Canadian Forest Service Publications
Silviculture to reduce landscape and stand susceptibility to the mountain pine beetle. 2004. Whitehead, R.J.; Safranyik, L.; Russo, G.; Shore, T.L.; Carroll, A.L. Pages 233-244 in T.L. Shore, J.E. Brooks, and J.E. Stone, editors. Mountain Pine Beetle Symposium: Challenges and Solutions, October 30-31, 2003, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia, Information Report BC-X-399. 298 p.
Year: 2004
Issued by: Pacific Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 25052
Language: English
Availability: PDF (download)
Abstract
The current landscape in western Canada includes an abundance of older pine stands that have matured without any active silviculture and are consequently very susceptible to mountain pine beetle outbreaks. The key to avoiding future damage is to focus long-term management of pine forests on relieving the conditions that facilitate landscape-level outbreaks. We present an overview of this management concept in three parts: a) landscape-level management of existing pine forests to reduce susceptibility to the development of epidemic outbreaks; b) stand-level management of future pine forests to reduce susceptibility to infestation; and, c) preliminary results of recent research examining the efficacy of spacing mature stands to prevent development of incipient outbreaks.