Bark beetles, fuels, fires and implications for forest management in the Intermountain West

Jenkins, Michael J.; Hebertson, Elizabeth G.; Page, Wesley G.; Jørgensen, C. A.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2007.09.045

Cited by 272 publications

(244 citation statements)

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“…Generally, it is hypothesized that MPB-induced tree mortality affects fire behavior by altering the flammability, continuity, and structure of fuels [79][80][81][82]. Moreover, the fuel profile such as surface, ladder, and crown fuels are expected to change with time since outbreak, potentially altering fire behavior and fire risk.…”

Section: Forest Firementioning

confidence: 99%

Aftermath of Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak in British Columbia: Stand Dynamics, Management Response and Ecosystem Resilience

Dhar

Parrott

Hawkins

2016

Forests

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Abstract:The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) (MPB) has infested and killed millions of hectares of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm) forests in British Columbia, Canada, over the past decade. It is now spreading out of its native range into the Canadian boreal forest, with unknown social, economic and ecological consequences. This review explores the ramifications of the MPB epidemic with respect to mid-term timber supply, forest growth, structure and composition, vegetation diversity, forest fire, climate change, and ecosystem resilience. Research confirms that, in British Columbia, all of these variables are more significantly impacted when salvage logging is used as management response to the outbreak. We conclude that appropriate management in response to MPB is essential to ensuring ecologically resilient future forests and reliable mid-term timber supplies for affected human communities. We highlight knowledge gaps and avenues for research to advance our understanding in support of sustainable post-disturbance forest management policies in British Columbia and elsewhere.

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Section: Forest Firementioning

confidence: 99%

Aftermath of Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak in British Columbia: Stand Dynamics, Management Response and Ecosystem Resilience

Dhar

Parrott

Hawkins

2016

Forests

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“…For example, MPB outbreaks have been linked to the increased likelihood of stand-replacing fire and changes in fire behavior, with the nature of the effect depending on the time since infestation (Lynch et al, 2006;Jenkins et al, 2008). Combined with increasing climatic stress on tree populations and growth, such disturbance interactions can alter forest structure and function more rapidly than could be predicted from models of species redistribution or disturbance alone.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest ecosystems, disturbance, and climatic change in Washington State, USA

et al. 2010

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C limatic change is likely to affect Pacific Northwest (PNW) forests in several important ways. In this paper, we address the role of climate in four forest ecosystem processes and project the effects of future climatic change on these processes. First, we analyze how climate affects Douglas-fir growth across the region to understand potential changes in future growth. In areas where Douglas-fir is not water-limited, future growth will continue to vary with interannual climate variability, but in places where Douglas-fir is water-limited, growth is likely to decline due to projected increase in summer potential evapotranspiration. Second, we use existing analyses of climatic controls on future potential tree species ranges to highlight areas where species turnover may be greatest. By the mid 21 st century, some areas of the interior Columbia Basin and eastern Cascades are likely to have climates poorly suited to pine species that are susceptible to mountain pine beetle, and if these pines are climatically stressed, they may be more vulnerable to pine beetle attack. Climatic suitability for Douglas-fir is also likely to change, with substantial decreases in climatically suitable area in the Puget Trough and the Okanogan Highlands. Third, using regression approaches, we examine the relationships between climate and the area burned by fire in the PNW and in eight Washington ecosystems and project future area burned in response to changing climate. Area burned is significantly related to both temperature and precipitation in summer, but more physiologically relevant variables, such as water balance deficit, perform as well or better in models. Regional area burned is likely to double or even triple by the end of the 2040s, although Washington ecosystems have different sensitivities to climate and thus different responses to climatic change. Fourth, we evaluate the influence of climatic change on mountain pine beetle (MPB) outbreaks by quantifying both host-tree vulnerability and pine beetle adaptive seasonality. Host-tree vulnerability is closely related to vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and future projections support the hypothesis that summer VPD will increase over a significant portion of the range of host tree species. Due to the increased host 255vulnerability, MPB populations are expected to become more viable at higher elevations leading to increased incidence of MPB outbreaks. The increased rates of disturbance by fire and mountain pine beetle are likely to be more significant agents of changes in forest structure and composition in the 21st century than species turnover or declines in productivity. This suggests that understanding future disturbance regimes is critical for successful adaptation to climate change.

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“…Custom fuel models for Rothermel's surface fire spread model were for instance developed for different stages of a bark beetle outbreak cycle (Page and Jenkins, 2007;Jenkins et al, 2008). Reich et al (2004) combined multiple ordinary least squares regression models and binary regression tree analysis in a two-stage approach to derive fuel models accounting for the effects of other small-scale disturbances on fuel loading.…”

Section: Interactions With Other Disturbance Agentsmentioning

confidence: 99%