Transcript Fire Severity and Bark Beetle Infestation in California

Fire Severity and Bark
Beetle Infestation in
California
Elizabeth Pascale, Courtney
Lewis, and Rebecca Fisher
Motivation
• Climate change altering
ecosystem characteristics
• Suitable habitat for bark beetle
increases to encompass more
forests in the Western United
States
• Increased fire severity in
Western United States
California Fires 1998 - 2001
California Fires 2002-2005
California Fires 2006 - 2007
Fires 1998-2007
Click below for animation
fireanimation.gif
Fire Threat
Fire Threat to People
Urban Fire Threat
Forest Cover
Fire Threat vs. Forest Cover
Bark Beetle Risk
California forest acres at
risk (identified in red on
the map; risk is defined
as 25% or more volume
killed) to bark-beetle
caused tree mortality
over the next 15 years.
Bark Beetle vs. Forest Cover
Bark Beetle in CA Forests
• Aerial survey results from 1994-2007
depicting the percent area flown with
insect injury and percent of average
precipitation throughout California.
Source: USDA FS-Forest Health
Monitoring
Source: www.fs.fed.us/r5/spf/fhp/socal/2008WBBconditions052908.pdf
Bark Beetle Acreage
San Bernadino:
360,936.98
Los Angeles:
4,356.47
Riverside:
165274.00
San Diego:
80,245.01
Bark Beetle vs. Fire
Severity of
bark
beetle
induced
mortality
and its
correlation
to Fires in
2003.
Results
• In 2003 there is a noticeable
correlation between dire
severity and bark beetle
induced mortality
• Lack of information to evaluate
current or future trends
• To do so would require more
time and more specific data
collection
Conclusions
Focus:
• Identifying correlation between wildfires and bark beetle
infestation in California.
• Created maps with background information on California
–
–
forest cover fire risk,
fire risk near urban area
• Attempted to map climate change but found the data hard
to access.
• Data for bark beetle infestation/mortality was also very
difficult to find, but we were able to find raster data for
2003 bark-beetle related mortality in Southern California
and superimpose it over 2003 fire data.
• Found vector data from the U.S. Census of insect-related
tree mortality for 4 Southern counties in 2003
• 1998-2007 fire data was extracted and isolated to create a
different layer for each year (as well as an animation
showing the fires) from a table containing data from
California fires since as early as 1900.
• We wanted to show a similar time trend with bark beetle
infestation/mortality, but the information is lacking.
• This might actually explain the state's weak response to
bark beetle outbreaks and subsequent fires. We also
found data for bark beetle infestation risk.