Abstract
Aphids can have a significant impact on the growth and commercial yield of spruce plantations. Here we develop a mechanistic deterministic mathematical model for the dynamics of the green spruce aphid (Elatobium abietum Walker) growing on Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.). These grow in a northern British climate in managed plantations, with planting, thinning and a 60-year rotation. Aphid infestation rarely kills the tree but can reduce growth by up to 55%. We used the Edinburgh Forest Model (efm) to simulate spruce tree growth. The aphid sub-model is described in detail in an appendix. The only environmental variable which impacts immediately on aphid dynamics is air temperature which varies diurnally and seasonally. The efm variables that are directly significant for the aphid are leaf area and phloem nitrogen and carbon. Aphid population predictions include dying out, annual, biennual and other complex patterns, including chaos. Predicted impacts on plantation yield of managed forests can be large and variable, as has been observed; they are also much affected by temperature, CO2 concentration and other climate variables. However, in this system, increased CO2 concentration appears to ameliorate the severity of the effects of increasing temperatures coupled to worsening aphid infestations on plantation yield.
Highlights
The impact of climatic change on forests, pest populations, and their interactions, has been the focus of much work over the last several decades
The smallest peak abundances occur at −2 ̊C, under elevated CO2
There is much non-linearity prevalent; there are far more than the minimum two state variables required for chaos; the equations are non-autonomous; and the intrinsic time scales of the dynamics of the aphid sub-model and the tree sub-model are very different and incommensurate [42, 43]
Summary
The impact of climatic change on forests, pest populations, and their interactions, has been the focus of much work over the last several decades. The biology is complex, and involves both direct and indirect effects of multiple climate variables. Elevated CO2, changing temperature, and their interactions have direct impacts on plant growth and quality (from the herbivores’ perspectives [1]). Many invertebrate pest species’ population dynamics are highly sensitive to ambient temperature means and variances [2].
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