Forest composition change after a mountain pine beetle outbreak, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, USA

2016 ◽  
Vol 366 ◽  
pp. 184-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlyn Perovich ◽  
Jason S. Sibold
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Rocky Mountain National Park ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Composition Change ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle

Forest developmental trajectories in mountain pine beetle disturbed forests of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 782-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Diskin ◽  
Monique E. Rocca ◽  
Kellen N. Nelson ◽  
Carissa F. Aoki ◽  
W.H. Romme
Keyword(s):  
Forest Structure ◽  
National Park ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Rocky Mountain National Park ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle

A mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) epidemic has caused widespread mortality of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) trees across western North America,. We characterized the initial effects of beetle-induced mortality on forest structure and composition in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. In 2008, we surveyed stand structure and tree species composition across lodgepole pine dominated forests in the western portion of the Park. We defined five lodgepole pine forest types to describe variability in pre-epidemic forest conditions. This forested landscape appears to be resilient to the effects of the beetle. Surviving trees, including both canopy trees and saplings, were plentiful in most of the post-epidemic forests, even after accounting for anticipated future mortality. Subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.), Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.), and aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) had modestly higher relative abundances after the epidemic. Lodgepole pine remained the dominant species on approximately 85% of the landscape. The impact of the outbreak on forest structure and composition varied considerably among the five forest types, suggesting that post-epidemic forest developmental trajectories will vary according to pre-outbreak stand characteristics. Active management efforts to regenerate lodgepole pine forests, e.g., tree planting, will likely not be necessary on this landscape.

scholarly journals Mountain Pine Beetle Infestation: Cycling and Succession in Lodgepole Pine Forest

1981 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 131-135
Author(s):  
W. Romme ◽  
J. Yavitt ◽  
D. Knight
Keyword(s):  
National Parks ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
Surrounding Areas

A research project was initiated in 1980 to study the effects of outbreaks of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) on lodgepole pine forest (Pinus contorta Dougl. ssp. latifolia) in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas. This native insect apparently has long been associated with lodgepole pine, and reports of small numbers of beetles can be found in Park records as early as 1925. However, in the late 1940's and early 1950's major outbreaks began to occur on the Caribou and Targhee National Forests immediately to the west and southwest of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. An outbreak in Grand Teton National Park and the adjacent Teton National Forest began in the 1950's, with an explosive increase in 1961 followed by an eventual subsidence in the late 1960's. The first major outbreak in Yellowstone National Park began in the late 1960's in the Bechler and South Entrance areas, reaching a peak there in 1970 and later declining. Yearly aerial surveys conducted thereafter showed a steady northward movement of the outbreak through the western half of the Park at a rate of 1 - 5 km per year. By 1978 the peak outbreak was centered around West Yellowstone, with hundreds of infested trees per hectare. The outbreak is now moving north and east along the Madison and Gibbon Rivers, with the greatest beetle populations currently in the vicinity of Madison Junction.

scholarly journals Mountain Pine Beetle Infestation: Cycling and Succession in Lodgepole Pine Forest

1983 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 115-119
Author(s):  
W. Romme ◽  
J. Yavitt ◽  
D. Knight ◽  
J. Fedders
Keyword(s):  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Northern Rocky Mountains ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
Surrounding Areas

A research project was initiated in 1980 to study the effects of outbreaks of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) on lodgepole pine forest (Pinus contorta spp. latifolia) in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas. This native bark beetle recently has killed millions of trees over thousands of square kilometers in the central and northern Rocky Mountains. Major outbreaks first occurred in Grand Teton National Park in the 1950's and in Yellowstone National Park in the 1960's. The outbreak in Yellowstone Park is still spreading.

Assessing the future susceptibility of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) in the Great Lakes Region using forest composition and structural attributes

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcella A. Windmuller-Campione
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Dendroctonus Ponderosae ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
The Future ◽  
Natural Resource Managers

The potential expansion of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) from western North America into the Great Lakes Region (Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario) could negatively impact eastern pine forests. Currently, no metrics exist to assess susceptibility in the region. I have developed a hazard rating system for the Great Lakes Region that utilizes common attributes of forest structure and composition and have assessed the current susceptibility using the Forest Inventory and Analysis database. The vast majority of plots (∼90%) that contained at least one living pine species were classified as moderately or highly susceptible. Plots on federal (USDA Forest Service) lands had higher susceptibility ratings than those on private or state-owned lands. Ordination results highlighted differences among the susceptibility scores (high, moderate, and low) across plots. Plots with high susceptibility were associated with greater total plot density and pine density, and plots with low susceptibility were associated with lower total plot density and greater overstory species richness. There are still many unknowns regarding mountain pine beetle in the Great Lakes Region; however, as natural resource managers plan for the future, they may want to consider the potential arrival of mountain pine beetle in eastern pine forests when developing silvicultural prescriptions.

scholarly journals Stand dynamics and the mountain pine beetle — 30 years of forest change in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (10) ◽  
pp. 1159-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodi N. Axelson ◽  
Brad C. Hawkes ◽  
Lara van Akker ◽  
René I. Alfaro
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Forest Change ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
Waterton Lakes National Park ◽  
Broadleaf Species

The mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) is a native bark beetle and a major disturbance agent in western North American forests. In the 1970s and 1980s, a MPB outbreak occurred in Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP) in southwestern Alberta. The MPB outbreak resulted in variable levels of mortality of mature lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm. ex S. Watson), reducing density, volume, and basal area of overstory trees. By 2010, lodgepole pine was proportionally no longer the dominant overstory species, with increases in non-pine conifer and broadleaf species. The MPB susceptibility index decreased in most stands over time, especially in stands with the highest MPB-caused mortality. Downed woody material was characterized by fine and coarse fuel mass and volume, which both increased from 2002 to 2010, and the abundance of coarse fuels was highest in 2010, nearly 30 years after peak MPB activity. Density of understory saplings and small regeneration increased from 2002 to 2010 and was dominated by non-pine conifer and broadleaf species; lodgepole pine was nearly absent. Hierarchical clustering using 2010 MPB susceptibility and composition data characterized biological legacies remaining after the MPB outbreak. These legacies suggest multiple successional trajectories in WLNP dominated by species other than lodgepole pine. The MPB outbreak resulted in greater heterogeneity in composition and structure and suggests that stands have been resilient to this disturbance.

scholarly journals Mountain Pine Beetle Infestation: Cycling and Succession in Lodgepole Pine Forest

1982 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 128-132
Author(s):  
W. Romme ◽  
J. Yavitt ◽  
D. Knight ◽  
J. Fedders
Keyword(s):  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Northern Rocky Mountains ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
Surrounding Areas

A research project was initiated in 1980 to study the effects of outbreaks of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) on lodgepole pine forests (Pinus contorta spp. latifolia) in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas. This native bark beetle recently has killed millions of trees over thousands of square kilometers in the central and northern Rocky Mountains. Major outbreaks first occurred in Grand Teton National Park in the 1950's and in Yellowstone National Park in the 1960's. The outbreak in Yellowstone Park is still spreading.

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