At the 2012 Mountain Pine Beetle Ecology Program workshop, hosted by the Foothills Research Institute, Rene Alfaro presented results from years of research in BC and Alberta concerning how forests regenerate after a disturbance. Ecological disturbances basically reset the ecosystem, and can transform a forest. Lodgepole pine is a fire-generated species, making forests of single-story pine, an ideal host for the mountain pine beetle. Sites examined in this research indicate that there is generally a delay of at least six years between disturbance (mountain pine beetle attack) and regeneration. The regeneration characteristics of a forest will vary depending on the intensity of the attack and the composition of the forest to begin with.
Rene Alfaro is a Research Scientist, Forest Entomology with the Pacific Forestry Centre of the Canadian Forest Service.
