Research Article

Effects of a Severe Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic in Western Alberta, Canada under Two Forest Management Scenarios

Table 1

Transition matrix used to determine the fate of stands after MPB attack in the absence of salvage operations.

Before MPB AttackAfter MPB Attack
Forest TypeArea (ha)Forest TypeProportio

Pure_Pine (pine 80%)637,132Pure_Pine0.29
Low_Pine0.71
High_Pine (pine 50%–79%)304,191Non-pine Softwood0.80
Low_Pine0.20
Low_Pine (pine 50%)366,507Hardwood0.10
Low_Pine0.56
Non-pine Softwood0.34
Hardwood (pine 20%)770,374Hardwood1.00
Non-pine Softwood (pine 20%)382,132Non-pine Softwood1.00

calculations were done at the stand level using forest inventory data. For each forest type we determined the composition of stands before attack, applied the transition rules described in the text, and then reclassified the stands based on their new composition.