Mortality and top-kill in Douglas-fir following defoliation by the western spruce budworm in British Columbia
Keywords:
western spruce budworm, <i>Choristoneura occidentalis</i>, Douglas-fir, <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i>Abstract
Surveys of mortality and top-kill caused by the western spruce budworm, <i>Choristoneura occidentalis</i> Freeman, in 65 stands of Douglas-fir, <i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i> (Mirb.) Franco are reported. Top-kill was detected in 85% of the stands and 25% of the trees surveyed. Mortality amounted to 8% and less than 1% of the trees examined in the Vancouver and Kamloops Forest Regions, respectively. Both frequency of top-kill and mortality were related to the number of years defoliation in the stand and were higher on suppressed trees than on dominant or co-dominant trees. Younger stands sustained a higher incidence of topkill than older stands. Tree mortality was higher on steep slopes than on flat terrain. These results suggested that top-kill or mortality were the results of physiological stress on the trees, in addition to the debilitating effects of defoliation.References
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