Browsed by white-tailed deer, caribou, and snowshoe hare. Stands provide cover to mammals such as moose and snowshoe hares. Debris and seedlings in burned stands provide cover for smaller mammals such as red-backed voles. Planted for Christmas trees. Minimum seed bearing age in open stands is 5-10 years.
Some seed is produced every year and serotinous cones accumulate in the crown.
A mature stand may have as many as 2 million seeds per acre stored in unopened cones. Because of abundant seed production, few mature trees are necessary to regenerate a stand. Cones , sealed shut by a resinous bond, require high temperatures to open. The winged seeds are the smallest of the native pines and are dispersed by gravity and wind. The effective dispersal range is about 110'-130' or two tree heights.