A Forest Story: From Carbon Sink to Carbon Stink

The following is a story about one of the most important forests and versatile resources that Canada has to offer to the world. More than just the forest, it is a story of a beetle the size of a grain of rice. This is a story about the mountain pine beetle (MPB), and how it is transforming our precious resource as (one of) the world’s largest carbon sinks, to the worlds largest carbon stinks.

• In the late 1800’s to early 20th Century, a series of fires swept their way across the western provinces and states (which is only natural), making way for vast pine forests that thrive in post-burn habitat.

• Also, before 1993 or so, the pine beetle was just another species coming and going amongst our resource. Fires would stop their spread, and temperatures below -30 C for weeks at a time would usually wipe them out. Today: fires are controlled for industrial and safety reasons (private and/or public land), and temperatures are not getting down to those killer numbers anymore. This is Global Warming causing itself as the beetle kills the pine…

• Scientists estimate that mountain pine beetles will wipe out 80 percent of B.C’s pine forests by 2013 – the only race now is to stop their expansion into Alberta, which has already begun. Today they have already killed billions of trees on their way to Alberta, and the current focus is community safety, beetle-kill salvage, and suppression of their move east.

• Researchers from the Canadian Forest Service report that by the time the current infestation ends, the rice-sized beetles will have killed enough trees so that an extra billion tonnes of carbon dioxide will be wafting through the atmosphere. Apparently, that is five times the annual emissions from all the cars, trucks, trains and planes in Canada.

The outbreak has been a disaster for B.C. and it is estimated more than 435 million cubic metres of timber has been lost. I have seen, worked and been within communities and parks which are now in the midst of dead forests that can stretch hundreds of kilometers. Also, due to increased – and often salvage – logging, there is more and more timber on the market to further drive down prices, and to further harm the industry.

The question now is, where we go from here, and what can you do to help?

• The move to biofuels is an important step. While controversial, expensive, and often speculative, creating energy from the beetle-kill salvage is already underway.
• Future investment within B.C, education of future resource managers, and use of pre-infestation management techniques such as controlled burning will help to reduce the impact of a future infestation.
• Users of any land and resources, that’s you, should know and be aware of its existence and impact on the land as well as market. Having read this, you can now use it as an example of mis-management, and understand the benefits of controlled management.

Importantly, all should know that the MPB may (and is beginning to) break out in California, Oregon and Washington. As of today, this is a B.C. and Alberta problem that will become a North American issue, especially concerning the released carbon and its future impact.