Apr

23

2008
 
 

Black days ahead



Climate change helps native beetle devastate forest carbon sink

small but deadlyA tiny beetle the size of a grain of rice could affect carbon emissions to the tune of 270 megatonnes by 2020, according to a study of British Columbia’s forests. The findings of Natural Resources Canada forestry experts Werner Kurz and colleagues, published this week in Nature, chronicle the latest Dendroctonus ponderosae outbreak, which is an order of magnitude greater than anything previously observed. The figures are staggering: 130000 square km were attacked by the end of 2006, resulting in the loss of some 435 million cubic m of timber. This raises the status of the beetle as an important factor in carbon sequestration plans, as the current outbreak has shifted the forest from being a carbon sink to a major carbon source. The worst of it is that climate change, brought about largely by there being too much carbon in the atmosphere already, has allowed the beetle to expand its range into areas that were previously off limits. Future models of forest carbon flow need to take into account not only the very large (fire, drought, wind) but also the very small (bugs) things that influence them. Source: Kurz WA, Dymond CC, Stinson G, Rampley GJ, Neilson ET, Carroll AL, Ebata T & Safranyik L (2008) Mountain pine beetle and forest carbon feedback to climate change. Nature DOI: 10.1038/nature06777

Image © Doug Linton

Filed Under Climate change, Habitat, Socio-political issues | 

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