To copy the URL of a document, Right Click on the document title, select "Copy Shortcut/Copy Link", then paste as needed. Only documents available to the public have this feature enabled.
This project addresses the FSP Timber Growth and Value Program Theme 7.0 ? Climate Change and Research Priority a ? Forest health. The purpose of this project is to develop standard climate spatial databases and climate change projection databases, compatible with the scale of recently developed natural disturbance databases and data on host distribution from forest inventory records, and to use these data to develop and test methods to predict the impacts of climate change on forest pests, using the western spruce budworm ? Douglas-fir system as a test case. Climate change is now explicitly recognized as a major issue facing British Columbia?s forests (MOFR 2006). Two current forest health issues have been directly linked to climate change; Dothistroma needle blight (Woods et al. 2005) and Mountain pine beetle outbreak on lodgepole pine. The size and severity of the present mountain pine beetle outbreak has been attributed to range expansion by the mountain pine beetle due to an increase in climatically favourable habitat, and an increasing amount of lodgepole pine of susceptible age because of a decrease in the amount of stand-replacing disturbances (Taylor et al. 2006). Preliminary modeling analyses have been done of climate change impacts on biogeoclimatic zones, trees species ranges and climatic parameters (Hamann and Wang 2006, Wang et al 2006, Spittlehouse 2006, http://www.pacificclimate.org/scenarios/rbcmuseum/index.cgi?harvest-). All show the potential for rapid widespread changes in forest ecosystems within the next rotation. Though none of these forecasts look at forest pests directly, they indicate major stress for forests trees associated with significant change in environmental factors controlling forest pests. Assessing the future of BC?s forests under the forcing of climate change is a complex task because of the pest-host interactions involved in forest health, the uncertainty and scale of results from climate models and the lack of knowledge of climate requirements of both hosts and pests. This proposed project focuses on compiling and developing appropriate climate data and output from climate models for investigating the future of forest health and testing the data with a single host-pest system. The deliverables would be a tested and relatively standard methodology of analysis, a comprehensive updatable climate data base for forecasting forest health for wide range of possible climates, and specific map-based forecasts for a specific forest health case: the spruce bud worm (Choristineura occidentalis) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Budworms (Choristineura spp) are widespread in the forests of western North America. Speciation has occurred in response to diverse habitats and climates. Western spruce budworm occurs mainly in the range of its principal host Douglas-fir in south central British Columbia (Figure 1a) although larvae will also feed on the foliage of true firs, spruces, western larch and lodgepole pine (BC Ministry of Forests 1999). Two-year cycle budworm (C. biennis) is found on spruce and subalpine fir in north-central B.C. and at higher elevations in southern interior B.C, black-headed budworm (C. gloverana) is found on western hemlock in wetter coastal forests, and eastern spruce budworm (C. fumifera) occurs on spruce in the Boreal White and Black Spruce zone in northeast B.C. This project will focus on developing databases and techniques with reference to western spruce budworm but it is anticipated these techniques may be adapted for other budworm species. Western spruce budworm (WSBW) has a long association with Douglas-fir in western North America. Using dendrochronological methods, Swetman and Lynch (1993) documented nine regional-scale western spruce budworm outbreaks over approximately a 300 period in New Mexico, at the southern extent of its range; Campbell et al. (2005) documented seven outbreaks over a 300 year period near Kamloops, near the northern extent of WSBW outb ...
Murdock, Trevor Q.. 2007. Development and analysis of climate change and forest health databases and models for BC: western spruce budworm and Douglas-fir. Forest Investment Account (FIA) - Forest Science Program. Forest Investment Account Report. FIA2007MR330
Topic: FLNRORD Research Program
Keywords: Forest, Investment, Account, (FIA), Choristoneura, occidentalis, British, Columbia
ISSN:
Scientific Name:
ISBN:
English Name:
Other Identifier:
To copy the URL of a document, Right Click on the document title, select "Copy Shortcut/Copy Link", then paste as needed. Only documents available to the public have this feature enabled.
