Economic impacts of forest pests: a case study of spruce budworm outbreaks and control in New Brunswick, Canada

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 490-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-Yew Chang ◽  
Van A. Lantz ◽  
Chris R. Hennigar ◽  
David A. MacLean

We investigated the potential economic impacts of future spruce budworm (SBW) ( Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)) outbreaks on 2.8 million hectares of Crown forest land in New Brunswick by coupling an advanced Spruce Budworm Decision Support System (SBW DSS) model with a dynamic computable general equilibrium model. A total of 16 alternative scenarios were evaluated, including two SBW outbreak severities (moderate versus severe), four SBW control program levels (protecting 0%, 10%, 20%, and 40% of susceptible Crown land forest area), and two pest management strategies (“without” versus “with” replanning harvest scheduling and salvage). The “without” replanning harvest scheduling and salvage strategy findings indicated that, under uncontrolled moderate and severe SBW outbreaks, total output in the New Brunswick economy over the 2012–2041 period would decline in present-value terms by CDN$3.3 billion and $4.7 billion, respectively. SBW control via aerial spraying was shown to reduce the negative impacts on output by up to 66% when protecting 40% of susceptible area. Combining SBW control with replanning harvest scheduling and salvage strategy under moderate and severe outbreaks would reduce the negative impacts on output by a further 1%–18% depending on the level of control implemented. These findings can help forest managers assess the direct and indirect economic effects of forest pest disturbances on regional economies and can also be used together with other sustainable forest management indicators to help broaden the scope of SBW and other forest pest management decision-making.

1999 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thom A. Erdle ◽  
David A. MacLean

Quantitative assessment of forest pest impacts is an important element in design of forest and pest management programs. Such assessment requires forecasts of pest populations, definition of the nature and extent of damage inflicted on trees by those populations, and translation of the damage effects across scales, from the tree to the stand to the forest. Central to this process are stand development forecasts which embody tree-level impacts of damage and which provide input to forest-level models. We discuss the role of stand growth forecasting in this context and propose a method for calibrating stand growth models that can be used to incorporate the effects of pest damage on tree and stand development. This calibration methodology is demonstrated for spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) effects on spruce (Picea sp.) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) stands using permanent sample plot data acquired in New Brunswick over the past 20 years. The results showed linear relationships between tree diameter growth loss and cumulative defoliation, and non-linear relationships between reduced survival and cumulative defoliation. Growth loss relationships were similar for the species considered, while reduced survival relationships varied between species and age classes. Using these relationships as input to the STAMAN stand growth model, forecasts were made and compared against empirical studies of stand development under defoliation during spruce budworm outbreaks. The results suggest that reasonable approximations of stand response to pest incidence can be generated with relatively simple models and data sets. Judicious use of stand growth forecasts generated by such methods can help serve the needs of forest and pest management strategy design. Key words: spruce budworm, defoliation, stand growth model, stand development, growth loss, mortality


1959 ◽  
Vol 91 (8) ◽  
pp. 457-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Miller

In the late 1940's significant increases in the population of the spruce budworm, worm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), occurred in northern New Brunswick and culminated in a severe outbreak of this major forest pest. The outbreak has been the subject of intensive investigations dealing with emergency chemical control operations (Webb, 1956) and with a long-term study of the population dynamics of the budworm. The latter program, called the Green River Project, is located on the Green River Watershed in northwestern New Brunswick. Its objectives, the co-operating agencies involved, the mortality factors being studied, and methodology have been discussed elsewhere by Morris et al. (1956), Morris (1951), Morris and Miller (1954), and Morris (1955).


Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1137
Author(s):  
David A. MacLean

Spruce budworm is one of the most significant forest insects worldwide, in terms of outbreak extent, severity, and economic impacts. As a defoliator, spruce budworm larvae are susceptible to insecticide protection, and improvements in efficacy and reductions in non-target environmental effects have made such protection attractive. In this Special Issue, 12 papers describe the advances in spruce budworm protection, most notably an ‘early intervention strategy’ approach that after six years of trials in New Brunswick, Canada, shows considerable success to date in reducing budworm outbreak occurrence and severity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-95
Author(s):  
Ulrike Flader ◽  
Vera Ecarius-Kelly ◽  
Clemence SCALBERT-YÜCEL ◽  
Michael M. Gunter ◽  
Tozun Bahcheli ◽  
...  

Cengiz Gunes and Welat Zeydanlıoğlu (eds.), The Kurdish Question in Turkey: New Perspectives on Violence, Representation and Reconciliation, London: Routledge, 2014, 288 pp., (ISBN: 978-0-415-83015-7).Almas Heshmati and Nabaz T. Khayyat, Socio-Economic Impacts of Landmines in Southern Kurdistan, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013, 341 pp., (ISBN: 978-1-4438-4198-6).Estelle Amy de la Bretèque, Paroles Mélodisées: Récits épiques et lamentations chez les Yézidis d’Arménie (Melodised speech. Heroic songs and laments among the Yezidis of Armenia), Paris: Classiques Garnier, 2013, 230pp., (ISBN: 978-2-8124-0787-1).Diane E. King, Kurdistan on the Global Stage: Kinship, Land, and Community in Iraq, New Brunswick and London: Rutgers University Press, 2014. 286 pp., (ISBN: 9780813563534).Michael M. Gunter and Mohammed M.A. Ahmed (eds.), The Kurdish Spring: Geopolitical Changes and the Kurds, Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 2013, 344 pp., (ISBN: 978-1568592725).Derya Bayır, Minorities and Nationalism in Turkish Law, Surrey: Ashgate Publishing House, 2013, 314 pp., (ISBN: 9781409420071).


1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 1620-1628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiong Su ◽  
Ted D. Needham ◽  
David A. MacLean

Changing stand composition by increasing hardwood content has been suggested as a long-term method for reducing susceptibility and vulnerability of balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.) to spruce budworm (Choristoneurafumiferana (Clem.)). Twenty-five mixed balsam fir–hardwood stands were selected in northern New Brunswick, with five stands in each 20% hardwood class (0–20, 21–40%, etc.). Defoliation each year from 1989 to 1993 was significantly (p < 0.0001) related to hardwood content, with r2 ranging from 0.57 to 0.81. As hardwood content increased, defoliation of balsam fir decreased. From 1989 to 1992, the years of moderate to severe defoliation, balsam fir stands with <40% hardwoods sustained 58–71% defoliation, on average, versus 12–15% defoliation in stands with >80% hardwood. A generalized model combining hardwood content and the estimated defoliation in pure softwood stands in a given year explained 77% of the variation in defoliation over stands and years. This study indicated that mixed balsam fir–hardwood stand management, with hardwood content >40%, could substantially reduce losses during spruce budworm outbreaks. Further research is warranted to elucidate the mechanism involved, but our working hypothesis is that greater hardwood content increased the diversity or populations of natural enemies such as birds and parasitoids.


1990 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.R. Miller ◽  
G. Gries ◽  
J.H. Borden

AbstractE-Myrcenol reduced catches of the pine engraver, Ips pini (Say), to ipsdienol-baited, multiple-funnel traps in a dose-dependent fashion. The sex ratio was unaffected by E-myrcenol treatments. Lures containing E-myrcenol in ethanol solution failed to protect freshly cut logs of lodgepole pine from attack by I. pini. Rather, I. pini preferentially attacked logs treated with devices releasing E-myrcenol and ethanol, over nontreated, control logs. Our results demonstrate that E-myrcenol is a new pheromone for I. pini, and emphasize the importance of understanding basic pheromone biology before utilisation of a semiochemical in forest pest management.


1990 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 1271-1272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hemendra Mulye ◽  
Roger Gordon

The eastern spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens, is the most widely distributed and destructive forest insect pest in North America. Although much is known about the ecology, population dynamics, and impact of C. fumiferana on tree growth (Sanders et al. 1985), there is very little information available on the physiology of this forest pest. Physiological studies are crucial to the development of novel strategies for spruce budworm control.


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