Effects of Mountain Pine Beetle Attack on hydrology and post-attack vegetation and hydrology recovery in lodgepole pine forests in Alberta

This project will describe how mountain pine beetle attack drives changes in hydrology and vegetation. The project will provide necessary data for moutnain pine beetle decision support tools. This is phase one of the project, examining the effects during the red attack stage, immediately after MPB attack.

This project will continue monitoring vegetation and water on plots established in a previous 2008 project.  This is a continuation of the data collection to add to the reports and models created under the original project.  We will conduct site monitoring for the 2011–13 growing season to capture important meterorological variables durring the transition between the present red-green attack and grey attack.  This would include continued monitoring of:

  • crown condition (crown dondition survey consisting of fixed-point prism sweeps with qualitative categorization of crown condition, and re-photography of the hemispherical photo grid/transects) 
  • canopy and understory meterological variables including crown light transmission
  • soil moisture
  • ground water response 

This steeped-down site monitoring could continue into 2013 should the needle cast in late 2012 be insuffiecient to fully represent a fully expresed grey attack condition.

This monitoring will enable a description of how these important environmental conditions will likey drive larger changes in site hydrology and vegetation ecology as they undergo changes during the transition. 

We envision the possiblity of a more concerted research effort describing both stand hydrology and vegetation ecology at this site (similar to the research conducted durring the first two post-treatment years) once needle cast and grey attack conditions at this site are fully expressed. 

April 1 2008
Project Begins

The project kicks off, lead by Uldis Silins

September 13 2012
Final Report Completed

Final Report 2012 submitted

November 19 2012
Project Completed

main body of research complete

The research project is completed

Presentations from the October 26, 2017 Mountain Pine Beetle Workshop
Videos | Summaries and Communications | Meeting Agenda and Proceedings | Audio-Visual | Presentation Slides
Video of four of the presentations from the 2017 MPB Breaking News Workshop, "Impacts of Beetles on Hydrology & Forest Management".
Effects of simulated MPB early red attack on hydrology, post-attack vegetation, fuels, and below-ground dynamics
Summaries and Communications | Presentation Slides
Presentation on effects of mountain pine beetle attack on hydrologic regime of stands, resistance of vegetation, fuels, below-ground dynamics to MPB
Effects of simulated MPB on hydrology and post-attack vegetation and below-ground dynamics
Summaries and Communications | Presentation Slides
Presentation on studies using simulated mountain pine beetle attacks to examine post-attack hydrologic response, vegetation and below-ground response.
Effects of simulated MPB on hydrology and post-attack vegetation and below-ground dynamics
Summaries and Communications | Presentation Slides
Presentation on studies using simulated mountain pine beetle attacks to examine post-attack hydrologic response, vegetation and below-ground response.
Effects of MPB on hydrology and post-attack vegetation dynamics
Summaries and Communications | Presentation Slides
Presentation given at November 2009 FRI Brown Bag Lunch on the effects of the mountain pine beetle on hydrology and post-attack vegetation dynamics.
FRI-day Brown Bag Lunch Poster | Preparing for the Attack: effects of simulated mountain pine beetle on hydrology and vegetation of lodgepole pine forest in west-central Alberta
Summaries and Communications | Posters
Poster announcing presentation on the effects of simulated mountain pine beetle on lodgepole pine forest hydrology and vegetation in west central AB.
Mountain Pine Beetle Ecology Program QuickNote #1: Effects of Mountain Pine Beetle Attack on Hydrology and Post-attack Vegetation and Hydrologic Recovery in Lodgepole Pine Forests
QuickNotes | Summaries and Communications
Note on study using experimental simulation of MPB attacks to study determine the effects on lodgepole pine stands.
No news articles tagged.
Uldis Silins
Professor of forest hydrology and watershed management
Dr. Keith McClain
Dr. Keith McClain
Program Lead