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Full-Text Articles in Forest Sciences
The Effects Of Weather On Facilitating The Intensification And Collapse Of Bark Beetle Outbreaks In Ponderosa Pine Forests Of The Northern Rocky Mountains And The Black Hills, Jordan T. Lestina
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Bark beetles are a diverse family of insect herbivores, of which the most aggressive species can cause significant tree mortality, and are integral components of disturbance regimes in conifer dominated forests of North America. Recent drought events across the western U.S. have been broadly associated with the initiation of multiple bark beetle outbreaks in ponderosa pine forests during the last two decades. Changing weather conditions, such as those observed during the onset of drought, affect outbreak progression through their influence on bark beetle physiology and life history traits and the overall vigor and defensiveness of host trees. This study used …