Spruce beetles under changing climate conditions

Speaker: Nancy Fresco, UAF Scenarios Network for Alaska + Arctic Planning

Historically, Alaska’s cold climate has protected much of the state from major outbreaks of spruce beetles. Interior Alaska has primarily been protected by rapid fall cooling and extremely cold winters, while other regions have been protected by cool summers that limit beetle maturation. A new integrated model suggests that ongoing climate change will remove these protections across large parts of Alaska. Northern forest managers will increasingly need to undertake management planning that no longer relies on the protection of historically cold climate.