Mountain Pine Beetle in British Columbia www.AssignmentPoint.com
Life Cycle of Pine Beetle
About MPB Attacks ALL types of pine trees, but preferential to Lodgepole and Ponderosa Pine. No Larger than a grain of rice. MPB are a natural aspect to a forest ecosystem Beetles don’t kill the tree, Bluestain Fungus kills the tree.
The Problems Dense Forests Allow Easy Access to New Host Trees. Average Temperatures in Central BC Have Been significantly warmer than normal Warm Temperatures allow MPB to thrive.
Forests Destroyed
Extent of Dead Forests (Courtesy River Forecast Centre, B.C. Ministry of Environment) Total Land Area Equivalent to California and New York Combined
30 Year Temperature Threshold Need 12 Hours of -40*F J. Régnière, et al. (2003)
Consequences A large CO2 sink now becomes a large CO2 Source (End of 2020, 990 Megatons Released) Fuel for Catastrophic Wildfires
How To Control MPB
Better Forestry Practices
Better Forestry Practices
Healthy Forest Stand
Other Methods Spraying Tree With Pesticide Restoring Fire Cycles If Isolated Event, Remove Tree ASAP (It Cannot be saved) Large Thinning Projects and controlled burns are the only long term solution for MPB