Wood: Quaking
aspen is an important timber tree in Canada and the northern US. Wood is
light, soft and weak, and used for boxes, crates, pulp, excelsior, pallets,
chipboard and matches. It is harvested and sold with the wood of bigtooth
aspen. Quaking aspen is used as a nurse crop for more valuable timber species.
Wildlife: Quaking aspen and the bigtooth aspen (P. grandidentata) are important native trees for wildlife in the US. Grouse eat the buds and catkins in winter and spring. Rabbits and browsers eat the twigs, tender bark and foliage, and porcupines feed on the bark and wood. Quaking aspen is used by beavers to build dams and is their principal food.
Horticulture: Although this is an ornamental tree, it has a number of drawbacks and is not well suited to landscaping. The root suckers form dense thickets unless controlled; the crown produces very little shade; it is prone to pests and diseases; and the shallow roots extend far from the trunk (to 80 feet).
