Bark Beetles not adding to risk of Wildfires in Forests of Western US

Researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder conducted a study to conclude that mountain pine beetles have adjusted to survive the cold months. Owing to which, the tree-killing beetles now leave behind stands of dry wood. It was feared that the situation could lead to early season of wildfires.

However, such was not the case, said researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder. The researchers came to know the activity of the beetles have equal to negligible effect on the area burned during the three peak years of wildfires since 2002.

“Although infestation and fire activity both independently increased in conjunction with recent warming, our results demonstrate that the annual area burned in the western United States has not increased in direct response to bark beetle activity”, said the researchers.

Whether or not infestations add to flammability and there is an increased risk of wildfires due to reduced moisture in affected trees are the topics that have been widely discussed among researchers.

The authors said that the assumptions that outbreaks increase fire risk is leading to policy-based decisions like expenditures involving hundreds of millions of dollars. The research was carried out for 18 months and the researchers did not notice any effect on the area burned.

They have gone through the data of the three worst fire seasons in the past 12 months. The researchers looked at fires in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Therefore, the researchers have suggested that the policy discussions should be based on the societal adaptation of the effects that are important and is the driving factor like climate change. The researchers said that the forests affected by pine beetles might not be at an increased risk of facing wildfires, but other factors that may be important are the intensity of blazes.