Officials with the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) are puzzled over a seemingly new disease affecting ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa) in the region. They are discouraging culling trees with discolored needles until they can determine the underlying cause of the disease; this may mean waiting until June when the ponderosa pines produce new needles. According…
Ips calligraphus, the six-spined Ips, and Ips pini, the pine engraver beetle, are tree pests of great economic and environmental importance. These pests are commonly found in infesting ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa, stands in Montana and have been found across north America. Populations target hosts which have been weakened due to previous infestation by another pest or…
Plants are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to escaping fire, they cannot get up and run. So, many plants have adapted specific traits for fire survival, using it to their advantage as an aid in reproduction or regeneration. These adaptations have made wildfires essential to some ecosystems. Fire ecology is an arm of…
