Management of lodgepole pine stand density to reduce susceptibility to mountain pine beetle attack

Silvicultural strategies to reduce tree losses from mountain pine beetle attacks typically seek to reduce relative densities in order to increase tree resistance and thus lower potential beetle attacks. For lodgepole pine stands, however, the tree mortality/relative density, relationship is nonlinear. We describe three relative density zones corresponding to different levels of resistance to beetle attack. In the density management of young lodgepole pine stands, we propose two alternative strategies to reduce future losses from mountain pine beetle attacks. The first density management regime involves a low density (i.e., SDI 140) throughout the rotation. The second density management regime is designed to maintain relative density above a threshold level (i.e., SDI 245)