Climate variability and spruce beetle (<i>Dendroctonus rufipennis</i>) outbreaks in south-central and southwest Alaska

Sherriff, Rosemary L.; Berg, Edward E.; Miller, Amy E.

doi:10.1890/10-1118.1

Cited by 75 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(79 reference statements)

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“…The occurrence of spruce beetle outbreaks and other disturbance events in Alaska and Colorado dating back to the 1700s has been determined from chronologies constructed by utilizing tree-ring release patterns, dates of spruce beetle-induced tree mortality, and years since stand establishment [4,7,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Hart et al (2013) [19] utilized a combination of both historical documents and tree-ring records in a multiproxy approach to determine the history and synchrony of spruce beetle outbreaks in northwestern Colorado.…”

Section: Methods To Determine the Occurrence Of Spruce Beetle Outbreaksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over interannual time scales (approximately one to three years) El Niño Southern Oscillations (ENSO) combined with late-summer drought, contributed to spruce beetle outbreaks in Alaska [18]. Over multidecadal scales (approximately 40 years), the cool-phase Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) preceded outbreaks regardless of ENSO phase.…”

Section: Landscape and Climate Influences On Spatiotemporal Populatiomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spruce Beetle Biology, Ecology and Management in the Rocky Mountains: An Addendum to Spruce Beetle in the Rockies

Jenkins

Hebertson

Munson

2014

Forests

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Spruce beetle outbreaks have been reported in the Rocky Mountains of western North America since the late 1800s. In their classic paper, Spruce Beetle in the Rockies, Schmid and Frye reviewed the literature that emerged from the extensive outbreaks in Colorado in the 1940s. A new wave of outbreaks has affected Rocky Mountain subalpine spruce-fir forests beginning in the mid-1980s and continuing to the present. These outbreaks have spurred another surge of basic and applied research in the biology, ecology and management of spruce and spruce beetle populations. This paper is a review of literature on spruce beetle focusing on work published since the late 1970s and is intended as an addendum to Spruce Beetle in the Rockies.

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Section: Methods To Determine the Occurrence Of Spruce Beetle Outbreaksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Landscape and Climate Influences On Spatiotemporal Populatiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Spruce Beetle Biology, Ecology and Management in the Rocky Mountains: An Addendum to Spruce Beetle in the Rockies

Jenkins

Hebertson

Munson

2014

Forests

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“…Increases in summer air temperature and late-summer droughts, along with human disturbance, have been linked to the massive spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreak of the late 1990s Sherriff et al, 2011), which led to subsequent timber salvage (Jones, 2008). Berg and Anderson (2006) caution that overall drier conditions on the western Kenai Peninsula, combined with standing dead spruce stands, may alter the future fire regime of this region.…”

Section: Landscape Dynamics and Permafrost Thaw In The Western Kenai mentioning

confidence: 99%

Presence of rapidly degrading permafrost plateaus in south-central Alaska

et al. 2016

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Abstract. Permafrost presence is determined by a complex interaction of climatic, topographic, and ecological conditions operating over long time scales. In particular, vegetation and organic layer characteristics may act to protect permafrost in regions with a mean annual air temperature (MAAT) above 0 • C. In this study, we document the presence of residual permafrost plateaus in the western Kenai Peninsula lowlands of south-central Alaska, a region with a MAAT of 1.5 ± 1 • C . Continuous ground temperature measurements between 16 September 2012 and 15 September 2015, using calibrated thermistor strings, documented the presence of warm permafrost (−0.04 to −0.08 • C). Field measurements (probing) on several plateau features during the fall of 2015 showed that the depth to the permafrost table averaged 1.48 m but at some locations was as shallow as 0.53 m. Late winter surveys (augering, coring, and GPR) in 2016 showed that the average seasonally frozen ground thickness was 0.45 m, overlying a talik above the permafrost table. Measured permafrost thickness ranged from 0.33 to > 6.90 m. Manual interpretation of historic aerial photography acquired in 1950 indicates that residual permafrost plateaus covered 920 ha as mapped across portions of four wetland complexes encompassing 4810 ha. However, between 1950 and ca. 2010, permafrost plateau extent decreased by 60.0 %, with lateral feature degradation accounting for 85.0 % of the reduction in area. Permafrost loss on the Kenai Peninsula is likely associated with a warming climate, wildfires that remove the protective forest and organic layer cover, groundwater flow at depth, and lateral heat transfer from wetland surface waters in the summer. Better understanding the resilience and vulnerability of ecosystem-protected permafrost is critical for mapping and predicting future permafrost extent and degradation across all permafrost regions that are currently warming. Further work should focus on reconstructing permafrost history in south-central Alaska as well as additional contemporary observations of these ecosystem-protected permafrost sites south of the regions with relatively stable permafrost.

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“…Although the outbreak is within the historic geographic range, the outbreak during the 1990s exhibits greater spatio-temporal synchrony (i.e., more sites record high-severity infestations) than at any other time in the last ;250 years (Sherriff et al 2011). The mortality of mature white spruce in beetle-killed areas of the Southcentral-boreal has impacted succession by reducing the structural complexity of stands to earlier successional stages dominated by a more homogeneous overstory composition (Allen et al 2006).…”

Section: Types Of Change In Alaskan Forestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence and implications of recent and projected climate change in Alaska's forest ecosystems

et al. 2011

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Abstract. The structure and function of Alaska's forests have changed significantly in response to a changing climate, including alterations in species composition and climate feedbacks (e.g., carbon, radiation budgets) that have important regional societal consequences and human feedbacks to forest ecosystems. In this paper we present the first comprehensive synthesis of climate-change impacts on all forested ecosystems of Alaska, highlighting changes in the most critical biophysical factors of each region. We developed a conceptual framework describing climate drivers, biophysical factors and types of change to illustrate how the biophysical and social subsystems of Alaskan forests interact and respond directly and indirectly to a changing climate. We then identify the regional and global implications to the climate system and associated socio-economic impacts, as presented in the current literature. Projections of temperature and precipitation suggest wildfire will continue to be the dominant biophysical factor in the Interior-boreal forest, leading to shifts from conifer-to deciduous-dominated forests. Based on existing research, projected increases in temperature in the Southcentral-and Kenai-boreal forests will likely increase the frequency and severity of insect outbreaks and associated wildfires, and increase the probability of establishment by invasive plant species. In the Coastal-temperate forest region snow and ice is regarded as the dominant biophysical factor. With continued warming, hydrologic changes related to more rapidly melting glaciers and rising elevation of the winter snowline will alter discharge in many rivers, which will have important v www.esajournals.org 1 November 2011 v Volume 2(11) v Article 124 consequences for terrestrial and marine ecosystem productivity. These climate-related changes will affect plant species distribution and wildlife habitat, which have regional societal consequences, and trace-gas emissions and radiation budgets, which are globally important. Our conceptual framework facilitates assessment of current and future consequences of a changing climate, emphasizes regional differences in biophysical factors, and points to linkages that may exist but that currently lack supporting research. The framework also serves as a visual tool for resource managers and policy makers to develop regional and global management strategies and to inform policies related to climate mitigation and adaptation.

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Climate variability and spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreaks in south-central and southwest Alaska

Cited by 75 publications

References 42 publications

Spruce Beetle Biology, Ecology and Management in the Rocky Mountains: An Addendum to Spruce Beetle in the Rockies

Spruce Beetle Biology, Ecology and Management in the Rocky Mountains: An Addendum to Spruce Beetle in the Rockies

Presence of rapidly degrading permafrost plateaus in south-central Alaska

Evidence and implications of recent and projected climate change in Alaska's forest ecosystems

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