Tree Survival and Insect Activity in Partially Scorched Ponderosa Pine in the Cerro Grande Wildfire, New Mexico
Conklin DA and Rogers TJ. 2003. Tree Survival and Insect Activity in Partially Scorched Ponderosa Pine in the Cerro Grande Wildfire, New Mexico. R3-03-03. USDA, Forest Service, Southwest Region. Albuquerque, NM
Four rectangular plots containing a sample of 232 ponderosa pine were installed a few weeks after the May 2000 Cerro Grande (Los Alamos) wildfire in an area that burned at low to moderate intensity. Sample trees had an average crown (needle) scorch of about 80 percent and most had moderate to heavy bole char. Seventy-six percent were alive in May 2003, three years after the fire. Survival varied greatly by plot, with 95 percent of the mortality occurring on two of the four plots. About 75 percent of the trees that died had some sign of bark beetle attack. Nearly all of the bark beetle activity occurred in year two and three after the fire, a period of extreme drought. About 1/3 of the live trees on these plots became infested with wood borers; on one plot, a borer/woodpecker complex increased tree mortality. Over half the trees that received 100 percent crown scorch survived the three year period.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Conklin, David; Rogers, Terrence
- Date of Issue
- 2003-09
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service, Southwest Region
- Units
- BAND
- Keywords
- extreme drought, forest health, scorch class, tree survival