Bark beetle community structure under four ponderosa pine forest stand conditions in northern Arizona

Resiliency of an Interior Ponderosa Pine Forest to Bark Beetle Infestations Following Fuel-Reduction and Forest-Restoration Treatments

“…Similarly, Sá nchez-Martí nez and Wagner [54] detected no significant difference in the amount of D. brevicomis-caused tree mortality between managed (including prescribed fire) and unmanaged stands in Northern Arizona, but others have established a link between fire-injury and the increased susceptibility of P. ponderosa to D. brevicomis attack [45]. While the overall impact of D. brevicomis seems to be rather limited in fire-injured trees at Blacks Mountain, levels of D. brevicomis-caused tree mortality in the largest-diameter class (>59.7 cm) may be of concern on HiD + B ( Table 2).…”

Tree mortality from fire and bark beetles following early and late season prescribed fires in a Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest

“…In the Sierra Nevada, bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) are common pests that kill firs and pines, and are capable of large-scale population increases following disturbances such as droughts or fires (Miller and Keen, 1960;Bradley and Tueller, 2001). Such outbreaks can be in response to tree physiological conditions that enable insects to circumvent tree defenses (Berryman, 1982;Mattson and Haack, 1987;Logan et al, 2003;Wallin et al, 2004), or in response to physical and structural attributes of conifer stands that favor bark beetle populations (Sanchez-Martinez and Wagner, 2002;Sartwell and Stevens, 1975;Mitchell et al, 1983;Powers et al, 1999). Dense forests subject to fire exclusion are feared particularly susceptible to insect attack (Wallin et al, 2004;Sala et al, 2005).…”

Long-term impacts of stand management on ponderosa pine physiology and bark beetle abundance in northern Arizona: A replicated landscape study

“…Current, undesirable conditions include overstocked stands of suppressed trees, high fuel loads, low understory diversity, and homogeneity of tree size and age classes (Covington and Moore, 1994a;Covington et al, 1997;Stone et al, 1999). With these conditions come high risk of epidemic insect outbreaks and catastrophic wildfire (Olsen et al, 1996;Feeney et al, 1998;Kolb et al, 1998;Fulé et al, 2001;Sanchez-Martinez and Wagner, 2002). The current state of the Arizona ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl.…”

“…Bark beetle populations in northern Arizona region were endemic prior to 2002 for almost a century (Sanchez-Martinez and Wagner, 2002). However, mortality of ponderosa pine from drought and bark beetles in this region increased dramatically between 2000 and 2003 (http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/resources/ health/beetle/index.shtml).…”