Streamwater nitrogen and forest dynamics following a mountain pine beetle epidemic: Insights from three decades of research at Fraser Experimental Forest, CO

A recently published study by a team of Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) scientists describes a 10-year investigation of streamwater nitrogen (N) and forest dynamics following a mountain pine beetle epidemic. Unlike the abrupt nutrient changes typical after a wildfire or timber harvesting, the outcomes of insect outbreaks are poorly understood. RMRS scientists capitalized on long-term, pre-outbreak monitoring at the Fraser Experimental Forest near Winter Park Colorado where the U.S. Forest Service has studied the forest and hydrologic processes responsible for regulating streamflow from high elevation watersheds since 1937. Contrary to expectations, watersheds with extensive MPB-caused forest mortality ‘leak’ very little stream N.