Effects of a Spruce Beetle (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) Outbreak and Fire on Lutz Spruce in Alaska

Autor:	Edward H. Holsten, Richard A. Werner, Robert L. Develice
Rok vydání:	1995
Předmět:	Ecology biology Dendroctonus rufipennis Species diversity Outbreak Forestry Vegetation biology.organism_classification Calamagrostis canadensis Population density Insect Science PEST analysis Species richness Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics
Zdroj:	Environmental Entomology. 24:1539-1547
ISSN:	1938-2936 0046-225X
DOI:	10.1093/ee/24.6.1539
Popis:	The spruce beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby), has had a major effect on the spruce forests of southcentral Alaska. In one area of the Chugach National Forest, 51% of the Lutz spruce, Picea glauca x lutzii Little, or nearly 90% of the commercial stand volume was killed by spruce beetles during a 16–yr period. The majority of the tree losses occurred during the first 10 yr of the outbreak. Tree species composition remained essentially the same after the outbreak. Forest structure changed with decreased tree density, and species richness declined significantly on the unburned, spruce beetle–effected plots. This reduction in plant diversity was probably a result of the significant increase, and competitive advantage, of bluejoint grass, Calamagrostis canadensis (Michaux) Beauvois, and fireweed, Epilobium angustifolium L., in the heavily beetle–effected plots. Although species richness did not change 7 yr after a prescribed fire, species composition did change. Specifically, the occurrence and percentage of blue joint and fireweed cover significantly increased.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::e11d68bbc2b9f5cdada15cbee5dbbbaf https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/24.6.1539 Zobrazit plný text záznamu