Responses of four bark beetle species to catastrophic hurricane damage in southeastern US pine forests

Catastrophic wind disturbances can significantly alter ecosystems and inflict enormous economic losses to forestry operations. Hurricane Michael made landfall in October 2018 in Florida and damaged over 2 million hectares of forests, resulting in ~$2 billion in timber losses. Bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are common invaders of windthrown stands, where their populations can grow to epidemic levels and cause economic damage. Due to the nature of forest damage caused by Hurricane Michael, these insects are expected to increase in numbers in wind-disturbed stands. However, there has been little to no research into how these beetles respond to wind disturbances in southeastern pine forests. The purpose of this study is to describe numerical changes of four bark beetle species after Hurricane Michael made landfall and compare these changes among stands that exhibited different severities of hurricane damage. Bark beetle populations were monitored May-September 2019 using baited traps in loblolly pine stands that lost 20-70% basal area. Fifteen stands were sampled, and four beetle species are being assessed. Monitoring was done to describe changes in the abundance of four different bark beetle species through time at these sites that exhibited different severities of storm-damage. Preliminary data from May-July, 2019 indicated that trap catches were highest in sites that lost 20% basal area and lowest in sites that lost 21-40% basal area. Final results will provide foresters with information to help make decisions regarding the timing and prioritization of salvage harvesting of southern pine stands that experienced different damage severities following catastrophic hurricanes.