Modeling The Effects Of A Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak And Potential Management Responses In Alberta S Eastern Slopes

We used a simulation model and two management scenarios to investigate possible effects of a severe mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) epidemic in Alberta, Canada. Our simulated outbreak was based on the current epidemic in British Columbia, which may kill close to 80% of the province's pine volume. Our two management scenarios were conventional harvest and a pine-reduction strategy modeled on a component of Alberta's Mountain Pine Beetle Management Strategy. The pine strategy seeks to reduce the number of susceptible pine stands by 75% over the next 20 years through targeted harvesting by the forest industry. Our simulations showed that the pine strategy could not be effectively implemented, even if the beetle outbreak was delayed for 20 years. Even though we increased mill capacity by 20% and directed all harvesting to high volume pine stands during the pine strategy's surge cut, the amount of highly susceptible pine was reduced by only 43%. Additional pine volume remained within mixed stands that were not targeted by the pine strategy. When the outbreak occurred in each scenario, sufficient pine remained on the landscape for the beetle to cause the timber supply to collapse. Alternative management approaches and avenues for future research are discussed.

"This report assesses the threat of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) to Canada's boreal and eastern pine forests. It is based on available evidence and expert advice provided by researchers and forest managers at two workshops held in Edmonton, Alberta and Victoria, British Columbia during August and September of 2007."--Document.

The main goal of this project was to adapt existing mountain pine beetle (MPB) decision-support tools to incorporate climatic suitability information to refine the spatial characterization of present climate and to support assessments of future climate. These tools include susceptibility and risk rating systems, the MPBSim stand-scale MPB population model, the landscape-scale SELES-MPB population model, and graph-based connectivity methods. We made significant advances on all of these, resulting in a suite of tools with increased capabilities and generality. During the course of this project, we also provided decisions support in the specific areas of study, in particular Dawson Creek and central-western Alberta. The basis of the climatic suitability was the work of A. Carroll et al. (2004) which produced estimates of MPB climatic suitability in five classes across western Canada, for historical, existing and future climates. Future climate information was derived from global circulation models such as the CGCM model. They input general climate information into the BioSim tool, in conjunction with topography and other variables relevant to downscaling for MPB, to produce the MPB climatic suitability maps. We used these maps to create an adaptation of the MPB susceptibility and risk rating system that replaced the coarser location factor (based on latitude, longitude and elevation) with MPB climatic suitability. It is important to note that the MPB climatic suitability refers only to climatic conditions relevant for MPB survival and reproduction, while the susceptibility rating system incorporates pine host information. We also modified MPBSim, a stand-scale population model, to utilize the MPB climatic suitability information. In previous applications, MPBSim was adapted to local conditions via a calibration process using local weather information. In some senses, this calibration process resulted in a reasonably precise adjustment to local conditions. However, it was also fairly labour intensive and didn't account as well for spatial variability. Our approach here was to use climatic suitability to both increase spatial precision as well as produce outputs that can be readily adapted to different stand and landscapes. The SELES-MPB landscape-scale population model scales MPBSim dynamics to broad spatial areas. We modified this tool to utilize the revised MPBSim output. This supports more rapid adaptation to other landscapes, as well as allows examination of potential effects of future climate. Our Dawson Creek analysis indicated that beetle management in the Dawson Creek area could significantly affect the spread and impact of the beetle outbreak over the next 10 years, provided that high levels of fell and burn and survey efforts are maintained. Estimated impacts are significantly affected by external pressure from the main outbreak, as estimated using the provincial-scale BCMPB projection. If mountain pine beetle populations can be held low until the main outbreak subsides (which will likely occur within the next five years due to availability of hosts), management should be able to curtail major losses in the Dawson Creek area. In areas with new or no current MPB attack, especially in areas within the expanding range, there is relatively high uncertainty of how the MPB may spread, such as in central-western Alberta. We developed graph-based connectivity methods to assess the spatial pattern of high susceptibility hosts across broad regions, under historic, existing or future climates. This information has been useful to help prioritize and rank stands for treatment in areas of imminent or future risk, and to identify areas for which treatment has no benefit.

The S2Mountain Pine Beetle Symposium: Challenges and SolutionsS3 was held in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada on October 30-31, 2003. This meeting was organized by Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre and funded through the Government of Canada Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative. Approximately 250 people representing the forest industry, consultants, universities, provincial and federal government agencies, First Nations, and the general public, from both Canada and the United States attended the meeting. Thirty presentations were given describing the current mountain pine beetle situation (in British Columbia, Alberta and the western United States) and its management and economic implications. Researchers presented the latest information on remote sensing, decision support systems, impacts on stand dynamics and wildlife, phytosanitary risks, climate change effects and preventive management as they relate to mountain pine beetle.

This study is part of a series of research papers that explore the biological, social, and economic aspects of British Columbia's mountain pine beetle epidemic. The purpose of this report is to examine document changes in stand characteristics of pine dominated stands following mountain pine beetle (MPB) attack and to assess the potential of stand development after MPB attack without management intervention.--Includes text from Government of Canada publications site and from document.

"This book presents a synthesis of published information on mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins [Coleoptera: Scolytidae]) biology and management with an emphasis on lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) forests of western Canada. Intended as a reference for researchers as well as forest managers, the book covers three main subject areas: mountain pine beetle biology, management, and socioeconomic concerns. The chapters on biology cover taxonomy, life history and habits, distribution, insect-host tree interactions, development and survival, epidemiology, and outbreak history. The management section covers management strategy, survey and detection, proactive and preventive management, and decision support tools. The chapters on socioeconomic aspects include an economic examination of management programs and the utilization of post-beetle salvage timber in solid wood, panelboard, pulp and paper products."--Publisher's description.