Innovation Anthology #35: Assistant Professor, Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, AHFMR Scholar, and Canada Research Chair in the Neurobiology of Huntington’s Disease
Beetles chewing on old wood might seem like a bad thing. But in the forest, this is one of the first steps in forest renewal.
Known as saproxylic or wood living beetles, these insects are attracted to dead and dying trees, particularly those killed by fire. The beetles feed on fungus involved in the decomposition of trees, thereby cycling nutrients back into the forest soil.
But logging and the salvage of burnt trees after a forest fire may interfere with this natural process.
That’s a question ecologist Joshua Jacobs studied near Peace River, Alberta for EMEND – a long term research program assessing Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbance.
JOSH JACOBS: One of the biggest things that impacts these beetles is during forest harvest, we remove a great deal of the wood from the landscape which depletes the amount of coarse woody material these beetles have to feed on on the ground. We also lose the fungus that’s decomposing that as well as the beetles that are aiding in the physical and chemical decomposition of those trees.
European studies indicate logging does reduce the diversity of saproxylic beetles. Scientists hope to develop better logging practices to avoid the same problem in Canada.
Thanks today to the Sustainable Forest Management Network.
FOR INNOVATION ANTHOLOGY, I’M CHERYL CROUCHER
Guest
Simonetta Sipione, PhD,
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, ssipione@ualberta.ca
Sponsor
Sustainable Forest Management Network
Established in 1995, The Sustainable Forest Management Network is one of Canada's 22 Networks of Centres of Excellence. The SFMN administrative center is hosted at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Network brings together top scientists, forest managers and practitioners, First Nations leaders and governments to address known and emerging challenges to forest sustainability.
Program Date: 2007-05-29