Worst climate change threat - mountain pine beetle

[armybloke]

Found some interesting facts from the BBC Nature website so I posted this and you can have a look at the rest on BBC News - Plant pests: The biggest threats to food security?

 

The cumulative effect of the current outbreak of Dendroctonus ponderosae in British Columbia, Canada, has killed 13 million hectares of lodgepole pine forest and released an estimated 270 million tonnes of carbon, converting the forest from a carbon sink to a large net carbon source.

 

Generally, climate change is likely to mean that many wood-boring pests of cold northern climes will become more destructive, since higher temperatures will increase winter survival and possibly enable an extra generation in the summer.

 

Ironically then, northern forests, seen as a bastion against climate change, will become more threatened by it.

[easy-lift guy]

Just curious how many cases of Dendroctonus ponderosae have been recorded in this neck of the woods ie. how far back to the present?

easy-lift guy