Sawflies and ponderosa pine: hypothetical response surfaces for pine genotype, ontogenic stage, and stress level

Abstract

Patterns that occur in nature are the result of a complex set of current and historical factors that interact with one another and the adaptive plasticity of plants. Scientists are forced to assess such processes on the basis of series of "snapshots" over a relatively short time that represent only part of the grand pattern. In the case of insects interacting with forest trees, there are dozens of environmental and host plant factors that could be the key factor responsible for the patterns we observe. Because of the high experimental standards of research and the many potentially important factors, scientists tend to construct models by which to test specific hypotheses about key factors. This methodology produces a body of knowledge about a particular factor (e.g. moisture stress) that does not necessarily integrate well with the body of knowledge about a second factor (e.g. genetic resistance). These disjoint sets of data encourage scientists to think in terms of components, and that leads them to draw conclusions about single factors, in isolation from many other important factors. Such conclusions can be misleading.

Parent Publication

• Forest Insect Guilds: Patterns of Interaction with Host Trees

Citation

Wagner, Michael R. 1991. Sawflies and ponderosa pine: hypothetical response surfaces for pine genotype, ontogenic stage, and stress level. In: Baranchikov, Yuri N.; Mattson, William J.; Hain, Fred P.; Payne, Thomas L., eds. Forest Insect Guilds: Patterns of Interaction with Host Trees; 1989 August 13-17; Abakan, Siberia, U.S.S.R. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-153. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station: 21-34.