Beetle/fire double whammy: Even tough-as-nails lodgepole pine may struggle to recover after wildfires

Charles C. Rhoades

Treesearch

Beetle/fire double whammy: Even tough-as-nails lodgepole pine may struggle to recover after wildfires

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Charles C. Rhoades

Year:

2023

Type:

Science Bulletins and Newsletters

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

Science You Can Use (in 5 Minutes), March 2023. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p

Download (PDF 1.67 MB)

Download (PDF 1.67 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/66018.pdf

Abstract

Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) has a reputation for indestructibility, but recent events in the Southern Rockies may have pushed even this stalwart species to the edge. Research by Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) scientist Chuck Rhoades and colleagues shows that lodgepole forests burned by wildfires following mountain pine beetle outbreaks may not generate enough seedlings to return to predisturbance tree densities.

Keywords

postfire beetle-kill lodgepole pine, climate change, alter forest, serotinous cones

Citation

Rhoades, Chuck. 2023. Beetle/fire double whammy: Even tough-as-nails lodgepole pine may struggle to recover after wildfires. Science You Can Use (in 5 Minutes), March 2023. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.