“Predicting Advance Regeneration Density in Lodgepole Pine Stands

As the mountain pine beetle outbreak in the interior of British Columbia (B.C.) has accelerated beyond the stage of feasible control, management intervention has shifted to timber salvage operations. Unfortunately, the perception is that B.C.’s lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) forests will be “dead ” without an active program of salvage and rehabilitation. But anecdotal observations and a quick review of available information reveals: (1) that most of the forest area affected by mountain pine beetle consists of mixed stands dominated by tree species other than pine; and (2) that approximately 40 % of pure lodgepole pine stands are stocked with other conifer species in the understory (Burton 2006a). The location of mixed stands and the relative contribution of other non-pine trees to the mature inventory can be derived from forest cover maps and is being refined through the Vegetation Resources Inventory (VRI) program. But forest cover and vegetation maps do not provide information on subcanopy trees and the abundance of advance regeneration in the understory. It is the goal of this project to predict the abundance of advance regeneration in the understory of pine-leading stands in several subzones of the Northern Interior Forest Region. This work will help forest planners better prioritize stands for harvesting in the wake of the mountain pine beetl