pine beetle problem.

chadd

does this pine beetle problem exist any where else in the world?

where did they come from?

what ideas might u have for it?

i know that the problem has become worse from logging and transporting the wood in an attempt to retain value. it is so out of control. as you drive thru the interior of british columbia you see entire hill sides orange with dead pines. such a huge fire hazard, which is already a bi problem.

the problem does not persist on the west coast due to excessive rain and a lack of pine trees.

newguy18

Nothing like that here,just the odd struck by lightning pine or storm damaged pine.Heck around here they do what is called prescribed burning,basically they set the county's forest on fire to deal with scrub and brush.It works but i think its pretty stupid.

__________________
Have your say join us today.


old schooler

chadd

yeah that is kinda stupid, but probably prevents uncontrolled fires.

Streyken

Ironically, one theory of the pine beetle spread was due to fire prevention. Fire and cold winters control the spread of many pests. The pine beetle has been studied in pockets of BC for decades.

Also, some pine need fire to propagate; the cones remain closed until heat or an animal opens them. This is why you'll see large stands that are composed of trees of mainly one age.

Another problem with not allowing natural fires is the build up of brush, so when there is a eventually a fire everything is wiped out, this happened in several places in BC a few years back. Large douglas-fir and ponderosa pine have thick bark and often survive natural burns and play an important role in forest regeneration here. Amazing how everything works if we would just stay out of the way.

__________________

Trimmin' bush and caring for flowers is good 'n' all...
but sometimes ya gotta let the big wood fly and pound the garden.