Results of an inventory of spruce bark beetle mortality, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, 1997 and 1998

In 1997, a two-phase forest sampling strategy was applied to a portion of the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska to assess the impact of a world-class spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby)) epidemic in that area. Standard two-phase sampling procedures were applied to examine 1078 photo points and 28 ground plots. Aerial survey insect impact maps were overlain on the points and plots to impose four insect impact strata as part of the design. A follow-up study of a total of 40 ground plots was done in 1998. This paper presents some of the results of the 1997 and 1998 studies, as well as the methodology for assessing the bark beetle impacts. This methodology includes planning the sampling design, selection of appropriate estimators, application of remote sensing and ancillary map data, and the analysis of the data. The paper also discusses the collection of forest fire fuels loading data for use in adapting the FARSITE forest fire predication model to southcentral Alaska.