UBC Forest Insect Disturbance Ecology Lab – Vancouver, BC
During my last co-op work term I was at the Forest Insect Disturbance Ecology Lab run by Dr Allan Carroll here in the Faculty of Forestry at UBC. I was in Lac La Biche and Edson, Alberta, for 3 weeks helping a graduate student survey Lodgepole and Jack Pine stands. We were surveying stand characteristics such as average tree height, phloem thickness, and secondary bark beetle activity, in order to gauge the potential for Mountain Pine Beetle attack in the future. This involved examining every tree within four 10 hectare stands, marking any trees that could be potential candidates for Mountain Pine Beetle attack, and subsequently recording the characteristics of those trees. Later in the term we returned to Alberta and observed any changes in the stands we visited in terms of Mountain Pine Beetle attacks. My co-op work term has been an awesome learning experience!
