevada Press, Reno.
Little, Elbert L., Jr. 194 1. Managing woodlands for pifion nuts.
Chronica Botanica 6: 348-349.
Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1991. Piiion (Pinus edulis): an overview. P.
72-76. In: New Mexico State University, Proceedings-199 1
piiion conference April 23, 1991. Santa Fe, NM.
Meeuwig, R. 0 . ; Budy, J. D.; Everett, R. L. 1991. Pinus
monophylla Ton. & Frem. Singleleaf piiion. P. 380-384.
In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., tech. coord.
Silvics of North America. USDA Agriculture Handbook
654, vol. 1.
Ronco, Frank P., Jr. 1991. Pinus edulis Engelm. Piiion P.
327-337. In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Baxbara H., tech.
coord. Silvics of North America. USDA Agriculture
Handbook 654, vol. 1.