The forests in the San Bernardino Mountains and the
Peninsular Ranges are seriously drought stressed. In addition,
some have diseases (dwarf mistletoe, annosus root disease)
which also cause severe stress. Stressed trees can't produce
enough resin to protect against pathogens. Examples of these
include the California flatheaded borer, mountain pine beetle,
red turpentine beetle, Jeffrey-pine beetle and western pine
bark beetle. The fir engraver attacks fir trees while the
Ips beetle is a scavenger that attacks the tops of trees,
along with slash and seriously distressed trees.
Trees in the San Bernardinos are subject to drought, air
pollution, and complexes of pests, not just beetles. Deciduous
species are affected the same as the coniferous species;
black oaks there are suffering from drought stress and also
defoliation by the fruit-tree leafroller.
(Entomologist Dr. Laura Merrill, personal
communication)
Image 1:
False-color image in which healthy vegetation appears green
and damaged vegetation appears yellow.
Click on the image above to view a larger JPEG image
at 3 m resolution
(This RGB image shows reflected red light at 650 nm in red, reflected NIR at 850 nm in green, and thermal IR at 10.5 um in blue. The blue band has been inverted, so that the colder areas are brighter blue.)
Image 2:
False-color image in which healthy vegetation appears green
and damaged vegetation appears magenta.
(This RGB image shows reflected red light at 650 nm in red
and blue and reflected NIR at 850 nm in green.)
Roads, streams, and the text overlay are from a 1:24,000 topographic
map.
Click on the image above to view a larger JPEG image
FireMapper™ has
been developed through a Research Joint Venture with Space Instruments,
Inc., and support from the National Fire Plan, Forest Service International
Programs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Joint Fire Sciences Program, and the U.S. Agency
for International Development.
Disclaimer: Trade names, commercial products, and enterprises
are mentioned solely for information. No endorsement by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture is implied.
