mpbep 2011 04 prsnttn ecologicalimpactsmpbpineforestssouthernfoothills
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https://foothillsri.ca/sites/default/files/null/MPBEP_2011_04_Prsnttn_EcologicalImpactsMPBPineForestsSouthernFoothills.pdfTRANSCRIPT
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Ecological Impacts of the Mountain
Pine Beetle on Pine Forests of the
Southern Foothills, Alberta
A Case Study in Waterton Lakes National Park
Jodi Axelson (University of Victoria, Department of Geography, Victoria BC)
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Background
• Over the last decade researchers at the Pacific Forestry Centre have conducted a number of studies in lodgepole pine stands in BC and Alberta to examine the effects of the mountain pine beetle (MPB) on stand dynamics.
• Results of these studies have been used in decision support models such as TASS: Tree and Stand Simulator
• In 2008/09 did dendroecological research in the west-central Foothills as part of the Foothills Growth and Yield project “Monitoring and Decision Support for Forest Management in a Mountain Pine Beetle Environment” (Alfaro et al. 2009).
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• In 1981 permanent sample plots (PSPs) were established in five stands in Waterton Lakes National Park to study effects of the 1970s MPB outbreak.
• In 2002 stands were re-measured to evaluate the affect of the outbreak on stand dynamics.
• In 2010 stands were once again re-measured project to fill a key regional gap in the southern Rocky Mountains. In addition, detailed dendroecological samples collected to determine the disturbance history at each stand.
Waterton Lakes National Park
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East Slopes sites
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Objectives
• Develop ecological baselines of biotic disturbances in Waterton Lakes National Park using a dendroecological approach → reconstructing past MPB outbreaks and the mortality and regeneration dynamics post-disturbance
• Examine how biotic disturbances affect future forest structure and composition → overstorey, understorey and fuels
• Integrate dendroecological data collected in this project with previous surveys in the central and northern Rocky Mountains to provide a comprehensive picture of disturbance regimes ands stand dynamics for the east slopes
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• Variable radius plots were used to measure
overstorey metrics with a 2 m2/ha BAF prism (all
years)
• Fixed area plots were established to tally
advance regeneration and seedlings by height
class and species (2002, 2010)
• Coarse and fine fuels were measured along 30
metre transects (2002, 2010)
PSP methods
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• In 2010 dendroecological samples were collected
from overstorey, understorey and CWD
Dendroecological methods
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Results
• The degree of lodgepole pine mortality
was highly variable between plots and
between stands
• Lodgepole pine density has decreased in
all stands from 1981 to 2010
• Lodgepole pine volume decreased in all
stands from 1981 to 2010, with exception
of stand 1
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Overstorey lodgepole pine density
Stand
No.
1981
(sph)
Pl - % Live
(% Dead)
2002
(sph)
Pl - % Live
(% Dead)
2010
(sph)
Pl - % Live
(% Dead)
1 1393 90 (10) 1203 72 (28) 1029 84 (16)
2 1180 45 (55) 727 39 (61) 361 76 (24)
3 1523 68 (32) 765 60 (40) 482 67 (33)
4 724 7 (93) 174 35 (65) 78 49 (51)
5 1163 71 (29) 739 65 (35) 487 80 (20)
Average 1197 56 (44) 721 54 (46) 487 71 (29)
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Lodgepole pine mortality 1981
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1 2 3 4 5
Stand No.
To
tal
tre
es
/ha
Dead Pl
Live Pl
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0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1 2 3 4 5
Stand No.
To
tal
tre
es
/ha
1981
2002
2010
Overstorey lodgepole pine density
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Overstorey lodgepole pine volume
Stand
No. 1981
(m3/ha)
Pl - % Live
(% Dead) 2002
(m3/ha)
Pl - % Live
(% Dead) 2010
(m3/ha)
Pl - % Live
(% Dead)
1 123.74 83 (17) 132.95 78 (22) 133.92 0.89 (0.11)
2 201.62 32 (68) 130.34 50 (50) 86.96 0.78 (0.22)
3 222.42 56 (44) 155.23 80 (20) 77.60 0.77 (0.23)
4 148.19 5 (95) 26.71 30 (70) 14.17 0.50 (0.50)
5 171.01 61 (39) 132.62 78 (22) 71.81 0.85 (0.15)
Average 173.39 47 (53) 115.5 63 (37) 76.89 75 (25)
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Overstorey lodgepole pine volume
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Results
• While there has been a decline in lodgepole pine
density there has been an increase in non-host
species such as spruce and fir from 1981 to
2010
• With the exception of stand 1, sapling and
seedling densities have increased in all stands
from 2002 to 2010
– High degree of variability in stocking between stands
– Composition made up almost entirely of shade tolerant species
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Overstorey Saplings Regeneration
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Saplings Regeneration
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Saplings Regeneration
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Saplings Regeneration
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Results
• Fine fuels have remained relatively
constant between 2002 and 2010
– Stand 2 had increase as standing dead
decreased by 32% between 2002 and 2010
• Coarse fuel mass and volume has
increased in all stands from 2002 to 2010
as MPB killed trees have fallen to the
ground
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Fuels: Mass and Volume
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Disturbance History
• Overstorey pine ages ranged from 83 to 125 years
old, and non-host species ranged between 51 to
104 years old
• MPB was detected in all PSPs via stand-wide
growth releases in the survivors (co-dominant and
intermediate at time of attack)
• Growth release data is supported by death dates for
CWD and lagged regeneration pulses
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Tree-ring data integration
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• Have collected a total of 28 lodgepole pine
chronologies on the east slopes
• Chronologies represent sites spanning 5
degrees of latitude
– West-central region:15 chronologies
– South-western region:11 chronologies
• Objective of studies was to evaluate mountain
pine beetle (MPB) impacts on lodgepole pine
Tree-ring data integration
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• How homogenous is tree-ring variability along a north-south transect on the east slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta?
• How sensitive is tree-ring variability to stand disturbances (e.g., mountain pine beetle outbreaks) versus climate and/or climatic teleconnections?
• Do chronologies from southern Alberta, in areas of known mountain pine beetle outbreak, group with chronologies collected farther north where there are no documented outbreaks?
Research questions
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Factor Analysis
FC4
FC1
FC2
FC3
Factor Eigenvalue Percent total variance
Cumulative percent
1 7.41 28.5 28.5 2 4.81 18.5 47.0 3 3.18 12.2 59.2 4 2.26 8.7 67.9
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Factor chronologies (FCs)
FC1 loaded by low elevation Grande
Prairie chronologies in Lower Foothills
natural sub-region.
FC2 loaded by high elevation chronologies
in Nordegg and Banff area in Subalpine
natural sub-region.
FC3 based on two Waterton Lakes NP
chronologies in the Montane natural
sub-region at mid-elevation.
FC4 loaded by two Jasper NP
chronologies also in mid-elevation
Montane natural su-region.
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Factor chronology 2 (Nordegg-Banff) The Pacific Decadal Oscillation and FC2
1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
Sta
nd
ard
ize
d In
de
x
March PDO
FC2r = 0.56
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• Strong geographical and sub-regional groupings
• Variance was spread amongst each retained FC
• Some factors chronologies had strong correlations to climatic variables and/or climatic indices, whereas others had weak correlations with climate but strong regime shifts possibly indicative of stand disturbance dynamics
• Chronologies in the west-central region did not group with chronologies in the south with documented MPB outbreaks, suggesting that disturbances detected arise from other agents
Inferences
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Take Home Messages
• Stands in Waterton Lakes National Park show remarkable resilience
• Thirty years post-MPB outbreak and stands are more heterogeneous
• In face of uncertainty managers can use this type of information in a more natural disturbances based management framework
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Acknowledgements
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Questions?