Tiny Beetles Are Also Killing Off Huge Swaths of Spruce Forests Because of Drought

A massive spruce beetle outbreak that’s been decimating coniferous forests in the northern Colorado mountains has been caused mainly by drought, according to a new study.

Spruce beetles, like their close relatives, mountain pine beetles, are attacking large areas of coniferous forests across the West.  While the mountain pine beetle outbreak in the Southern Rocky Mountains is the best known and appears to be the worst in the historical record, the lesser known spruce beetle infestation has the potential to be equally or even more devastating in Colorado, said Sarah Hart, a CU-Boulder doctoral student and lead author on the new study.

The University of Colorado study links the outbreak to a natural oscillation, but previous studies have also linked spruce beetle outbreaks to anthropogenic climate change. “When global warming rears its head, these drying effects accumulate over time, making the drought more severe and more extreme,” said Kevin Trenberth, a climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Tiny Beetles Are Also Killing Off Huge Swaths of Spruce Forests Because of Drought