Mountain Pine Beetle and Watershed Hydrology: A Synthesis focused on the Okanagan Basin

As the mountain pine beetle (MPB) infestation expands into the southern interior, changes to British Columbia's lodgepole pine forests will affect stand water balances, hillslope hydrology and streamflow in many watersheds. The large spatial extent of this disturbance has prompted research from the stand- to watershed-scales to address uncertainty about the hydrologic effects of MPB, such as an increased potential for flooding, changes in water yield, peak flows, and low flows, slope and channel changes associated with increased runoff, as well as the effects of hydrologic change on aquatic habitat and drinking water. This paper will summarize the key hydrologic changes expected and will highlight the results of long-term research in the Okanagan, such as the Camp Creek and Upper Penticton Creek watershed experiments, as well as new research underway throughout the B.C. Interior and other regions to quantify changes in hydrologic processes and potential effects of MPB-related stand mortality and salvage logging.