American Elm Disease

The emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis, is a beetle that was first discovered in 2002 in the US near the Detroit area and southeastern portions of Michigan. This beetle is believed to have originated in Asia. The theory is that they arrived in the states in packing material made of wood on cargo ships traveling on the St. Lawrence River, which then leads into the Great Lakes. Since 2002, this beetle has made its way into parts of Canada and now in at least eighteen states in the US (Emerald, n.d.). They are causing major destruction of Ash trees in all of these areas, and Vermont is starting to take precautions to be prepared if and when these beetles show up in The Green Mountain

Emerald Ash Borers has killed millions of ash tree and put billions more at risk. Emerald Ash Borers originated in Asia and eastern Russia was first discovered in Canada in 2002. It is now widespread in Quebec and Ontario areas. Emerald Ash Borers can be spread to various parts of Canada and USA through infested firewood trading. Therefore the government of Canada has decided to restrict infested areas. Emerald Ash Borer arrived to Canada through trading forestry products. If we had been more careful, Emerald Ash Borers would have never entered Canada. Therefore our interaction in cutting down trees to trade and trading with others has an important effect on the welfare of our forests. The interaction of receiving wood from outside our country

The ancient forests of the Northeast aren’t the only aspect of the bioregion that’s fate have been at perpetual risk since the early settlement of Europeans. There is no question that forests still dominate the landscape of Northeastern region accounting for “60% of the total land area, and in New England alone, the coverage is 80%”. Still the species that exist within the understory of the forests have undergone an equally dramatic transformation because of human interaction with the land and the harvest of its resources. Some species in the understory of the mixed forests of the Northeast have been driven out of the region, are under intense ecological pressure, are on the brink of extinction, or have already gone extinct in the region. Perhaps one of the most harmful and impactful effects colonization of the Northeast has had on the resources of the land is the introduction of non-native species and diseases into the region. Over time the overall makeup of the forests have changed drastically as an example, “…the American chestnut once made up as much as 25% of the trees in some areas and was economically the most important hardwood in the Eastern forests”. The introduction of chestnut blight at the turn of the century accounts for

Eliminating the bronze birch borer from your trees and restoring them to their natural health requires multiple treatment methods. First of all, you need to ensure the health of your tree by watering them regularly: one slow watering every few weeks should be enough. Next, you need to spread at least three-inches of wood chips around the base of the tree to hold in moisture. Most importantly: do not fertilize your trees when they are infested with the bronze birch borer: the extra growths can actually attract more birch borers to your

Laurel Wilt Disease is a scourge here in Florida. The disease affects laurel trees all over the Southeast, with the most notable victim being avocado trees. The beetles also effect sassafras trees, pond spice trees, and swamp bays. The main cause of this disease is a fungus known as Raffaelea Lauricola that is transmitted through a beetle called the red bay ambrosia beetle (Persea Borbonia). Neither of these species are native to the area. It was brought over to the states through wooden shipping containers that had contained the beetle insect. The insect and disease came from countries like India, Japan, Myanmar, and Taiwan. The disease works by having the beetle come into the country, hiding in the wooden crates. Once in America, the beetle enters into the environment and seeks trees to bore into for food and shelter. The beetles contain spores that containing the fungus that kills the host tree. The fungus then grows in the sapwood of the tree, restricting the flow of food, sap, and nutrients around the tree. This results in die back and eventually, a dead tree. The disease is known to highly effect the avocado industry and the natural forests in Florida. Currently, 61 out of 67 counties in Florida contain reports of Laurel Wilt Disease as of 2015. That is an enormous 91%.

Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) most likely came to the United States through solid wood shipments from Asia, and has established its habitat in 25 states - including Georgia - and two Canadian provinces. The female lays eggs and the cream-colored larvae chew tunnels through the wood. The adults are shiny green beetles about a half inch in length and burrow through the wood. Symptoms of EAB infestation in a tree include vertical

The Dendroctonus ponderosae (Mountain Pine Beetle) is estimated to have killed 46 million acres of trees from 2000 to 2012 - an area nearly the size of the state of Colorado, as stated in an article released by the Union of Concerned Scientists. In response to this epidemic, the U.S. Forest Service estimates that “as many as 100,000 beetle-killed trees fall to the ground every day in Southern Wyoming and Northern Colorado alone”. The results of the early 2000’s outbreak clearly reflect the devastation, but the reasons behind the infestation are not as defined. It 's commonly believed that the cause of the Mountain Pine Beetle outbreak was warmer temperatures that decreased winter larvae

The absence of a balsam fir seedling bank prior to the outbreak could be due to unfavorable litter or soil conditions (Greene et al. 1999), higher competition by shrubs prior to the outbreak (Kneeshaw and Bergeron 1999), and the absence of seed trees. Absence of a seedling bank or death of the seedling bank during an epidemic will lead to lack of fir recruitment (Bouchard et al. 2007). But in research by Spence and MacLean (2012) there was a different result: in immature stands the intolerant hardwood regenerations post-disturbance (4%-27%) was higher than pre-disturbance (0%). But the percentage of intolerant hardwood regeneration eventually decreased (from 19%-44% to 4%-25%). This suggests that in immature stands may still have a higher balsam fir composition over

The MPB can inflict extensive damage to a pine forest when optimum factors of growth are met. The first of three main factors is, an overabundance of mature trees. The MPB will only bore into large diameter trees which are more prevalent since fire suppression has become a primary practice for forest management. Eliminating fires also provides a large quantity of host sites. Tree density is detrimental to forest health because interspecies competition for resources induces stress which makes more pines vulnerable to MPB attack. The final factor that has made the MPB such a

Forests are carbon sinks, they absorb carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and store it in plant biomass and soils belowground. When the trees die, they stop absorbing and storing carbon dioxide, and as they decompose, they release some of the stored carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere (Suzuki & Moola, 2008). The mountain pine beetle (Aendroctonus ponderosae) is a primary agent of forest disturbance, a higher number of outbreaks occur due to favorable forest age and climate patterns (Progar et al., 2014). The mountain pine beetle (MPB) starts its attack when the female finds a pine tree (usually lodgepole) that is at least 80 years old. Upon finding the tree the female bores into it, while releasing a pheromone that attracts the male beetles. When the males arrive they, also release more pheromones to attract more females. The tree tries to defend its self by secreting a toxic resin. But the beetles carry spores of a blue-stain fungus in their mouths which they release as they bore into the tree, the fungus prevents the tree from transporting nutrients and water. The beetles lay eggs under the tree’s bark, and when the larvae hatch, they feed on the blue fungus until they are mature enough to leave the now dead tree (Aukema et al., 2006).

This paper was about the bidirectional anatomical effects of mistletoe-host the sweet gum tree (L. styraciflua) and the Mexican royal oak (Q. germana). The main reason that the researchers wanted to do this study was because while multiple studies have been completed on how a parasite effects the host little has been done to study the effect of the host on the parasite. The researchers used standard techniques for light and transmission electron microscopes to study the effect of mistletoe on the sweet gum tree and the Mexican royal oak and vice versa. The key results for this paper were as follows, the

There was a serious infection of orange tree in Florida called citrus greening. There was a bacteria known as C. Liberibacter asiaticus that cause scourges inside the trees and spread through insects. They already tried every way to destroy the root, such as chopped down hundreds of thousands of infected trees and sprayed pesticides, but it was no use.

OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ADDS BUTLER COUNTY TO THOUSAND CANKERS DISEASE QUARANTINE State taking measures to protect Ohio’s walnut trees REYNOLDSBURG, OH (Dec. 19, 2013) – In an effort to protect the trees of Ohio, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has added Butler County to the state’s Thousand Cankers Disease (TCD) quarantine regulating the transportation of walnut tree products and firewood. The quarantine in Butler County goes into effect Dec. 26. TCD primarily affects black walnut trees, as well as other species of walnut, and is caused by a fungus transported by the walnut twig beetle. The walnut twig beetle spreads the fungus when it bores into the branches and trunk tissue of walnut trees, which are killed by repeated infections

The principal study that researched the wellspring of the scourge parasite ailment was charged in 1913 by the USDA. Candid Meyer, who headed the study for the USDA, reported in that year that the malady was found on chestnut trees in bumpy uplands of China. Two years after the fact, in 1915, Meyer likewise uncovered the curse organism ailment in Japan, in sloping reaches where chestnut trees were

Citrus greening disease, also commonly referred to as Huanglongbing, is a much newer disease to Florida than citrus canker. Although the bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, has been an issue in China since the 1900’s, it did not arrive in the US until 2005 (“Citrus Greening”). The disease is spread through its primary vector, an insect called the Asian citrus psyllid. Symptoms, which include yellow mottling of leaves, small, green, and misshapen fruit, and poor yields, may not appear until several years after a tree is infected. Citrus greening is such an important issue currently because, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, “other than tree removal, there is no effective control once a tree is infected and there is no known cure for the disease” (“Citrus Greening”). To date, revenue loss caused by citrus greening disease exceeds $3.6 billion (“Citrus Greening”). Although importing a race of orange that is resistant to greening may be helpful, the imported plants must first make it through inspection and quarantine.