Chuck Rhoades, watershed biogeochemistry researcher for the USDA forest service, talks about bark beetle activity in Southern Rockies forests. He discusses the Southern Rockies context, gives an overview of the outbreak, and its general patterns.
He discusses the risk factors for Lodgepole pine and Spruce firs as well as the observed changes in the Southern Rockies climate and precipitation levels. The Colorado Mountain Pine Beetle Event outbreak started in the late 1990s and peaked in 2008. 1.4 million cumulative hectares have been impacted since 1996. The outbreak is now moving into ponderosa where there are still hosts.
Once the outbreak started it was only the depletion of the host that ended it. Basal area losses in the Southern Rockies Lodgepole pine are 74% in MPB salvage areas, and 64% in the Rocky Mountain National Park. The Spruce beetle outbreak started in 2000, and is primarily finished. About 400 000 thousands of acres have been infested as of 2013. This presentation was a part of the Mountain Pine Beetle Information Exchange Forum, April 2014.
