Changes in Spatiotemporal Patterns of 20th Century Spruce Budworm Outbreaks

In a newly released article (“Changes in Spatiotemporal Patterns of 20th Century Spruce Budworm Outbreaks in Eastern Canadian Boreal Forests”) published in Frontiers in Plant Science, authors Lionel Navarro, Hubert Morin, Yves Bergeron and Miguel Montoro Girona provide for the first time a landscape reconstruction of the spatiotemporal pattern of spruce budworm (SBW) dynamics over the last century across a vast study area of almost 1 million km² in the eastern Canadian boreal forest. In scenarios of future climate change, there is a projected increase in the occurrence and severity of natural disturbances in boreal forests. Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) is the main defoliator of conifer trees in the North American boreal forests, affecting large areas and causing marked losses of timber supplies. The main goal of this study is to reconstruct the SBW outbreaks during the 20th century at the landscape scale and to evaluate changes in the spatiotemporal patterns in terms of distribution area and severity.