Pando (tree) instance of clonal colony
Pando (Latin for "I spread") is a clonal organism representing an individual male quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides). It was identified as a single living organism because its parts possess identical genetic markers and it is assumed to have a massive interconnected underground root system. The plant is located in the Fremont River Ranger District of the Fishlake National Forest at the western edge of the Colorado Plateau in south-central Utah, United States, around 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Fish Lake. Pando occupies 108 acres (43.6 ha) and is estimated to weigh collectively 6,000 tonnes (6,000,000 kg), making it the heaviest known organism.Pando's long-term survival is uncertain due to a combination of factors including drought, human development, grazing, and fire suppression. The Western Aspen Alliance, in collaboration with the United States Forest Service, is studying the tree in an effort to save it. In areas of Pando lacking adequate protective fencing, grazing animals have prevented Pando from developing enough young stems to fully replace existing older stems as they die. This decline in recruitment of young stems began in the 1980s and has been attributed primarily to mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), though Pando also undergoes restricted grazing by domestic cattle (Bos taurus) and is potentially browsed by elk (Cervus canadensis).History
The Pando tree was identified in 1976 by Jerry Kemperman and Burton Barnes. Michael Grant, Jeffrey Mitton, and Yan Linhart of the University of Colorado at Boulder re-examined the clone in 1992, naming it Pando and claiming it to be the world's largest organism by weight. Both teams of researchers described Pando as a single asexual reproduction organism based on its morphological characteristics. Genetic sampling and analysis in 2008 by Jennifer DeWoody, Carol Rowe, Valerie Hipkins, and Karen Mock of Utah State University and the University of Southampton confirmed the earlier analyses and increased the clone's estimated size from 43.3 to 43.6 hectares. Paul Rogers and Darren McAvoy, also with Utah State University, completed the first comprehensive assessment of Pando's status in 2018 and stressed the importance of reducing herbivory by mule deer to conserving Pando for the future. In 2019, Rogers and Jan Šebesta surveyed other vegetation within Pando besides aspen, finding additional support for their 2018 conclusion that interactions between browsing and past and ongoing management have had adverse effects on Pando's long-term resilience to change.
type of example of manifestation of representation of