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Bark beetle outbreaks and wildfires are two of the most prevalent disturbances that influence tree mortality, regeneration, and successional trajectories in western North American forests. Subboreal forests have experienced broad overlaps in these…
Author(s): Anna C. Talucci, Garrett W. Meigs, Anders Knudby, Meg A. Krawchuk
Year Published:

Warming temperatures and changing weather patterns are causing more frequent and severe disturbances in western North American forests. The increasing length and severity of recent wildfire seasons have annually caused widespread injury to millions…
Author(s): Katherine A. Kitchens, Lucas Peng, Lori D. Daniels, Allan L. Carroll
Year Published:

Forests store significant quantities of carbon, and accurate quantification of the fate of this carbon after fire is necessary for global carbon accounting. Pyrogenic carbon (PyC) encompasses various carbonaceous products of incomplete combustion…
Author(s): Alexandra Howell, Mario Bretfeld, Erica Belmont
Year Published:

The mountain pine beetle (MPB) (Dendroctonus ponderosae) is one of the most prevalent disturbance agents in western conifer forests. It utilizes various species of pines (Pinus spp.) as host trees. Eruptive populations can cause extensive tree…
Author(s): Jose F. Negron, Bob Cain
Year Published:

Mountain pine beetles (MPB) are a constant presence in the Rocky Mountain Region, with a long history of periodic outbreaks. The latest beetle epidemic, which lasted from the late 1990s until about 2012, was particularly impactful in Colorado, where…
Author(s): Jose F. Negron, Robert J. Cain
Year Published:

Bark beetles are primary disturbance agents in western US forests. Outbreaks affect goods and services associated with forest ecosystems including timber, water, fish and wildlife habitats and populations, recreation opportunities, and many others.…
Author(s): Daniel W. McCollum, John E. Lundquist
Year Published:

Forest insects are showing increasing intensity of outbreaks and expanded ranges, and this has become a major challenge for forest managers. An understanding of these systems often depends upon detailed examination of complex interactions involving…
Author(s): Patrick M.A. James, Dezene P.W. Huber
Year Published:

Research highlights: The biology of mountain pine beetle (MPB), Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, in Colorado’s lodgepole pine forests exhibits similarities and differences to other parts of its range. Brood emergence was not influenced by stand…
Author(s): Jose F. Negron
Year Published:

Background: Fuel reduction treatments have been widely implemented across the western US in recent decades for both fire protection and restoration. Although research has demonstrated that combined thinning and burning effectively reduces crown fire…
Author(s): Justin S. Crotteau, Christopher R. Keyes, Sharon M. Hood, David L.R. Affleck, Anna Sala
Year Published:

The most recent mountain pine beetle (MPB) (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreak in British Columbia (BC), which began in the late 1990s, killed ∼54% of the mature merchantable lodgepole pine and was expected to impact gross primary productivity (GPP…
Author(s): Gesa Meyer, T. Andrew Black, Rachhpal S. Jassal, Zoran Nesic, Nicholas C. Coops, Andreas Christen, Arthur L. Fredeen, David L. Spittlehouse, Nicholas J. Grant, Vanessa N. Foord, Rebecca Bowler
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The severity of lodgepole pine mortality from mountain pine beetle outbreaks varies with host tree diameter, density, and other structural characteristics, influencing subcanopy conditions and tree regeneration. We measured density and leader growth…
Author(s): Kristen Pelz, Charles C. Rhoades, Robert M. Hubbard, Frederick W. Smith
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Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.), an ecologically important tree species in high-elevation ecosystems of western North America, is threatened by white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola Fischer) and increased pressure from mountain pine…
Author(s): Jeremy T. Amberson, Megan P. Keville, Cara R. Nelson
Year Published:

Beginning in the late 1990s, the pine forests of Montana began to experience the largest mountain pine beetle outbreak in recorded history. Large swaths of forests began to turn red, then gray as the beetles ate their way through Pacific Northwest…
Author(s): Dan R. Loeffler, Nathaniel Anderson
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The 2010 Church’s Park Fire burned beetle-killed lodgepole pine stands in Colorado, including recently salvage-logged areas, creating a fortuitous opportunity to compare the effects of salvage logging, wildfire and the combination of logging…
Author(s): Charles C. Rhoades, Kristen Pelz, Paula J. Fornwalt, Brett Wolk, Anthony S. Cheng
Year Published:

Previous studies have suggested that bark beetles and fires can be interacting disturbances, whereby bark beetle– caused tree mortality can alter the risk and severity of subsequent wildland fires. However, there remains considerable uncertainty…
Author(s): Carolyn Hull Sieg, Rodman Linn, F. Pimont, Chad M. Hoffman, Joel D. McMillin, Judith Winterkamp, Scott L. Baggett
Year Published:

Recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks in whitebark pine forests have been extensive and severe. Understanding the climate influences on these outbreaks is essential for developing management plans that account for potential future mountain pine…
Author(s): Polly C. Buotte, Jeffrey A. Hicke, Haiganoush K. Preisler, John T. Abatzoglou, Kenneth F. Raffa, Jesse A. Logan
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Wildfire behavior depends on the type, quantity, and condition of fuels, and the effect that bark beetle outbreaks have on fuels is a topic of current research and debate. Remote sensing can provide estimates of fuels across landscapes, although few…
Author(s): Benjamin C. Bright, Andrew T. Hudak, Arjan J. H. Meddens, Todd J. Hawbaker, Jennifer S. Briggs, Robert E. Kennedy
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The recent mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) epidemic has affected millions of hectares of conifer forests in the Rocky Mountains. Land managers are interested in using biomass from beetle-killed trees for bioenergy and biobased…
Author(s): Woodam Chung, Paul Evangelista, Nathaniel Anderson, Anthony Vorster, Hee Han, Krishna Poudel, Robert Sturtevant
Year Published:

Widespread tree mortality from mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) outbreaks has prompted forest management activities to reduce crown fire hazard in the Rocky Mountain region. However, little is known about how beetle-…
Author(s): Paul R. Hood, Kellen N. Nelson, Charles C. Rhoades, Daniel B. Tinker
Year Published:

Spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreaks are rapidly spreading throughout subalpine forests of the Rocky Mountains, raising concerns that altered fuel structures may increase the ecological severity of wildfires. Although many recent…
Author(s): Amanda R. Carlson, Jason S. Sibold, Timothy J. Assal, Jose F. Negron
Year Published: