Microclimate and mountain pine beetles in two ponderosa pine stands in the Black Hills /

Abstract

Air and bark temperatures, horizontal wind speed, and solar radiation are characterized for ponderosa pine stands considered susceptible and nonsusceptible to attack by the mountain pine beetle in the Black Hills. South-side bark temperatures during midday hours, maximum differences between north-side bark temperatures and air temperatures, maximum differences be tween south-side bark temperatures and air temperatures, and solar radiation were greater in the nonsusceptible stand than in the susceptible stand. Air temperatures, north-side bark tempera tures, and horizontal wind speeds were not significantly different between the two stands. The potential influence of these factors on stand susceptibilty to beetle attack is evaluated.

Management for Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak Suppression: Does Relevant Science Support Current Policy?

“…Schmid et al [118] found no statistically significant differences in horizontal and vertical wind patterns in thinned and unthinned stands. However, disruption of pheromone plumes by greater wind speeds may affect communication and thus the potential for successful attacks [95].…”

The effectiveness of vegetation management practices for prevention and control of bark beetle infestations in coniferous forests of the western and southern United States

“…Shepherd (1966) discussed the influence of heat and light intensity on how beetles locate and orient to host trees during attack. Increased temperatures and windspeeds are common within thinned stands (Bartos, 1988;Amman, 1989;Bartos and Amman, 1989;Schmid et al, 1992Schmid et al, , 1995Amman and Logan, 1998;Hindmarch and Reid, 2001b) and may accelerate the development of certain bark beetle species and force them to overwinter in stages that are more susceptible to freezing (Amman, 1973(Amman, , 1989, or cause turbulences that disrupt pheromone plumes used for recruiting conspecifics during initial phases of host tree colonization. Thistle et al (2004Thistle et al ( , 2005 examined the near-field canopy dispersion of tracer gases, as a surrogate for bark beetle pheromones, within the trunk space of trees.…”

Mountain pine beetles: A century of knowledge, control attempts, and impacts central to the Black Hills

“…in 1988, at Brownsville, measured both horizontal and vertical winds blowing in plots Brn67 and Brn148 in late July and early August that would correspond to the time that MPBs would be flying to attack new trees. Schmid et al (1995) measured horizontal wind speeds at White House Gulch in plots WHG80 and WHG128 during similar weeks in 1992. At both locations, although not statistically different, the mean wind speeds in the plots with the higher tree densities were slower than the winds blowing in the plots with the lower tree density (fig.…”