TY - ELEC AU - Fegyverneki, James PY - 2012 TI - Identifying western spruce budworm defoliation events in the IDF zone using dendroentomology KW - Graduating Project LA - eng M3 - Text AB - A dendroentomological analysis has been conducted for one site in the Interior Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone in near Clinton, British Columbia, Canada. This is a pilot study of work that is to be part of a synthesis of data collected from 30 throughout the southern interior forests of British Columbia. The study aims to reconstruct defoliation events caused by western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman) on the host species Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). Defoliation from western spruce budworm causes a reduction in tree radial growth and can be visually identified in the tree rings. This paper discusses western spruce budworm biology, history in British Columbia, and implications that climate change may have on the future ecologic integrity of the study area and on future outbreaks. As a test of analytical methods, western spruce budworm defoliation history was studied by identifying periods of reduced growth using cores taken from 20 Douglas-fir trees from one site in an area of known defoliation near Clinton, British Columbia. Dendrochronological software CooRecorder and CDendro were used to measure tree ring widths and crossdate the data, respectively. The Douglas-fir host chronology was compared to a non-host ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex C. Lawson) chronology to account for any climatic variations that may also cause growth reductions. This study resulted in the identification of eight distinct suppression events from 1685 to 1965 that were likely caused by the western spruce budworm in the Clinton region. N2 - A dendroentomological analysis has been conducted for one site in the Interior Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone in near Clinton, British Columbia, Canada. This is a pilot study of work that is to be part of a synthesis of data collected from 30 throughout the southern interior forests of British Columbia. The study aims to reconstruct defoliation events caused by western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman) on the host species Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). Defoliation from western spruce budworm causes a reduction in tree radial growth and can be visually identified in the tree rings. This paper discusses western spruce budworm biology, history in British Columbia, and implications that climate change may have on the future ecologic integrity of the study area and on future outbreaks. As a test of analytical methods, western spruce budworm defoliation history was studied by identifying periods of reduced growth using cores taken from 20 Douglas-fir trees from one site in an area of known defoliation near Clinton, British Columbia. Dendrochronological software CooRecorder and CDendro were used to measure tree ring widths and crossdate the data, respectively. The Douglas-fir host chronology was compared to a non-host ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex C. Lawson) chronology to account for any climatic variations that may also cause growth reductions. This study resulted in the identification of eight distinct suppression events from 1685 to 1965 that were likely caused by the western spruce budworm in the Clinton region. UR - https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/52966/items/1.0075535 ER - End of Reference