Mountain Pine Beetle - PowerPoint

							Mountain Pine Beetle
    Natural Disaster
           or
 Natural Consequence?
Presentation Overview

   Meet the Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB)
   Importance of Lodgepole Pine in BC
   Life Cycle of the bug
   Green – Red – Gray Attack
   Population Dynamics
   Pine – Beetle – Fire Ecology
   Management Tactics
Meet the MPB

   MPB - a small beetle, the size of a grain of rice
   Range western N.A. (and is now expanding)
   MPB is an important part of the ecosystem
       but it can have dramatic effects
   Preferred host is lodgepole pine
Importance of Lodgepole Pine in BC

   BC – has a vast amount of lodgepole pine
   Some figures:
       95 million ha (hectares) – size of BC
       60 million ha – forested land
       25 million ha – “operational forests”
       15 million ha – lodgepole pine forest (~25% of BC‟s forest)
       13.5 million ha – MPB outbreak

       0.2 million ha harvested per year

   When the outbreak is finished …
       80% of the mature lodgepole pine in BC will be dead
  The Outbreak !!




Videos – Ministry of Forests
Cumulative Damage –of current outbreak (from 1999)
After viewing an animation, when you hit the “back” button to return to
this presentation you may see a window that asks whether you want to
open, save or cancel – select open to return to this slide.
Life Cycle

   Typical 4 stages of an insect (with complete metamorphosis):
       Adult
       Egg
       Larva
       Pupa
Adult
   Adults emerge from under
    the bark in late summer
   Need to fly!
   Female seeks out a suitable
    host
       Larger (older) pine is
        preferred (kairomones)
       Once suitable host is found
        … pheromones female-perfume &
        males-cologne (=party time!)

       Mating pair then tunnels
        into the cambial zone
       Inoculate tree with blue
        stain fungus
       “No vacancy” pheromone
        once tree is fully occupied
Egg

   Parents bore a gallery
    in the inner bark /
    cambial region
   Gallery is vertical
   Eggs are laid
    alternately along the
    sides of the gallery
Larva
   Larva hatch after 1-2
    weeks
   Larva create feeding
    tunnels at right angles
   Inner bark (phloem) is
    full of sugar!

   Larva overwinter under
    the bark …
   … and continue feeding
    next spring
Pupa

   Pupal stage occurs the
    following year
   Takes about 2-4 weeks
    to change from a larva
    to an adult
       Life Cycle Review
4) Next Summer (next generation of adults emerge)



                                                                                 1) Summer (adults emerge & attack)




  3) Next Spring (larva continue feeding, then pupate)


                                                         2) Over winter (as larva under the bark)
Blue Stain Fungus

   Ceratocystis spp. (Ophiostoma)
   Ascomycetes (not a decay fungus)
   Brought in with the beetle
   Fungus infects sapwood
       Blocks water flow
       Reduces ability to „pitch out‟ beetle
       Retains moisture – good for beetle brood
       Provides critical nutrition for young adults
Green – Red – Gray Attack

   In the year a pine tree
    is attacked (summer) it
    remains green
   The following year it
    dies … and turns bright
    red (but beetles are gone)
   After that the foliage
    turns gray and falls off
   Only the green attack
    trees contain beetles
Susceptible Stands

   Susceptibility increases with
       Age (>80 years are at highest risk)
       Size (> 25 cm diameter @ breast ht.)
       Stand composition (higher % of pine, higher risk)
       Stand density (750 – 1,500 trees/ha)
       Temperature (lower latitude/elevation, higher risk)
Population Dynamics (4 Stages)
   4 Stages:
       Endemic – “normal” level – natural thinning agent
       Incipient – building phase
       Epidemic – outbreak! – stand replacing agent
       Collapse (back to endemic)

   Factors favoring the outbreak
       Abundant food source (Pl forest)
       Drought stress (late ‟90‟s and 2003)
       Nice weather for beetle flight (summer)
       Mild winters

   Collapse Factors
     Lack of food
       Cold weather
           -40C „spike‟, -30C prolonged, -20C in shoulder season
Reminder

   This outbreak is the
    largest in BC recorded
    history
   After it is done … ~80%
    of the lodgepole pine
    will be dead
   Reasons for outbreak:
       Abundance of pine
       Mild winters
       Warm summers
MPB – Fire – Lodgepole Pine

   Fire & the MPB play a complex role in regenerating
    lodgepole pine (video)
       you will have the option to download a video from the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) web site; video is about 5 minutes and VERY good
       after viewing the video, when you hit the “back” button to return to this presentation, you may see a window that asks whether you want to open,
        save or cancel – select open to return to this slide


   Low intensity fires act as a thinning agent
   High intensity fires act as a stand replacing agent
   We fight fires … so we now have denser (more
    stressed) stands AND we have more area with older
    lodgepole pine than ever before (3 x‟s)
   Natural fires ~500,000 ha … now ~23,000 ha fire
   Remember the MPB likes older, stressed lodgepole
    pine
Management Options – aimed at MPB
   Annual Monitoring
    (aerial/ground surveys, pheromone traps)

   Mass Trapping                 – often with other trtmts
    (with pheromones, ineffective in epidemic)

   “Go after the beetle”
         Sanitation Logging – a control tactic
          (get the green attack before beetle flight)

         Spot Treatment – for isolated patches
          (insecticide (MSMA) or fall & burn, before flight)

         Broadcast Fire - mimic nature
          (with control measures)

   Hauling Restrictions
    – no hauling during beetle flight (less of an issue in vast epidemic)

   Salvage Logging – not a control tactic
    (get the red/gray attacked trees)

   Abandon – for out of control epidemic
    (just “walk away”)



   Protective Insecticide
    – for urban setting
    (Carbaryl (Sevin) on trunk before flight)

   Pheromone Repellant
    - verbenone, looks promising
    (“no vacancy” scent)

   Trunk Screen
    - fiberglass wrapped around trunk – urban setting
Management – Aimed at Pine

   Log most susceptible
    stands first (80+ yr, 25+ cm dbh, etc.)
   Create an age class mosaic
    within a watershed
   Utilize a shorter rotation
    (harvest) age
   Promote mixed species
    (planting & spacing)

   Remove pine from mixed
    stands (during outbreak)
    (speed succession)

   “Beetle proof” pine stands
    reduce density <500 sph
    (light/temp, wind, vigour)
Summary

   Outbreaks result from an abundant food
    source and favourable weather (warm
    summers & mild winters)
   In spite of best efforts, outbreaks will occur …
    they are natural
   Best time for action is at the incipient stage
   Long term management should focus on
    lodgepole pine, not the MPB
This presentation was brought to by… the
               Tree Doctor
That’s all folks!