Madeleine+Tory+Deforestation+Research+Notes

can we control growth and destruction of invasive species in forests? Overview of what is happening?**
 * My proposed question:

1 increased temperatures farther north and at higher elevations- allowing complete life cycles in areas previously not susceptible to the beetle) 2 possibly regional drought-making trees more susceptible to beetle attacks
 * Pine beetles, scientifically known as Dendroctonus Ponderosae are infesting pine trees in the western part of Canada, eating them, causing them to
 * Two aspects of the current epidemic are widely believed to have been exacerbated by climate change:

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 * Why is this bad?**
 * Not as much timber can be sent to the US because so many trees are dying- loss of money
 * Lumber cannot be used for creating biomass energy
 * Beetle outbreak in the high-elevation pine ecosystems could significantly alter these ecosystems, because these pines are much slower to regenerate and small high elevation pines are highly susceptible to the white pine blister rust (an introduced fungus)
 * In 2006 9.2 million hectares of forest were in an advanced stage of attack from the mountain pine beetle
 * People are worried that the attacks will spread to Alberta
 * will have economic implications for 30 communities and will impact 25,000 families whose livelihood depends on the pulp and paper industry
 * Werner Kurz (scientist) estimates the beetle's devastation will release almost a billion megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by 2020
 *  There is no solution to this problem- spraying every tree with pesticide is an unrealistic idea, as well as being very bad for the environment
 * The beetle is expected to have wiped out 80 per cent of the pine forest by 2013
 * The beetles may also spread to infection jack pine trees (similar to lodge-pole pines)
 * Scientists will predict that if we do not do anything about 80% of our forests will be wiped out
 * Are there ways the beetle can be stopped?**
 * No one has the answer to this question
 * The needles of trees that have died turn a bright red, providing clues to where the insects have been. Ground crews then fell the beetle-infested trees and burn them in winter to prevent their spread to other locations
 * beetles can be lured to trees by a pheromone (like the female smell) once they are lured to the tree they are killed
 * Will not kill the population but will help it die out
 * The problem with this solution is that it will effect the Caribou population negatively
 * Managing the beetle has proven to be difficult in B.C. where the insect has affected over 7 million hectares of pine forest
 *  To reduce the risk of mountain pine beetle-colonized logs being moved from an infested area to a new area, Alberta restricts the transportation of pine logs with bark attached, especially during the summer beetle flight.
 * <span style="font-family: helvetica,arial,verdana,sans-serif;">
 * How does the beetle kill the tree?**

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;">
 * Is as small as rice, but a whole group can take down a pine tree
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;">A female beetle starts the process by licking trees until it finds a lodgepole pine mature enough — at least 80 years old
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;">Once the females have found an old enough tree they begin boring through the bark, while at the same secreting a pheromone that attracts male beetles to the site. The males then let out a pheromone attracting more females
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;">This process goes on until there are enough beetles on one tree
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;">If the number of beetles attacking are a small amount, the tree can sometimes withstand it
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;">The beetles carry spores of blue-stained fungus in compartments in their mouths, and when they go underneath the bark of the tree, they release these spores into the tree- the trees can no longer protect themselves
 * Why have they all of a sudden become such a problem?**


 * Two main reasons- climate change & bad forest management
 * When stopping forest fires the forest management has actually provided mature trees for the beetles to attack
 * The climate change has made it possible for the beetles to survive in colder areas where they would not normally be able to


 * Spruce Bud Worm**


 * Western Spruce Bud Worm (Vancouver Island) has stopped being a problem because of increase in sea temperature, which has limited the availability of the bugs food
 * a 90 year increase in winter temperature has stopped the outbreak and almost made the western spruce budworm extinct
 * "This pest will always be there at a very low level, but its population can't expand. The opportunity for the bug to infest its hose, the Douglas fir, is less and less."- Ross Benton
 * Spruce Budworm outbreaks in beginning of twentieth century
 * "Previous problems with budworm outbreaks are gone, but new species that weren't a problem before may become one" -Dr. Thomson
 * Mountain pine beetles have been on of the highest-profile forestry problems in the past decade
 * Since 1997 pine beetle have infested 300 000 ha of lodge-pole pine
 * over time has killed 80 million trees over 450 000 ha, making them the second most important natural disturbance agent after fire in these forests.

pinewood nematode: red turpentine beetle: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,Palatino,fantasy;"> **Western Balsam Bark Beetle <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,Palatino,-webkit-fantasy;">
 * Other Invasive Species**
 * was found in dead trees in North America
 * came from China, Taiwan, Portugal, and Europe
 * destructive forest pest in China
 * killed 6 million pines in recent years
 * a<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,Palatino,fantasy; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> red turpentine beetle male adult cannot bore into a pine without an already made tunnel that has been bored by a female, whereas a female cannot bore into the tree without the presence of a male
 * attacking in colorado alongside spruce beetles
 * about 3.4-4.3mm long
 * life cycle takes two years- depending on climate can sometimes be one
 * adult balsam beetle carries a lesion-causing fungus
 * lesions caused by the fungus can kill a tree and make it susceptible to more pest attacks
 * Background of BC - western cordillera- western canada (BC)**
 * it is a huge range of mountains separated by plateaus and valleys
 * the mountains are geologically young
 * The collision of the North American and the Pacific plates is responsible for uplifting this region into several mountain ranges about 680km wide
 * The heavier Pacific plate forces its way under the lights North American plate causing much folding, faulting, and volcanic activity--result was the Western Cordillera
 * Mountains in the W.C. run north to south
 * This is an obstacle to transportation because main routes must go east to west
 * Only a few passes and gaps are low enough to allow highways and railways to cross over
 * The W.C. is highly populated--people live in the farming and mining towns
 * Towns like Banff and Jasper thrive because of tourists who come to see the beautiful mountains
 * Have some of the only remaining glaciers


 * Bibliographies**

__Websites__: Jay, P. (2009, April 23). //The Beetle and the damage done//. Retrieved March 24, 2010, from CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/science/beetle.html

Goldenberg, S. (2009, October 29). //Canada sets aside its boreal forest as giant carbon vault//. Retrieved March 12, 2010, from Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/29/canada-boreal-forest-carbon-vault

<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;">Struck, D. (2008, March 5). //'Rapid Warming' brings devastation to Canada's forests//. Retrieved March 12, 2010, from Google News: http://new.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=20060305&id=o7ENAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MXIDAAAAIBAIJ&pg=6714,1741327

M.E.D. (2008, February 13). //Global Warming can increase crop damage and forest devastion//. Retrieved March 6, 2010, from M.E.D. India: Networking for Health: http://www.medindia.net/news/Global-Warming-Can-Increase-Crop-Damage-And-Forest-Devastation-32969-1.htm

//Forest Invasice Species: Country Report -P.R. China//. (2008). Retrieved April 12, 2010, from APFISN: http://apfisn.net/sites/all/there/themes/framework/country_report/China.pdf

Lui, Z. (2006, August). //Environmental Entomology//. Retrieved April 19, 2010, from BioOne: http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1603/0046-225X-33.4.1030

__Books:__ Jay Withgott, S. B. (2010). //environment: the science behind the stories.// Toronto: Pearson Education Canada.