Is stumping a wise solution for the long-term: The problem of phenotype-environmental mismatch

Abstract

Expression of root disease in conifers is often associated with forest practices such as planting, thinning, and harvesting. For example, Armillaria solidipes, a resident microbe, is "triggered" by these practices or application of fertilizer. On the other hand, the connection to forest practices is not so clear when spores of Heterobasidion spp, are delivered to stump surfaces and initiate new infection centers. Natural situations such as ecophysiological maladaptation (McDonald 1991) and insect outbreaks can also trigger expression from resident pest populations. Generally speaking, most current problems concerning root disease pathogens stem from application of management practices and future problems will surely be exacerbated by global climate change. Development of effective management strategies is hampered by poor understanding of landscape level processes ranging from adaptation and evolution to community interactions such as intraspecific and interspecific competition, parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism. These interactions can cause negative or positive impacts on ecosystem function, such as productivity and expression of disease, depending on the particular mix of players at a specific time and place. A potential avenue to understanding and therefore effectively managing these complex living systems is taking shape in a new discipline - eco-evolutionary dynamics (Fussmann et. al. 2007, Kinnison and Hairston 2007, Hendry et.al. 2011, Morris 2011).

Citation

McDonald, Geral I. 2012. Is stumping a wise solution for the long-term: The problem of phenotype-environmental mismatch. In: Zeglen, S.; Palacios, P., comps. Proceedings of 59th Annual Western International Forest Disease Work Conference; 2011 October 11-14; Leavenworth, WA. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Health Protection, Region 5. p. 53-64.