Mountain Pine Beetle

Pest-free wood products from a devastated forest

Dr. Eric Allen Natural Resources Canada Canadian Forest Service

CPM-06 Rome, Italy March 17, 2011 Today’s talk: • Review of Mountain Pine Beetle • Pest elimination through processing • Discussion of pest reduction strategies in forestry practice

Damage to the Forest 16 million ha 675 million cubic meters Requirements for an outbreak

 Abundance of susceptible host  Sustained favourable climate for beetle survival With forest management and fire suppression tree population increased in susceptibility to MPB

1910 1950 2010

5 Avg age 51 5 Avg age 72 5 Avg age 114

4 4 4

3 3 3

2 2 2

1 1 1

0 0 0 12345678910111213 12345678910111213 12345678910111213 Age Class (20 year periods) Age Class (20 year periods) Age Class (20 year periods)

17% 35% 56% Percent of tree population in susceptible age classes

6 Source: Logan et al. 2010 Extent of Mountain Pine Beetle Spread in Canada

Dendroctonus “Tree Killer”

Basic facts: • 19 species worldwide • 17 in North America • 2 Eurasia (D. armandi, D. micans) • Restricted to conifer hosts (Pinus, Picea, Pseudotsuga, Larix) • Several species have successfully established in new locations (e.g. D. valens, D. micans) Mountain Pine Beetle

• Dendroctonus ponderosae • restricted to Pinus hosts • Periodic outbreaks in natural forests dating back 1000s of years Mountain Pine Beetle

• Native to western North America • bark beetle – lives and feeds exclusively in bark and outer phloem

Ophiostoma clavigera “blue stain fungus” mycangium What other organisms are found in mountain pine beetle killed trees? Insects in Mountain Pine Beetle-killed Trees

Bark Beetles Long-horned woodborers Carphoborus sp. Acanthocinus obliquus Cryphalus ruficollis Acanthocinus pusillus Crypturgus borealis Monochamus clamator latus Dendroctonus ponderosae Monochamus scutellatus oregonensis Dendroctonus valens Monochamus scutellatus scutellatus Dryocoetes affaber Neoclytus leucozonus leucozonus Hylurgops porosus Phymatodes dimidiatus Hylurgops rugipennis rugipennis Pogonocherus pencillatus Ips latidens Pogonocherus propinquus Ips pini Pronocera collaris collaris Ips plastographus Rhagium inquisitor inquisitor Orthotomicus caelatus Xylotrechus prob. undulatus Pityogenes plagiatus knechteli Pityophthorus Blazed Tree Borers Polygraphus rufipennis Serropalpus substriatus Pseudips mexicanus Trypodendron lineatum Woodwasps Trypodendron rufitarsus Sirex cyaneus Sirex juvencus californicus Where pests live in wood

Deep wood inhabiting pests

Sapwood, phloem pests

Bark pests Insects in Mountain Pine Beetle-killed Trees

Pseudips mexicanus 0.07% Unidentified Dendroctonus 0.33%

ponderosae Ips plastographus Ips pini Pityogenes 0.07% plagiatus knechteli 73.68% Pityophthorus Ips plastographus 6.78% Pityogenes plagiatus Dendroctonus knechteli ponderosae 4.76% Pseudips mexicanus Ips latidens Unident 3.84%

ified Ips pini Green Attack – 10.49% Upper Red Attack – Upper (n=1,535) (n=3,047)

Ips latidens Pityogenes Ips pini plagiatus knechteli Ips pini Dendroctonus Ips plastographus Pseudips ponderosae mexicanus Pityogenes plagiatus knechteli Pityophthorus

Pseudips mexicanus Ips latidens Unidentified unident. Dendroctonus ponderosae

Green Attack – Lower Red Attack – (n=10,565) Lower (n=224) Fungi in Mountain Pine Beetle-killed Trees

Fungal Species Green Red Grey Ambrosiella Graphium Leptographium Leptographium terebrantis Ophiostoma clavigerum Ophiostoma minutum Ophiostoma montium Ophiostoma nigrocarpum

Amylostereum chailletii Entomocortium Fomitopsis pinicola Heterobasidion annosum Peniophora . Sistotrema brinkmanii Trichaptum abietinum

Pest Risk Reduction – wood processing

Harvesting Forest Forest Storage

Grading Sawing Debarking

Heat Treatment Inspection Kiln Drying Shipment Harvest operations Bark removal Log inspection (scaling)

Sawing wood Grading sawn wood Heat treatment kills all pests present in wood Heat Treatment of 2x4 pine lumber following typical HT/KD schedule

220

200

180

160

140 133 F (56° C) 120 Temp (F) Temp

100

80 Hours with wet bulb temp above: Wet Bulb Temp 60 133° F (56° C) - 18 160° F (71° C) - 13 Dry Bulb Temp 40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112131415161718192021222324 Time (hours) Virtually all forest pests are eliminated in pine exports

Other wood commodities

Wood pellets

Wood “concrete”

29 30

Many opportunities to reduce pests during growing and harvesting of forests New publication How pest risks change as trees are transformed into logs, sawn wood, chips etc. FAO Forestry Guide

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Phy t osani Pol tary icy Phytosanitary regulators Science community Foresters Forest industry