• Corpus ID: 52214667

Death and deterioration of Balsam Fir weakened by Spruce budworm defoliation in Ontario. Part 111. The deterioration of dead trees.

@article{Basham1951DeathAD,
  title={Death and deterioration of Balsam Fir weakened by Spruce budworm defoliation in Ontario. Part 111. The deterioration of dead trees.},
  author={J. T. Basham and Robyn Belyea},
  journal={Forest Science},
  year={1951},
  volume={6},
  pages={78-96}
}

• J. Basham, R. Belyea
• Published 1951
• Environmental Science
• Forest Science

CERTAIN FEATURES of the seasonal history and habits of the insect species which breed in severely weakened and dead balsam fir trees in the Lake Nipigon region of Ontario have been dealt with in a previous contribution (3). For many years it has been recognized that some of these insects attack weakened trees before death is obvious, and therefore possibly contribute to tree mortality. Various interpretations of the importance of these insects in the death of the tree have been reached by previous investigators. Graham (7) suggested that some of the species hastened tree death during the spruce budworm outbreak in Minnesota during the early part of this century. Swaine et al. (11), who carried out the most intensive studies among the earlier investigators, concluded that only one species, Monochamus marmorator Kby., was capable of killing trees. Graham and Orr (8), in summing up what was known of these insects in 1940, stated: "There is considerable disagreement among forest entomologists as to the importance of these secondary agencies. Some attribute great importance to them, whereas others think that these species usually limit their attack to trees that have been defoliated so severely that they are doomed even without further injury." The destructive spruce budworm outbreak in the Lake Nipigon region, which left .large numbers cf weakened, dying, and dead trees in its wake, provided an excellent opportunity to investigate the role of these insects in tree mortality.