Pinus contorta var. latifolia, commonly known as lodgepole pine grows almost everywhere in British Columbia. It got its common name because the BC natives took advantage of its tall, straight trunk to build the skeletons of their massive lodges. I used to think It only liked dry, sandy soil but apparently lodgepole pine adapts to wet, boggy places too.
Leaves
Pine trees have longer needles than spruce trees. And their needles grow in bunches. The numbers of needles in the bunch and the length of the needles are factors that help identify the species. Lodgepole pines have needles that grow in bunches of two, see the photo I took of a pine tree in my garden.
The Mountain Pine Beetle
Older lodgepole pines are susceptible from attacks by the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae. The warmer winters we are having because of climate change, have enabled the MPB to multiply exponentially. The beetle has destroyed hectares of the lodgepole pine trees around Prince George. I wrote an article, on my other blog, about the MPB and BC’s pine trees. You can read it here.
Beetle Killed Pine lumber and Logs
Beetle killed pine is usually not noticed until its needles turn from green to rusty brown. Eventually the needles fall off and the wood starts to rot.A few years ago the logging industry went in to overdrive, in an attempt to harvest as many pine trees as it could, before they began to rot and lose their value. Beetle killed pine has a distinctive blue hue that has become a selling point for value added products produced with the wood. In 2006 we built our log house out of beetle killed pine. You can read the article I wrote for Northword magazine about our log house here.
Most of the pine trees are gone around Prince George although there are still isolated pockets of a few trees that escaped the beetle, especially younger ones.
It was quite a good read hearing about how you chose your wood for your log cabin. Most interesting seeing the dead beetles. I think that might make me run for the hills. I hope this winter is very cold and kills off those beetles.
ReplyDeleteMelanie, do you see any other species moving into the spaces where the pines once stood or has it become just a death zone? Glad to hear some of the younger trees have survived but I guess the question is whether they will be able to age to maturity and form cones to start a new generation. One of our favourite parks was being overrun by beetles a few years ago, I hate to think what it looks like now. Fire seems inevitable.
ReplyDeletePine beetles make me lose sleep at night. But what can I do? The forest service is planning a huge project around our area and getting rid of a lot of the beetle kill. It will be even uglier after that.
ReplyDeleteSo sad!