Collaborative Research: Wildfire and Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks in Subalpine Forests: Cross-Scale Interactions Under Varying Climate

大爆发的本地树皮甲虫（大小蠹属）。从阿拉斯加西部到美国西南部，整个北美西部的针叶林都在发生，据信与气候变暖有关。在科罗拉多，超过270,000公顷的小松树林最近被山地松甲虫（MPB）（D。这项研究解决了四个关键问题的野火，爆发和气候的相互作用和潜在的跨尺度反馈在北方科罗拉多亚高山森林。1)在季节、年度和数十年时间尺度上的气候变化如何影响MPB爆发在复杂景观中的启动和传播？2)先前的火灾干扰所造成的景观异质性如何影响MPB爆发在复杂景观中的后续干扰的风险和/或传播？3)由MPB先前干扰产生的景观异质性如何影响复杂景观中的燃料危害和野火风险？4)气候和景观之间的特定背景突发事件如何影响野火和MPB爆发的开始和蔓延？该项目将研究不同空间尺度和不同气候条件下野火和树皮甲虫爆发之间可能的反馈。研究和相关的推广将提高对甲虫杀死对未来火灾风险的影响的理解，这对资源管理人员，火灾缓解社区和生活在树皮甲虫受影响地区的公众具有广泛的当前利益。

Large outbreaks of native bark beetles (Dendroctonus spp.) are occurring throughout coniferous forests of western North America, from western Alaska to the U.S. Southwest and are believed to be related to climatic warming. In Colorado more than 270,000 hectares of lodgepole pine forests have recently been infested by mountain pine beetle (MPB) (D. ponderosae), which has led to widespread public concern about increased fire hazard following beetle kill.This research addresses four key questions about interactions of wildfire, outbreaks and climate and their potential cross-scale feedbacks in subalpine forests in northern Colorado. 1) How does climatic variation at seasonal, annual, and multi-decadal time scales affect the initiation and spread of MPB outbreaks across complex landscapes? 2) How does the landscape heterogeneity created by prior disturbance by fire affect the risk and/or spread of subsequent disturbance by MPB outbreak across complex landscapes? 3) How does the landscape heterogeneity created by prior disturbance by MPB affect the fuel hazard and risk of wildfire across complex landscapes? 4) How do context-specific contingencies between climate and the landscape affect the initiation and spread of wildfire and MPB outbreaks?This project will examine possible feedbacks between wildfires and bark beetle outbreaks across different spatial scales and under varying climatic conditions. The research and associated outreach will improve understanding of the influence of beetle kill on future fire risk, which is of broad current interest to resource managers, the fire mitigation community and the public living in the bark-beetle affected areas.