Assessing spruce budworm damage with small-format aerial photographs

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack McCarthy ◽  
Charles E. Olson Jr. ◽  
John A. Witter

Methods of evaluating forest damage are designed to provide information for detection, control, and preventative management. In this study the use of small-format aerial photographs to assess spruce budworm, Choristoneurafumiferana (Clemens), damage was evaluated. A procedure was developed to identify spruce–fir stand vulnerability and establish inventory data for silvicultural management considerations. Large-scale (1:4800) 35-mm color positives of eight spruce–fir stands were obtained in July and August 1979. Defoliation intensity and tree mortality of host species were the parameters used to assess damage severity. Individual stands were assigned separate damage rating values based on aerial and ground survey evaluations of defoliation and mortality. Comparison of aerial and ground damage severity ratings was accomplished with a contingency table. Results show photointerpretation of forest damage condition matched ground inspection in seven of eight stands surveyed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Bouchard ◽  
David Pothier

We evaluated spruce budworm ( Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) outbreak effects in nine study areas (60–86 ha each) located in the boreal forest of eastern Quebec (Canada). In each area, spruce budworm outbreak effects were measured from vegetation plots, dominant canopy and understory tree age structures, retrospective analysis of aerial photographs, defoliation records, and host tree growth reductions (dendrochronology). Large-scale synchronous outbreaks were detected across the region around the years 1880, 1915, 1950, and 1980. Overall, contrarily to what was expected for a region where host species (balsam fir ( Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), Picea spp.) content is relatively high, these spruce budworm outbreaks seemed to have a relatively minor influence on stand dynamics, with the exception of the most recent outbreak (1980). This outbreak resulted in major stand mortality in the southern part of the region and favored the establishment of extensive tracts of young even-aged stands with few residual mature trees. This very abrupt increase in outbreak severity compared with earlier outbreaks, perhaps due to climatic or random factors, suggests that historical trends in successive outbreak severity should be extrapolated very cautiously and that the study of several outbreak cycles is needed to establish a range of natural variability that can be used to develop an ecosystem forest management strategy.



Author(s):  
Frank C. Croft ◽  
David A. Hamilton ◽  
Robert Chester Heller ◽  


1984 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 652-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. James ◽  
C. A. Stewart ◽  
R. E. Williams

Root disease losses were estimated on more than 3 million hectares of commercial forest land within seven national forests in the northern Rocky Mountains. Area estimates were made for root disease centers on all seven forests and scattered tree mortality on three forests. Tree mortality rate and associated volume loss were estimated for two forests. Approximately 31 600 ha (about 1% of the total commercial forest land) were occupied by large active disease centers discernable from large-scale aerial photographs on these forests. About 13% of the commercial forest land of three forests contained scattered root disease mortality of at least 3 trees/ha. About 35% of the annual tree mortality was associated with root diseases on two forests. Major root pathogens found were Armillariamellea and Phellinusweirii; bark beetles often infested root-diseased trees. Recommendations for improvement of survey techniques are discussed.



1996 ◽  
pp. 64-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguen Nghia Thin ◽  
Nguen Ba Thu ◽  
Tran Van Thuy

The tropical seasonal rainy evergreen broad-leaved forest vegetation of the Cucphoung National Park has been classified and the distribution of plant communities has been shown on the map using the relations of vegetation to geology, geomorphology and pedology. The method of vegetation mapping includes: 1) the identifying of vegetation types in the remote-sensed materials (aerial photographs and satellite images); 2) field work to compile the interpretation keys and to characterize all the communities of a study area; 3) compilation of the final vegetation map using the combined information. In the classification presented a number of different level vegetation units have been identified: formation classes (3), formation sub-classes (3), formation groups (3), formations (4), subformations (10) and communities (19). Communities have been taken as mapping units. So in the vegetation map of the National Park 19 vegetation categories has been shown altogether, among them 13 are natural primary communities, and 6 are the secondary, anthropogenic ones. The secondary succession goes through 3 main stages: grassland herbaceous xerophytic vegetation, xerophytic scrub, dense forest.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Germain ◽  
Daniel Kneeshaw ◽  
Louis De Grandpré ◽  
Mélanie Desrochers ◽  
Patrick M. A. James ◽  
...  

Abstract Context Although the spatiotemporal dynamics of spruce budworm outbreaks have been intensively studied, forecasting outbreaks remains challenging. During outbreaks, budworm-linked warblers (Tennessee, Cape May, and bay-breasted warbler) show a strong positive response to increases in spruce budworm, but little is known about the relative timing of these responses. Objectives We hypothesized that these warblers could be used as sentinels of future defoliation of budworm host trees. We examined the timing and magnitude of the relationships between defoliation by spruce budworm and changes in the probability of presence of warblers to determine whether they responded to budworm infestation before local defoliation being observed by standard detection methods. Methods We modelled this relationship using large-scale point count surveys of songbirds and maps of cumulative time-lagged defoliation over multiple spatial scales (2–30 km radius around sampling points) in Quebec, Canada. Results All three warbler species responded positively to defoliation at each spatial scale considered, but the timing of their response differed. Maximum probability of presence of Tennessee and Cape May warbler coincided with observations of local defoliation, or provided a one year warning, making them of little use to guide early interventions. In contrast, the probability of presence of bay-breasted warbler consistently increased 3–4 years before defoliation was detectable. Conclusions Early detection is a critical step in the management of spruce budworm outbreaks and rapid increases in the probability of presence of bay-breasted warbler could be used to identify future epicenters and target ground-based local sampling of spruce budworm.



Author(s):  
Marc Rhainds ◽  
Ian DeMerchant ◽  
Pierre Therrien

Abstract Spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clem. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is the most severe defoliator of Pinaceae in Nearctic boreal forests. Three tools widely used to guide large-scale management decisions (year-to-year defoliation maps; density of overwintering second instars [L2]; number of males at pheromone traps) were integrated to derive pheromone-based thresholds corresponding to specific intergenerational transitions in larval densities (L2i → L2i+1), taking into account the novel finding that threshold estimates decline with distance to defoliated forest stands (DIST). Estimates of thresholds were highly variable between years, both numerically and in terms of interactive effects of L2i and DIST, which limit their heuristic value. In the context of early intervention strategy (L2i+1 > 6.5 individuals per branch), however, thresholds fluctuated within relatively narrow intervals across wide ranges of L2i and DIST, and values of 40–200 males per trap may thus be used as general guideline.



1987 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
RB Hacker

Species responses to grazing and environmental factors were studied in an arid halophytic shrubland community in Western Australia. The grazing responses of major shrub species were defined by using reciprocal averaging ordination of botanical data, interpreted in conjunction with a similar ordination of soil chemical properties and measures of soil erosion derived from large-scale aerial photographs. An apparent small-scale interaction between grazing and soil salinity was also defined. Long-term grazing pressure is apparently reduced on localised areas of high salinity. Environmental factors affecting species distribution are complex and appear to include soil salinity, soil cationic balance, geomorphological variation and the influence of cryptogamic crusts on seedling establishment.



2007 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
WG. Silva ◽  
JP. Metzger ◽  
S. Simões ◽  
C Simonetti

Several studies suggest that, on a large scale, relief conditions influence the Atlantic Forest cover. The aim of this work was to explore these relationships on a local scale, in Caucaia do Alto, on the Ibiúna Plateau. Within an area of about 78 km², the distribution of forest cover, divided into two successional stages, was associated with relief attribute data (slope, slope orientation and altitude). The mapping of the vegetation was based on the interpretation of stereoscopic pairs of aerial photographs, from April 2000, on a scale of 1:10,000, while the relief attributes were obtained by geoprocessing from digitalized topographic maps on a scale of 1:10,000. Statistical analyses, based on qui-square tests, revealed that there was a more extensive forest cover, irrespective of the successional stage, in steeper areas (>10 degrees) located at higher altitudes (>923 m), but no influence of the slope orientation. There was no sign of direct influence of relief on the forest cover through environmental gradients that might have contributed to the forest regeneration. Likewise, there was no evidence that these results could have been influenced by the distance from roads or urban areas or with respect to permanent preservation areas. Relief seems to influence the forest cover indirectly, since agricultural land use is preferably made in flatter and lower areas. These results suggest a general distribution pattern of the forest remnants, independent of the scale of study, on which relief indirectly has a strong influence, since it determines human occupation.



2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zar Chi Win ◽  
Nobuya Mizoue ◽  
Tetsuji Ota ◽  
Tsuyoshi Kajisa ◽  
Shigejiro Yoshida ◽  
...  


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