scholarly journals Are Survivors Different? Genetic-Based Selection of Trees by Mountain Pine Beetle During a Climate Change-Driven Outbreak in a High-Elevation Pine Forest

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana L. Six ◽  
Clare Vergobbi ◽  
Mitchell Cutter
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
Selection Of

scholarly journals Landscape Topoedaphic Features Create Refugia from Drought and Insect Disturbance in a Lodgepole and Whitebark Pine Forest

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Cartwright
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Boosted Regression Trees ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Whitebark Pine ◽  
Insect Outbreaks ◽  
Landscape Characteristics ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle

Droughts and insect outbreaks are primary disturbance processes linking climate change to tree mortality in western North America. Refugia from these disturbances—locations where impacts are less severe relative to the surrounding landscape—may be priorities for conservation, restoration, and monitoring. In this study, hypotheses concerning physical and biological processes supporting refugia were investigated by modelling the landscape controls on disturbance refugia that were identified using remotely sensed vegetation indicators. Refugia were identified at 30-m resolution using anomalies of Landsat-derived Normalized Difference Moisture Index in lodgepole and whitebark pine forests in southern Oregon, USA, in 2001 (a single-year drought with no insect outbreak) and 2009 (during a multi-year drought and severe outbreak of mountain pine beetle). Landscape controls on refugia (topographic, soil, and forest characteristics) were modeled using boosted regression trees. Landscape characteristics better explained and predicted refugia locations in 2009, when forest impacts were greater, than in 2001. Refugia in lodgepole and whitebark pine forests were generally associated with topographically shaded slopes, convergent environments such as valleys, areas of relatively low soil bulk density, and in thinner forest stands. In whitebark pine forest, refugia were associated with riparian areas along headwater streams. Spatial patterns in evapotranspiration, snowmelt dynamics, soil water storage, and drought-tolerance and insect-resistance abilities may help create refugia from drought and mountain pine beetle. Identification of the landscape characteristics supporting refugia can help forest managers target conservation resources in an era of climate-change exacerbation of droughts and insect outbreaks.

scholarly journals The Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic in the Black Hills, South Dakota: The Consequences of Long Term Fire Policy, Climate Change and the Use of Remote Sensing to Enhance Mitigation

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Mullen ◽  
Fei Yuan ◽  
Martin Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Black Hills ◽  
Fire Policy ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forest

The recent and intense outbreak (first decade of 2000s) of the mountain pine beetle in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, which impacted over 33% of the 1.2 million acre (486,000 ha) Black Hills National Forest, illustrates what can occur when forest management practices intersect with natural climatic oscillations and climate change to create the “perfect storm” in a region where the physical environment sets the stage for a plethora of economic activities ranging from extractive industries to tourism. This study evaluates the potential of WorldView-2 satellite imagery for green-attacked tree detection in the ponderosa pine forest of the Black Hills, USA. It also discusses the consequences of long term fire policy and climate change, and the use of remote sensing technology to enhance mitigation. It was found that the near-infrared one (band 7) of WorldView-2 imagery had the highest influence on the green-attack classification. The Random Forest classification produced the best results when transferred to the independent dataset, whereas the Logistic Regression models consistently yielded the highest accuracies when cross-validated with the training data. Lessons learned include: (1) utilizing recent advances in remote sensing technologies, most notably the use of WorldView-2 data, to assist in more effectively implementing mitigation measures during an epidemic, and (2) implementing pre-emptive thinning strategies; both of which can be applied elsewhere in the American West to more effectively blunt or preclude the consequences of a mountain pine beetle outbreak on an existing ponderosa pine forest. 

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 Lignin accumulation in phloem and outer bark is not associated with resistance to mountain pine beetle in high elevation pines

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Soderberg ◽  
Bethany Kyre ◽  
Pierliugi Bonello ◽  
Barbara Bentz
Keyword(s):  
Bark Beetles ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Brood Production ◽  
Outer Bark ◽  
Plant Insect Interactions ◽  
Physical Defense ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
Insect Interactions

A key component in understanding plant-insect interactions is the nature of host defenses. Research on defense traits among Pinus species has focused on specialized metabolites and axial resin ducts, but the role of lignin in defense within diverse systems is unclear. We investigated lignin levels in the outer bark and phloem of P. longaeva , P. balfouriana , and P. flexilis ; high elevation species in the western United States known to differ in susceptibility to mountain pine beetle ( Dendroctonus ponderosae ; MPB). Relative to P. flexilis , P. longaeva and P. balfouriana are attacked by MPB less frequently, and MPB brood production in P. longaeva is limited. Because greater lignification of feeding tissues has been shown to provide defense against bark beetles in related genera, such as Picea , we hypothesized that P. longaeva and P. balfouriana would have greater lignin concentrations than P. flexilis . Contrary to expectations, we found that the more MPB-susceptible P. flexilis had greater phloem lignin levels than the less susceptible P. longaeva and P. balfouriana . No differences in outer bark lignin levels among the species were found. We conclude that lignification in Pinus phloem and outer bark is likely not adaptive as a physical defense against MPB.

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.

scholarly journals A dendroecological assessment of whitebark pine in the Sawtooth–Salmon River region, Idaho

1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 2123-2133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana L. Perkins ◽  
Thomas W. Swetnam
Keyword(s):  
Tree Ring ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Whitebark Pine ◽  
Spring Precipitation ◽  
Salmon River ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
River Region ◽  
Pine Beetle

Whitebark pine (Pinusalbicaulis Engelm.) tree-ring chronologies of 700 to greater than 1000 years in length were developed for four sites in the Sawtooth–Salmon River region, central Idaho. These ring-width chronologies were used to (i) assess the dendrochronological characteristics of this species, (ii) detect annual mortality dates of whitebark pine attributed to a widespread mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonusponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)) epidemic during the 1909–1940 period, and (iii) establish the response of whitebark pine ring-width growth to climate variables. Cross-dating of whitebark pine tree-ring patterns was verified. Ring-width indices had low mean sensitivity (0.123–0.174), typical of high-elevation conifers in western North America, and variable first-order autocorrelation (0.206–0.551). Mountain pine beetle caused mortality of dominant whitebark pine peaked in 1930 on all four sites. Response functions and correlation analyses with state divisional weather records indicate that above-average radial growth is positively correlated with winter and spring precipitation and inversely correlated with May temperature. These correlations appear to be a response to seasonal snowpack. Whitebark pine is a promising species for dendroclimatic studies.

scholarly journals The ecological interaction of the mountain pine beetle and jack pine budworm in the boreal forest

2010 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 766-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay J. Colgan ◽  
Nadir Erbilgin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Dendroctonus Ponderosae ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Choristoneura Pinus ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
Jack Pine Budworm ◽  
Choristoneura Pinus Pinus

As climate change facilitates the range and host expansion of insect species into new ecosystems, the development of newstrategies for managing and preventing biological invasion is receiving considerable interest. In recent years, the range ofthe mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) has expanded from lodgepole pine-dominated forests eastof the Rocky Mountains into lodgepole x jack pine hybrid forest of western Alberta, and may soon invade jack pine forestsof the boreal. Our understanding of factors contributing colonization of jack pine by mountain pine beetle is far fromcomplete and several factors may limit its spread in these forests, including tree resistance and competitors. Among these,the jack pine budworm (Choristoneura pinus pinus Freeman) is one of the most important insect enemies of jack pine andan outbreak defoliator that potentially weakens jack pine trees, which may make them more susceptible to MPB attacks.To develop effective management strategies in the face of the short-run impacts of climate change, we need an in-depthunderstanding of factors influencing establishment and survival of the beetle in jack pine forests.Key words: Choristoneura pinus pinus, Dendroctonus ponderosae, jack pine, range expansion, invasion biology, climatechange in the boreal forest, conifer-mediated interactions, tree induced defences, tripartite interactions

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