Response of Subalpine Forests to Spruce Beetle Outbreak in Colorado

Authors

Thomas T. Veblen
Keith S. Hadley
Marion S. Reid
Alan J. Rebertus

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Ecology

Publication Date

1991

Issue

1

Volume

72

First Page

213

Last Page

231

Abstract

Age-structure stand analyses and dendrochronological techniques were used to investigate effects of a major spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreak on stand composition, tree age, radial growth and plant succession in subalpine forests in the northern Colorado Rocky Mountains. The outbreak, in the 1940s, resulted in a shift in dominance from Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) to subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), a reduction in maximum and average tree diameter, height and age, and reduced establishment of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) seedlings. Following the outbreak, suppressed small-diameter spruce and subalpine fir were released; growth rates of released trees remained high for >40 years. This pattern of accelerated growth, rather than new seedling establishment, is contrasted with the effects of fire.

Comments

Originally published by the Ecological Society of America. Publisher's PDF available through remote link via JSTOR.
Note: This article appears in the Ecology journal.

Recommended Citation

Veblen, T., Hadley, K., Reid, M. and Rebertus, A. (1991). Response of subalpine forests to spruce beetle outbreak in Colorado. Ecology, 72(1): 213-231.