Resources > Video: Do Spruce Beetles Make Forest Fires More Severe? Field Evidence from the San Juan Mountains, CO

Do Spruce Beetles Make Forest Fires More Severe? Field Evidence from the San Juan Mountains, CO

Naturalist Nights 2016 | Robbie Andrus
In the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the area infested by spruce beetle outbreaks is rapidly rising, but how does this change wildfire activity? How will climate change affect these disturbances? Using examples from recent research in the spruce-fir forests of the San Juan Mountains, CO, Andrus will discuss the interaction between two important and natural disturbances in the subalpine zone.

Robbie Andrus is a Ph.D. student in the Biogeography Lab at University of Colorado Boulder. His research focuses on disturbances (e.g. fire) in subalpine forests and tree establishment in the face of climate change.

Naturalist Nights are brought to you through a partnership between Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, Wilderness Workshop, and Roaring Fork Audubon.

Robbie Andrus, Ph.D. student, Biogeography Lab, University of Colorado at Boulder

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