scholarly journals Consequences of mountain pine beetle outbreak on forest ecosystem services in western Canada

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 987-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amalesh Dhar ◽  
Lael Parrott ◽  
Scott Heckbert

After affecting millions of hectares of pine forests in western Canada, the mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonous ponderosae Hopkins) is spreading out of its native range and into Canada’s boreal forest. Impacts of outbreaks can be environmental, economic, and social, and an ecosystem services (ES) viewpoint provides a useful perspective for an integrated approach to assessing these impacts and may help to identify how possible management strategies could minimize these impacts. In this regards, a comprehensive overview of the ecosystem functions and socioeconomic factors that have been impacted by the current outbreaks in western Canada was carried out to facilitate a more general ES assessment. In addition to timber production, current MPB outbreaks have negative effects on provisioning services (water supply and food production) and aesthetic cultural services, while effects on regulating services (carbon and forest fire) are still in debate. Among the supporting services, nutrient cycling and aquatic habitat showed short- and long-term negative effects, while terrestrial habitat showed a mostly positive response. The overall impact on ES may be more severe if salvage logging is practiced as a post-MPB forest management strategy. The outcomes of this study may help to identify areas of greatest socioecological vulnerability to MPB and identify knowledge gaps and avenues for research to advance the ES framework for MPB outbreak management.

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 2931-2948 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. N. GAYATHRI SAMARASEKERA ◽  
NICHOLAS V. BARTELL ◽  
B. STAFFAN LINDGREN ◽  
JANICE E. K. COOKE ◽  
COREY S. DAVIS ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (11) ◽  
pp. 1339-1348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Wittische ◽  
Jasmine K. Janes ◽  
Patrick M.A. James

The current mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, 1902) outbreak has reached more than 25 million hectares of forests in North America, affecting pine species throughout the region and substantially changing landscapes. However, landscape features that enhance or limit dispersal during the geographic expansion associated with the outbreak are poorly understood. One of the obstacles in evaluating the effects of landscape features on dispersal is the parameterization of resistance surfaces, which are often constructed based on biased expert opinion or by making assumptions in the calculation of ecological distances. In this study, we assessed the impact of four environmental variables on MPB genetic connectivity across western Canada. We optimized resistance surfaces using genetic algorithms and models of maximum likelihood population effects, based on pairwise genetic distances and ecological distances calculated using random-walk commute-time distances. Unlike other methods for the development of resistance surfaces, this approach does not make a priori assumptions about the direction or shape of the relationships between environmental features and their cost to movement. We found highest support for a composite resistance surface including elevation and climate. These results further the understanding of MPB movement during an outbreak. Additionally, we demonstrated how to use our results for management purposes.


1983 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 235-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Borden ◽  
L. J. Chong ◽  
K. E. G. Pratt ◽  
D. R. Gray

Five replicates of paired forest blocks containing lodgepole pine, Pinus contorts var. latifolia Engelm., infested by the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, were chosen in the spring of 1982 in various interior British Columbia locations. Within the experimental block of each pair, one lodgepole pine every 50 m (4 trees/ha) was baited with the attractive semiochemicals myrcene, trans-verbenol and exo-brevicomin. The baiting program caused the attack in 1982 to be concentrated in and around the baited trees, whereas it was more dispersed in the control blocks. The overall ratio of 1982: 1981 attacked trees was 2.5 in the baited blocks and 1.8 in the controls, suggesting that dispersal of beetles out of the baited blocks was inhibited. Baiting of trees with semiochemicals is recommended to contain infestations within prescribed boundaries when sanitation-salvage logging cannot be completed prior to mid-summer flight of emergent brood beetles.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1097-1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Honey-Marie C. de la Giroday ◽  
Allan L. Carroll ◽  
B. Staffan Lindgren ◽  
Brian H. Aukema

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