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2001-02 Drought Helped to Shift Rocky Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak into Epidemic

A new University of Colorado Boulder study shows for the first time that episodes of reduced precipitation in the southern Rocky Mountains, especially during the 2001-02 drought, greatly accelerated development of the mountain pine beetle epidemic.

The study, the first ever to chart the evolution of the current pine beetle epidemic in the southern Rocky Mountains, compared patterns of beetle outbreak in the two primary host species, the ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine, said CU-Boulder doctoral student Teresa Chapman. The current mountain pine beetle outbreak in the southern Rockies — which range from southern Wyoming through Colorado and into northern New Mexico –is estimated to have impacted nearly 3,000 square miles of forests, said Chapman, lead study author. (more…)

Nitrogen Pollution Changing Rocky Mountain National Park Vegetation, Says CU-Boulder Study

By Guest PostJuly 8, 2012Environmentacidified soils, agriculture, alpine meadow, alpine vegetation, Arctic, atmospheric nitrogen pollution, automobiles, biodiversity, boulder, chapin pass, colorado, denver area, ellen porter, front range, isabel ashton, john murgel, mummy range, national park, nitrogen deposition, nitrogen emission, nitrogen pollution, niwot ridge, power plants, rocky mountain, soil acidification, stream organism, tamara blett, trout, university of colorado, vascular plant, vegetation, william bowman

A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder indicates air pollution in the form of nitrogen compounds emanating from power plants, automobiles and agriculture is changing the alpine vegetation in Rocky Mountain National Park.

The emissions of nitrogen compounds to the atmosphere are being carried to remote areas of the park, altering sensitive ecosystems, said CU-Boulder Professor William Bowman, who directs CU-Boulder’s Mountain Research Station west of Boulder and who led the study. “The changes are subtle, but important,” he said. “They represent a first step in a series of changes which may be relatively irreversible.”

In other regions of the world, higher amounts of nitrogen pollutants correlate with decreased biodiversity, acidified soils and dead stream organisms like trout, said Bowman. “There is evidence that indicates once these changes occur, they can be difficult if not impossible to reverse. It is best to recognize these early stages before the more harmful later stages happen.” (more…)

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2001-02 Drought Helped to Shift Rocky Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak into Epidemic

Nitrogen Pollution Changing Rocky Mountain National Park Vegetation, Says CU-Boulder Study