Sudden oak death now threatens more of Britain's trees

After destroying millions of oaks in California, the infection spread to Britain – then suddenly jumped species

In woodlands around the UK, just as here in Afan Valley, south Wales, the race is on to fell thousands of trees in a desperate effort to contain a new disease which poses a threat to British forests on a scale not seen since Dutch elm disease wiped out millions of trees, changing the landscape of the country for ever.

Read the article here: The Guardian

Comprehensive report on SOD

Now available.

Synthesizing more than 10 years of cooperative research on the exotic invasive, quarantine sudden oak death pathogen, the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) recently published "Sudden Oak Death and Phytophthora ramorum: A Summary of the Literature." This 181-page comprehensive report covers a wide range of topics, including a history of sudden oak death, identification and distribution of the disease, epidemiology and modeling, management and control, and economic and environmental impacts.

read the rest of the press release.

Information on how to download or order a free copy of the report, "Sudden Oak Death and Phytophthora ramorum: A Summary of the Literature" can be found at: http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr234/.

Smartphone app for reporting SOD

And other invasive species too:

Apps are allowing for coordinated monitoring, efficient data collection, and increased communication and cooperation between scientists and the agriculture industry.

Read more: Western Farm Press

Tree deaths affect disease-carrying ticks: Scientists study whether there is a link between tree deaths and Lyme disease

Over the past 15 years, an invasive plant disease has left a patchwork of dead and dying trees in California's majestic coastal forests. But the loss of trees is changing more than just panoramic views: The number of ticks that can carry a disease that causes painful joint swelling, fatigue and even neurological damage is growing - a result of the gaps created in the forest when trees die, a recent study found.

To determine how the loss of trees affects ticks, their hosts and the Lyme disease they might carry, researchers at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara and the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in New York have embarked on a multi-year study of animal populations in a North San Francisco Bay forest infected with Sudden Oak Death.

read more in the San Jose Mercury-News

Oregon oak disease fight faces federal aid loss

BROOKINGS, Ore. (AP) — In 2001, U.S. Forest Service plant pathologist Ellen Goheen took to the air to see if sudden oak death was in Oregon.

The disease, which in two years can kill an otherwise healthy oak tree, earlier that year was identified as the causal agent killing huge swaths of oak trees in northern California.

The leading edge of the infestation was more than 100 miles from the Oregon-California border, but Goheen thought it possible that sudden oak death had entered Curry County.

Moments after starting her aerial survey, Goheen's suspicions were realized.

"The 'oh, shoot' factor was pretty high," she said.

Her discovery set off what has become a decade-long, $10 million battle with the fungal disease that threatens much of the West's timber and nursery industries.

http://www.necn.com/12/07/10/Oregon-oak-disease-fight-faces-federal-a/landing_health.html?&blockID=3&apID=5150b7d10ce24702947c0dc2d42fdbb2

More global trade means more forest pests

Along with U.S. manufacturing jobs, you can count another victim of global trade: American trees.

The most destructive forest pests from abroad are arriving at an accelerated pace, according to a new study. Between 1990 and 2006, new ones were discovered in the U.S. at an average rate of 1.2 per year, or nearly three times the detection rate during the previous 130 years.

The jump coincides with a rise in imports, leading the authors of a paper published in the December issue of BioScience to conclude that current rules and inspections to keep forest pests out of the country aren't that effective.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/12/foreign-forest-pests-on-the-rise-.html

Public Concern About Invasive Tree Killing Insects and Diseases Remains Strong

Poll results indicate most Americans are concerned about non-native forest pests and they support measures to stop their spread

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Most Americans live near trees, and consider them very important to their quality of life. Recent polling by The Nature Conservancy shows that the American public is well aware of invasive forest pests that kill trees, and are willing to take steps to protect trees from this threat. According to the poll, conducted in September, knowledge of the spread of forest pests such as the Asian longhorned beetle and emerald ash borer, and of diseases like sudden oak death and thousand cankers disease, has increased by 13 percent, from 41 percent in 2005 to 54 percent in 2010. When asked about the issue of forest pests in the most general terms, 93 percent of poll respondents expressed concern. This high level of concern has not changed since 2005, despite the changing economic situation.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/public-concern-about-invasive-tree-killing-insects-and-diseases-remains-strong-111535019.html