scholarly journals Spruce Budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) Defoliation Promotes Vertical Fuel Continuity in Ontario’s Boreal Mixedwood Forest

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 256
Author(s):  
Graham Watt ◽  
Richard Fleming ◽  
Sandy Smith ◽  
Marie-Josée Fortin

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 533-541
Author(s):  
Graham A. Watt ◽  
Brian J. Stocks ◽  
Richard A. Fleming ◽  
Sandy M. Smith

Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)) defoliation has been shown to increase the likelihood of large forest fires in central Canada. However, the time frame of heightened risk based on the duration of spruce budworm defoliation has not yet been quantified. In this article, we document the extent of stand breakdown and surface fuel accumulation after a period of spruce budworm defoliation that occurred between 1972 and 1976. Data on stand characteristics were derived from previous studies at three different locations in the boreal mixedwood forests of central Canada: Aubinadong (B.J. Stocks. 1987. For. Chron. 63: 8–14), Gogama, and Gowganda in Ontario. Stand breakdown was measured using a series of transects set in plots 7 years following aerially mapped defoliation (1977–1983). Results show that during the 4 years following 5 years of defoliation, crown breakage, a typical symptom of defoliation, increased by nearly 200%, and surface fuel increased by 145% from predisturbance levels. The high correlation between crown breakage and surface fuels linked defoliation to fuel buildup. We begin to solve the challenge of measuring fuel structure over the expansive scale of spruce budworm outbreaks by quantifying the relationship among stand breakdown, time since the end of defoliation, and the duration of defoliation so that the expected fuel structure can be modelled from annual defoliation surveys.



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.



1961 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Pilon ◽  
J. R. Blais

Nearly all forest regions in the Province of Quebec where balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) is an important tree component have been subjected to severe defoliation by the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), during the past 20 years. These outbreaks have followed an easterly direction beginning near the Ontario-Quebec border in 1939 and ending in the Gaspé Peninsula in 1958.



1987 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.M. Smith ◽  
M. Hubbes ◽  
J.R. Carrow

AbstractDuring 1982 and 1984, ground releases of Trichogramma minutum Riley were assessed for control of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens), on 12- to 20-year-old, white spruce stands in northern Ontario. Maximum parasitism of susceptible egg masses was 16 and 87% following the release of 480 000 and 12 million female T. minutum per hectare, respectively. Releases at intervals of 1 week maintained parasitism of susceptible egg masses at constant levels throughout the oviposition period of spruce budworm. When parasitism of susceptible egg masses was maintained above 78.2% during the ovipositional period, total egg mass parasitism averaged 58.0% and resulted in an 80.3% reduction of overwintering 2nd-instar larvae. The optimal strategy for reducing spruce budworm was two releases of T. minutum at an interval of 1 week in the ovipositional period. This allowed a second generation of parasitoids to emerge from the spruce budworm eggs that were more efficient in maintaining high levels of parasitism than those emerging from the standard rearing host. Natural parasitism of spruce budworm egg masses was less than 4% and there was no carryover of parasitism in the years following inundative release. The rate of T. minutum release necessary to achieve effective mortality of spruce budworm during outbreak populations is discussed briefly.



1986 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. McRae

Recent spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana [Clem.]) infestations have resulted in widespread areas of balsam fir (Abies balsamea [L.] Mill.) mortality in Ontario, and there is growing interest in reestablishing these areas quickly as productive forests. One technique being used is prescribed fire after a salvage and bulldozer tramping operation. A 445-ha prescribed burn was carried out under moderate fire danger conditions in northern Ontario. The site, which was covered by balsam fir fuel that had been killed by spruce budworm, was tramped to improve fire spread. Weather, fuel consumption, and fire effects are reported. The burn effectively reduced heavy surface fuel loadings and consequently planting on the site was easier. Key words: Prescribed burning, fire, spruce budworm. Choristoneura fumiferana, balsam fir, Abies balsamea, fuel consumption, site preparation, tramping, stand conversion.



1997 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K. Lawrence ◽  
William J. Mattson ◽  
Robert A. Haack

AbstractSynchrony of insect and host tree phenologies has often been suggested as an important factor influencing the susceptibility of white spruce, Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, and other hosts to the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). We evaluated this hypothesis by caging several cohorts of spruce budworm larvae on three white spruce populations at different phenological stages of the host trees, and then comparing budworm performance with host phenology and variation of 13 foliar traits. The beginning of the phenological window of susceptibility in white spruce occurs several weeks prior to budbreak, and the end of the window is sharply defined by the end of shoot growth. Performance was high for the earliest budworm cohorts that we tested. These larvae began feeding 3–4 weeks prior to budbreak and completed their larval development prior to the end of shoot elongation. Optimal synchrony occurred when emergence preceded budbreak by about 2 weeks. Larval survival was greater than 60% for individuals starting development 1–3 weeks prior to budbreak, but decreased to less than 10% for those starting development 2 or more weeks after budbreak and thus completing development after shoot elongation ceased. High performance by the budworm was most strongly correlated with high levels of foliar nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, copper, sugars, and water and low levels of foliar calcium, phenolics, and toughness. These results suggest that advancing the usual phenological window of white spruce (i.e. advancing budbreak prior to larval emergence) or retarding budworm phenology can have a large negative effect on the spruce budworm’s population dynamics.



1975 ◽  
Vol 107 (9) ◽  
pp. 967-977 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Sanders

AbstractLaboratory and field experiments indicate that the female spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) pupal stadium requires approximately 122C degree-days above a threshold of 7.2 °C (45°F), the male 124. Emergence time on any given day depends on temperature but is independent of photoperiod. Under field conditions male and female budworm mate only once per 24-h period. In the laboratory under continuous illumination females mate repeatedly and males readily mate a second time within a few hours, but the duration of the second copulation is abnormally long. The probability of multiple matings under field conditions is reduced by the restricted period of sexual activity coupled with the duration of copulation and the lower competitiveness of mated insects. Antennae are essential to the male for successful copulation.



2004 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steen Magnussen ◽  
Paul Boudewyn ◽  
Rene Alfaro

A logistic regression model for spatially explicit predictions of the likelihood of an onset of stand-level spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana, Clemens) defoliation in a 15 000 km2 study area in northern British Columbia, Canada is developed. Predictions are derived from stand (volume and needle biomass) and topographic attributes (distance from nearest river, distance from previous year defoliation, and stand elevation) collected during the first 12 years of a current budworm outbreak. The likelihood of an onset of defoliation increased with an increase in stand volume and biomass of current needles and it decreased with an increase in the distance to the nearest river and to the nearest stand with a defoliation recorded for the year prior to the year of prediction. Stands located at higher elevations sustained less defoliation than stands located at lower elevations. A single model is assumed adequate for predictions throughout an entire outbreak cycle. Observed and predicted relative frequencies of locations with an onset of defoliation compared relatively well. Key words: Choristoneura fumiferana; Picea; logistic regression; nearest neighbour distance



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