Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU

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The USGS Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center (RMGSC) seeks to provide financial assistance for research investigating the potential effects of the native mountain pine beetle (MPB) on forested ecosystems in Colorado’s Front Range. Although the ongoing epidemic outbreak of MPB and its impacts have been quantified and studied in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests west of the Continental Divide, MPB populations are now moving east into the Front Range and actually or potentially affecting different tree species, ecosystems, resources, and human communities and values. The dominant species in lower-elevation Front Range forests is ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), a suitable host for MPB, and ponderosa forests have had a long history of diverse management (thinning, prescribed burning, etc) which may have affected their short-and long-term resilience to MPB attack. However, little evidence exists from previous studies or experience to allow entomologists, forest managers, or researchers to predict the probable impacts on MPB in Front Range ecosystems, or to inform development of the most effective management strategies. Research objectives The CESU recipient will conduct research to investigate the following questions: a) Will the mountain pine beetle (MPB) transition from its current primary host, lodgepole pine, into a second host species, ponderosa pine, and reach epidemic population levels in that species? This question should be addressed through field studies and/or lab experiments that examine host selection by MPB and levels of MPB-induced mortality over time in both lodgepole and ponderosa pine. b) How will the previous management history of ponderosa pine stands affect their resilience to MPB infestation? This question should be addressed in a comprehensive field study that compares forested areas managed in diverse ways (e.g. with thinning, burning, a combination, or no treatment) by multiple agencies, and evaluates tree-, stand- and site-level factors associated with short- and long-term vulnerability to MPB attack.

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