Cargando…
Within-Stand Distribution of Tree Mortality Caused by Mountain Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins
The mountain pine beetle (MPB) (Dendroctonus ponderosae) is a bark beetle that attacks and kills ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), among other pine species throughout the western conifer forests of the United States and Canada, particularly in dense stands comprising large trees. There is informatio...
Autor principal: | |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2020
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7073608/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32050608 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects11020112 |
_version_ | 1783506657394819072 |
---|---|
author | Negrón, José F. |
author_facet | Negrón, José F. |
author_sort | Negrón, José F. |
collection | PubMed |
description | The mountain pine beetle (MPB) (Dendroctonus ponderosae) is a bark beetle that attacks and kills ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), among other pine species throughout the western conifer forests of the United States and Canada, particularly in dense stands comprising large trees. There is information on the stand conditions that the insect prefers. However, there is a paucity of information on how small-scale variation in stand conditions influences the distribution of tree mortality within a stand. I examined the small-scale distribution of ponderosa pine basal area pre- and post a mountain pine beetle infestation, and used geostatistical modeling to relate the spatial distribution of the host to subsequent MPB-caused tree mortality. Results indicated increased mortality in the denser parts of the stand. Previous land management has changed historically open low-elevation ponderosa pine stands with aggregated tree distribution into dense stands that are susceptible to mountain pine beetles and intense fires. Current restoration efforts are aimed at reducing tree density and leaving clumps of trees, which are more similar to historical conditions. The residual clumps, however, may be susceptible to mountain pine beetle populations. Land managers will want to be cognizant of how mountain pine beetles will respond to restoration treatments, so as to prevent and mitigate tree mortality that could negate restoration efforts. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-7073608 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2020 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-70736082020-03-20 Within-Stand Distribution of Tree Mortality Caused by Mountain Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins Negrón, José F. Insects Article The mountain pine beetle (MPB) (Dendroctonus ponderosae) is a bark beetle that attacks and kills ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), among other pine species throughout the western conifer forests of the United States and Canada, particularly in dense stands comprising large trees. There is information on the stand conditions that the insect prefers. However, there is a paucity of information on how small-scale variation in stand conditions influences the distribution of tree mortality within a stand. I examined the small-scale distribution of ponderosa pine basal area pre- and post a mountain pine beetle infestation, and used geostatistical modeling to relate the spatial distribution of the host to subsequent MPB-caused tree mortality. Results indicated increased mortality in the denser parts of the stand. Previous land management has changed historically open low-elevation ponderosa pine stands with aggregated tree distribution into dense stands that are susceptible to mountain pine beetles and intense fires. Current restoration efforts are aimed at reducing tree density and leaving clumps of trees, which are more similar to historical conditions. The residual clumps, however, may be susceptible to mountain pine beetle populations. Land managers will want to be cognizant of how mountain pine beetles will respond to restoration treatments, so as to prevent and mitigate tree mortality that could negate restoration efforts. MDPI 2020-02-10 /pmc/articles/PMC7073608/ /pubmed/32050608 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects11020112 Text en © 2020 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Negrón, José F. Within-Stand Distribution of Tree Mortality Caused by Mountain Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins |
title | Within-Stand Distribution of Tree Mortality Caused by Mountain Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins |
title_full | Within-Stand Distribution of Tree Mortality Caused by Mountain Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins |
title_fullStr | Within-Stand Distribution of Tree Mortality Caused by Mountain Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins |
title_full_unstemmed | Within-Stand Distribution of Tree Mortality Caused by Mountain Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins |
title_short | Within-Stand Distribution of Tree Mortality Caused by Mountain Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins |
title_sort | within-stand distribution of tree mortality caused by mountain pine beetle, dendroctonus ponderosae hopkins |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7073608/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32050608 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects11020112 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT negronjosef withinstanddistributionoftreemortalitycausedbymountainpinebeetledendroctonusponderosaehopkins |