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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…
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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…
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The western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis occidentalis Freeman) is recognized as the most ecologically and economically damaging defoliator in western North America. Synchronous western spruce budworm outbreaks can occur over much of a…
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A significant shift in the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, 1902) range has been attributed to long-distance dispersal from the observed spatiotemporal patterns of beetle infestations in the recent outbreak in western Canada.…
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Western spruce budworm (Choristoneura freemani Razowski; WSBW) is the most significant defoliator of coniferous trees in the western United States. Despite its important influence on Western forests, there are still gaps in our knowledge of WSBW’s…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Forests are substantially influenced by disturbances, and therefore accurate information about the location, timing, and magnitude of disturbances is important for understanding effects. In the western United States, the two major disturbance agents…
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Understanding the causes and consequences of rapid environmental change is an essential scientific frontier, particularly given the threat of climate- and land use-induced changes in disturbance regimes. In western North America, recent widespread…
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Extensive outbreaks of bark beetles have killed trees across millions of hectares of forests and woodlands in western North America. These outbreaks have led to spirited scientific, public, and policy debates about consequential increases in fire…
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Fire frequency in low-elevation coniferous forests in western North America has greatly declined since the late 1800s. In many areas, this has increased tree density and the proportion of shade-tolerant species, reduced resource availability, and…
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The causes of bark beetle outbreaks - particularly the role of disturbances - are poorly understood. Stand-scale disturbances, like fires, can suddenly improve local host susceptibility and may attract beetles; however, whether such increases can…
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Wildfires have increased in western North America, creating extensive areas of regenerating forests. There is concern that recent large, stand-replacing fires will synchronize forest development and commit landscapes to a future of increased…
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Induced defense is a common plant strategy in response to herbivory. Although abiotic damage, such as physical wounding, pruning, and heating, can induce plant defense, the effect of such damage by large-scale abiotic disturbances on induced…
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Increased wildfire activity and recent bark beetle outbreaks in the western United States have increased the potential for interactions between disturbance types to influence forest characteristics. However, the effects of interactions between bark…
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In the western United States, mountain pine beetles (MPBs) have killed pine trees across 71,000 km2 of forest since the mid-1990s, leading to widespread concern that abundant dead fuels may increase area burned and exacerbate fire behavior. Although…
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Patches of live, dead, and dying trees resulting from bark beetle-caused mortality alter spatial and temporal variability in the canopy and surface fuel complex through changes in the foliar moisture content of attacked trees and through the…
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Bark beetle outbreaks and wildfires are principal drivers of change in western North American forests, and both have increased in severity and extent in recent years. These two agents of disturbance interact in complex ways to shape forest structure…
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While the use of timber harvests is generally accepted as an effective approach to controlling bark beetles during outbreaks, in reality there has been a dearth of monitoring to assess outcomes, and failures are often not reported. Additionally, few…
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