Collaborative Research: Spruce Beetle and Wildfire Interactions Under Varying Climate in the Rockies

这项研究项目将研究在落基山脉的针叶林中云杉树皮甲虫的爆发和野火活动之间的关系。 自20世纪90年代初以来，随着气温的升高，从阿拉斯加到美国西南部的北美西部针叶林中一直发生着本土小蠹的同步爆发。 树皮甲虫爆发造成的大量树木死亡正在引发森林景观及其相关生态系统服务的重大变化。 这个合作研究项目将解决以下问题野火和云杉甲虫爆发之间的相互作用，在不同的气候和生态系统服务的后果：（1）气候变化如何影响云杉甲虫爆发的启动和蔓延在复杂的景观？ (2)先前的风暴、伐木和火灾干扰如何影响云杉甲虫爆发的后续发生和严重程度？ (3)在最近气候变暖的背景下，云杉甲虫的爆发如何影响森林结构和组成？ (4)在不同的气候条件下，云杉甲虫的爆发如何影响燃料和潜在的野火活动？ (5)在适应性森林管理的不同情景下，气候变化以及野火和云杉甲虫活动对气候敏感的干扰将如何影响落基山脉南部亚高山地区未来的生态系统服务？ 前四个问题将通过实证研究来解决，包括广泛的树木年轮重建过去的干扰，重新测量永久森林地块，实地测量云杉甲虫爆发对燃料的影响，火灾行为建模，以及最近云杉甲虫爆发的传播的时空分析。第五个问题将通过模拟未来森林状况及其对关键选定生态系统服务的影响，包括生物多样性、野生动物栖息地和对环境变化的适应能力，进行研究，该项目将有助于了解不同气候条件下火甲虫的相互作用及其对生态系统服务的影响。 该项目将提供有关气候对树皮甲虫爆发的影响，野火和其他干扰的反馈以及可持续生态系统服务的新信息和见解。 该项目将提供最新的科学信息，通过评估不同的适应性管理战略来支持森林管理和决策需求，以保持生物多样性，野生动物栖息地和生态系统在气候变化面前的复原力。 该项目将编制大学预科和大学一级关于野火和树皮甲虫相互作用的课程材料。 它将为研究生和本科生以及早期职业博士后研究人员创造现场和实验室教育和培训经验。 为了进一步加强关于火甲虫主题的公众教育，该项目将制作一部纪录片录像，并建立一个网站，提供关于气候变化下的树皮甲虫和野火的常见问题。

This research project will examine relationships between outbreaks of spruce bark beetles and wildfire activity in coniferous forests of the Rocky Mountains. Coincident with warmer temperatures, since the early 1990s synchronous outbreaks of native bark beetles have been occurring throughout coniferous forests of western North America from Alaska to the U.S. Southwest. Extensive tree mortality caused by bark beetle outbreaks is triggering major changes in forest landscapes and their associated ecosystem services. This collaborative research project will address the following questions about interactions between wildfire and spruce beetle outbreaks under varying climate and their consequences for ecosystem services: (1) How does climatic variation affect the initiation and spread of spruce beetle outbreaks across complex landscapes? (2) How does prior disturbance by windstorm, logging, and fire affect the subsequent occurrence and severity of spruce beetle outbreak? (3) In the context of a recently warmed climate, how do spruce beetle outbreaks affect forest structure and composition? (4) How do spruce beetle outbreaks affect fuels and potential wildfire activity under varying climatic conditions? (5) How will climate change and the climate-sensitive disturbances of wildfire and spruce beetle activity affect future ecosystem services in the subalpine zone of the southern Rocky Mountains under varying scenarios of adaptive forest management? The first four questions will be addressed through empirical research, including extensive tree-ring reconstructions of past disturbances, re-measurement of permanent forest plots, field measurements of effects of spruce beetle outbreaks on fuels, fire behavior modeling, and spatiotemporal analyses of the spread of recent spruce beetle outbreaks. The fifth question will be examined through simulation modeling of future forest conditions and their consequences for key selected ecosystem services, including biodiversity, wildlife habitat, and resilience to environmental change.The project will contribute to understanding of fire-beetle interactions under varying climate conditions and their consequences for ecosystem services. The project will provide new information and insights about climate impacts on bark beetle outbreaks, feedbacks to and from wildfire and other disturbances, and sustaining ecosystem services. The project will provide current science information in support of forest management and decision making needs through evaluation of different adaptive management strategies to maintain biodiversity, wildlife habitat, and ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change. The project will develop pre-collegiate and collegiate-level curriculum material on wildfire and bark beetle interactions. It will create field and laboratory educational and training experiences for graduate and undergraduate students as well as an early-career postdoctoral researcher. To further enhance public education on fire-beetle topics, the project will produce a documentary video as well as a website of frequently asked questions about bark beetles and wildfire in the face of climate change.