Conventional wisdom suggests that large scale bark beetle outbreaks alter fuel complexes resulting in an increased potential for severe fires. Conversely, fires damage trees that may predispose them to bark beetle attack. In reality there is little specific quantified data supporting these assertions, and until recently, relationships between fire and western bark beetles in forests of North America have not been extensively studied. The magnitude of recent outbreaks and large wildfires has resulted in a flurry of research attempting to quantify bark beetle/fire/fuel interactions.
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2012
Mountain Pine Beetle Attack Alters the Chemistry and Flammability of Lodgepole Pine Foliage, Wesley G. Page, Michael J. Jenkins, and Justin B. Runyon; Canadian Journal of Forest Research
Thirty Year Change in Lodgepole and Lodgepole/Mixed Conifer Forest Structure Following 1980s Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak in Western Colorado, USA, K. A. Pelz and F. W. Smith; Forest Ecology and Management
Wildfire Provides Refuge from Local Extinction but is an Unlikely Driver of Outbreaks by Mountain Pine Beetle, Erinn N. Powell, Philip A. Townsend, and Kenneth F. Raffa; Ecological Monographs
Effects of Mountain Pine Beetle on Fuels and Expected Fire Behavior in Lodgepole Pine Forests, Colorado, USA, Tania Schoennagel, Thomas T. Veblen, Jose F. Negron, and Jeremy M. Smith; PLoSOne
Bark Beetles and Fire: Two Forces of Nature Transforming Western Forests, Gail Wells; Fire Science Digest
Storage and Stability of Soil Organic Carbon in Aspen and Conifer Forest Soils of Northern Utah, Mical Woldesalassie, Helga Van Miegroet, Marie Cécile Gruselle, and Nickoli Hambly; Forest Range & Wildland Soils
2011
Changes in Litter and Dead Wood Loads Following Tree Death Beneath Subalpine Conifer Species in Northern Colorado, Christof Bigler and Thomas T. Veblen; Canadian Journal of Forest Research
Influence of Global Warming on Forest Coleopteran Communities with Special Reference to Ambrosia and Bark Beetles, Won IL Choi; Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology
Fire and High-Elevation, Five-Needle Pine (Pinus aristata & P. flexilis) Ecosystems in the Southern Rocky Mountains: What Do We Know?, Jonathan D. Coop and Anna W. Schoettle
Mountain Pine Beetle Host-range Expansion Threatens the Boreal Forest, Catherine I. Cullingham, Janice E.K. Cooke, Sophiw Dang, Corey S. Davis, Barry J. Cooke, and David W. Coltman; Molecular Ecology
Forest Developmental Trajectories in Mountain Pine Beetle Disturbed Forests of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, Matthew Diskin, Monique E. Rocca, Kellen N. Nelson, Carissa F. Aoki, and W H. Romme; Canadian Journal of Forest Research
Fire Injury Reduces Inducible Defenses of Lodgepole Pine against Mountain Pine Beetle, Powell N. Erinn and Kenneth F. Raffa; Journal of Chemical Ecology
Assessing Forest Vulnerability and the Potential Distribution of Pine Beetles Under Current and Future Climate Scenarios in the Interior West of the US, Paul H. Evangelistaa, Sunil Kumara, Thomas J. Stohlgrenb, and Nicholas E. Younga; Forest Ecology and Management
Nitrogen Cycling Following Mountain Pine Beetle Disturbance in Lodgepole Pine Forests of Greater Yellowstone, J. M. Griffin, M. G. Turner, and M. Simard; Forest Ecology and Management
Fuel and Fire Behavior in High-Elevation Five-Needle Pines Affected by Mountain Pine Beetle, Michael J. Jenkins; Pre-print: Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-xx, USDA Forest Service. Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, MT
Resources for Managing the Impact of Bark Beetle Activity on Conifer Fuels and Fire Behavior, Michael J. Jenkins, Elizabeth G. Hebertson, Wesley G. Page, and Wanda E. Lindquist
A Comparison of Two Methods for Estimating Conifer Live Foliar Moisture Content, M. W. Jolly and A. M. Hadlow; International Journal of Wildland Fire
Forest Structure Altered by Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks Affects Subsequent Attack in a Wyoming Lodgepole Pine Forest, USA, Daniel M. Kashian, Rebecca M. Jackson, and Heather D. Lyons; Canadian Journal of Forest Research
Evaluating Potential Fire Behavior in Lodgepole Pine-Dominated Forests after a Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic in North-Central Colorado, Jennifer G. Klutsch, Mike A. Battaglia, West R. Daniel, Sheryl L. Costello, and Jose F. Negron; Western Journal of Applied Forestry
The Influence of Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks and Drought on Severe Wildfires in Northwestern Colorado and Southern Wyoming: A Look at the Past Century, Dominik Kulakowski and Daniel Jarvis; Forest Ecology and Management
Interacting Disturbances: Wildfire Severity Affected by Stage of Forest Disease Invasion, Margaret R. Metz, Kerri M. Frangioso, Ross K. Meentemeyer, and David M. Rizzo; Ecological Applications
What Explains Landscape Patterns of Tree Mortality Caused by Bark Beetle Outbreaks in Greater Yellowstone?, Martin Simard, Erinn N. Powell, Kenneth F. Raffa, and Monica G. Turner; Global Ecology and Biogeography
Do Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks Change the Probability of Active Crown Fire in Lodgepole Pine Forests?, Martin Simard, William H. Romme, Jacob M. Griffin, and Monica G. Turner; Ecological Monographs
Seed Release in Serotinous Lodgepole Pine Forests after Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak, Francois P. Teste, Victor J. Lieffers, and Simon M. Landhausser; Ecological Applications
Viability of Forest Floor and Canopy Seed Banks in Pinus contorta var. latifoia (Pinaceas) Forests After a Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak, Francois P. Teste, Victor J. Lieffers, and Simon M. Landhausser; American Journal of Botany