Wildfire and Pine Beetles
Mountain pine beetles are native to Western forests, but in recent years their numbers have skyrocketed. As they damage more trees and kill whole regions of forest, some worry that the dead forest left behind has become a tinderbox ready to burn. But do pine beetles really increase fire risk?Using Landsat satellite data, University of Wisconsin forest ecologist Phil Townsend and his team are discovering that pine beetle damage appears not to have a significant impact in the risk of large fires. In fact, it might even reduce fire risk in some instances.
In this short video, Townsend and his team hit the ground to study the issue in the forest near Yellowstone National Park. While pine beetles may not significantly impact fire risk, Townsend believes that climate change may be leading to an increase in both pine beetle numbers and the risk of fire.
For complete transcript, click here.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
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Writer
- Jennifer A. Shoemaker (UMBC)
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Video editors
- Jennifer A. Shoemaker (UMBC)
- Rich Melnick (KBRwyle)
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Scientist
- Phil Townsend (University of Wisconsin)
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Interviewee
- Phil Townsend (University of Wisconsin)
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Producer
- Jennifer A. Shoemaker (UMBC)
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Narrator
- Jefferson Beck (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Videographer
- George Potter (Freelance)
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