Abstract

FONSECA-GONZALEZ, Juana; DE LOS SANTOS-POSADAS, H. Manuel; RODRIGUEZ-ORTEGA, Alejandro  and  RODRIGUEZ-LAGUNA, Rodrigo. Effect of wildfire and bark beetle damage on Pinus patula Schl. et Cham. mortality at Hidalgo, México. Agrociencia [online]. 2014, vol.48, n.1, pp.103-113. ISSN 2521-9766.

Forest ecosystems are susceptible to wildfires, whose effects may vary greatly depending on their intensity and severity, causing changes in vegetation and biological activity. Infestation of bark beetles is one of the major consequences. The objective of this study was to analyze insect colonization and Pinus patula mortality following a forest fire in a regeneration area using logistic regression. Follow-up lasted 16 months at the municipality of Cuautepec de Hinojosa, state of Hidalgo, México. The variables assessed on trees were percentage of scorched crown, percentage of trunk circumference with evidence of entry of bark beetles of the genus Ips, number of pitch tubes caused by insects of the genus Dendroctonus, evidence of colonization by wood borers, and whether the tree was alive or dead. Of the insects that colonized trees killed by the fire, 99% were secondary bark beetles: Ips integer, I. bonanseai, I. cribricollis, Pseudips mexicanus and Pityophthorus sp. One was an ambrosia beetle Gnathotrichus sp. In live trees after the forest fire, there was also evidence of attack by Dendroctonus valens and D. mexicanus. There was a strong relationship between fire damage and subsequent presence of insects; more than 82% of the scorched trees exhibited evidence of colonization, and only 6 % of undamaged trees were successfully colonized. Tree mortality increased with higher percentages of crown scorch, as did infestation by Dendroctonus and Ips: a tree 1 5 cm in diameter with half of its crown scorched has a 4.5% probability of dying, which increases to 51% when bark insect infestation is added to the model.

Keywords : Dendroctonus sp.; Pseudips mexicanus; Pityophthorus sp.; Ips integer; I. bonanseai; forest fires.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )