Taking the long view: Mountain pine beetles as agents of change

Abstract

Dan McCollum, a research economist with the Rocky Mountain Research Station, recently co-authored a related article titled “Bark Beetle Infestation of Western U.S. Forests: A Context for Assessing and Evaluating Impacts.” Published in the March 2019 issue of Journal of Forestry, the article uses bark beetles as an example to describe an “overall impact” evaluation approach for complex disturbance events. According to the article, effective evaluations consider the interactions and feedbacks between ecological factors and socioeconomic factors, as well as between direct and indirect disturbance effects. A direct effect would be the death of a tree, while an indirect effect relates to carbon storage: While carbon sequestration initially decreases due to dead wood decomposition, it increases as forest regrowth occurs because younger trees are generally more productive than old trees. McCollum explains, “Applying the approach is mostly a matter of recognizing that one must go beyond looking at the direct effects of a disturbance or management action to really understand the impact.

Citation

Negron, Jose; McCollum, Dan. 2020. Taking the long view: Mountain pine beetles as agents of change. Science You Can Use (in 5 Minutes), March 2020. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.