The Legacy Effect of Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks on the Chemical and Anatomical Defences of Surviving Lodgepole Pine Trees

Abstract

The recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks have caused widespread mortality among lodgepole pine trees in western North America, resulting in a reduced population of surviving trees. While previous studies have focused on the cascading impacts of these outbreaks on the physiology and growth of the surviving trees, there remains a need for a comprehensive study into the interactions among various physiological traits and the growth in post-outbreak stands. Specifically, the relationship between chemical (primarily terpenes) and anatomical (mainly resin ducts) defences, as well as the allocation of non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) to support these defence modalities, is poorly understood. To address these gaps, we conducted a field survey of surviving lodgepole pine trees in post-mountain pine beetle outbreak stands in western Canada. Our retrospective analysis aimed at determining correlations between the post-outbreak concentrations of monoterpenes, diterpenes, and NSCs in the phloem and the historical resin duct characteristics and growth traits before and after the outbreak. We detected strong correlations between the post-outbreak concentrations of monoterpenes and historical resin duct characteristics, suggesting a possible link between these two defence modalities. Additionally, we found a positive relationship between the NSCs and the total concentrations of monoterpenes and diterpenes, suggesting that NSCs likely influence the production of these terpenes in lodgepole pine. Furthermore, historical tree growth patterns showed strong positive correlations with many individual monoterpenes and diterpenes. Interestingly, while surviving trees had enhanced anatomical defences after the outbreak, their growth patterns did not vary before and after the outbreak conditions. The complexity of these relationships emphasizes the dynamics of post-outbreak stand dynamics and resource allocations in lodgepole pine forests, highlighting the need for further research. These findings contribute to a broader understanding of conifer defences and their coordinated responses to forest insect outbreaks, with implications for forest management and conservation strategies.