Boyle, J. Forbes.  2002.  Short-term response of bark beetles to fuel reduction treatments in the Upper Piedmont.  M.S. Thesis.  Clemson University, 87 pages.

Prescribed fire and thinning have been shown to decrease losses from southern pine beetle by increasing host tree vigor and widening spaces between trees.  This study was undertaken to determine if stress from these activities would make trees more vulnerable to beetle attack in the short term.   During the sampling period, populations of southern pine beetles reached epidemic levels, and infestations were found on all units in the experiment.

• Widespread beetle attack in one control plot resulted in a high standard deviation for the controls.  As a result, neither prescribed burning nor thinning significantly affected bark beetle activity in the treated units.
• Thinning improved the recent year radical growth but had no effect on resin flow.
• There was a strong inverse correlation between beetle activity and total resin flow across at treatment unit.
• Increased radial growth will not ensure reduced beetle activity during epidemic population levels.