Mountain pine beetle

This document provides a synthesis of recently completed studies to assess the ecological consequences of forest management after attack by mountain pine beetle or other large-scale disturbances. Studies are assessed for their contributions to gaps in knowledge previously identified in the Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative Working Paper "Evaluating effects of large scale salvage logging for mountain pine beetle on terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates," which was published in 2004. This report focuses on studies developed through the federal Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative, the federal Mountain Pine Beetle Program, and the complementary BC Forest Science Program. Relevant information from other jurisdictions is sometimes included to augment those studies. Topics examined are: the impacts of beetle kill and salvage operations on habitat attributes; the impacts of beetle kill and salvage operations on attendant processes, such as snag fall rates, light interception, and snow accumulation; and the wildlife response to large-scale beetle outbreaks and management strategies. For each of these three topics, we provide a summary of: research to date; pertinent findings to date; and gaps in research.