Mountain pine beetle-caused mortality in thinned and unthinned ponderosa pine stands in the Black Hills, USA

This data publication includes data collected in support of a study to evaluate whether stand density reductions in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) stands in the Black Hills National Forest of South Dakota and Wyoming resulted in reduced tree mortality levels caused by the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) (Negron et al. 2017). Data were collected in the summer of 2014 in 21 pairs of commercially thinned and unthinned stands. Tree species, diameter at breast height, and tree condition were recorded.
Thinnings through vegetation management are predicated to be the most effective long-term strategy for reducing mortality levels to bark beetles. The plurality of the data comes from small plots and data are lacking evaluating effectiveness in large stands and across a large landscape. When managing large landscapes, managers often ask “Are we doing any good with these thinnings to reduce susceptibility to bark beetle?"