Description

In 2018-2019 the Landscape Assessment System (LAS), an aerial survey method was used to assess mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae; MPB) - caused mortality of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (59000 km2; GYE). This consisted of 11,942 km of flightlines, along which 4,434 geo-tagged, oblique aerial photos were captured and processed. A mortality rating of none to severe (0 to 4 nt attack or 5.0 5.4 old attack) was assigned to each photo based on the amount of red (recent attack) and gray (old attack) trees visible. The method produced a photo inventory of 74 percent of the GYE whitebark pine distribution. For the remaining 26 percent of the distribution, mortality levels were estimated based on an interpolated mortality surface. Catchment level results combining the photo-inventoried and interpolated mortality indicated that 44 percent of the GYE whitebark pine distribution showed severe old attack mortality (5.3 5.4 rating), 37 percent showed moderate old attack mortality (5.2 5.29 rating), 19 percent showed low old attack mortality (5.1 to rating) and less than 1 percent showed trace levels of old attack mortality (5.0 5.09). No catchments were classified as recent attacks indicating that the outbreak of the early 2000s has ended. However, mortality continues to occur as chronic sub-outbreak level mortality. Ground verification using field plots indicates that higher LAS mortality values are moderately correlated with higher percentage mortality on-the-ground.

Author ORCID Identifier

William W. Macfarlane https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1876-5453

Document Type

Dataset

DCMI Type

Dataset

File Format

.

Viewing Instructions

GIS software including ESRI ArcGIS, QGIS, and Google Earth.

Publication Date

11-30-2023

Funder

USDA, Forest Service (FS)

Publisher

Utah State University

Award Number

USDA, Forest Service (FS) 17-CS-11020000-082

Methodology

Aerial oblique imagery was collected from a fixed wing aircraft. These images were used to classify whitebark pine mortality levels. These photos were displayed both point and catchment level polygon files. Maps were generated from this information. Field data was used to validate the aerial assessment of tree mortality. Data includes input, intermediate, output, and field validated data sets. Data includes geotagged oblique aerial photos, GIS point and polygon whitebark pine mortality data and associated catchment boundaries.

Scientfic Names

Dendroctonus ponderosae, Pinus albicaulis

Referenced by

Macfarlane, W.W.; Howell, B.; Logan, J.A.; Smith, A.L.; Rasmussen, C.C.; Spangler, R.E. Climate Change-Driven Cumulative Mountain Pine Beetle-caused Whitebark Pine Mortality in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Forests 2023.

Start Date

2018

End Date

2019

Location

Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Language

eng

Code Lists

See README.

Disciplines

Environmental Sciences | Forest Sciences

License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.26078/0n3a-mt47

Checksum

5e386ee3d14bfc6308ae85b55b99edc3

Download

Additional Files

README File Climate Change-Driven Cumulative Mountain Pine Beetle-Caused Whitebark Pine Motality in the Greater Yellowstone Ecos.txt (9 kB)
md5: 8b6acf6a22eeccf675d5ff42b1ab1dfa

Share

 
COinS