Monitoring for pests and diseases in native oak woodlands: the case of acute oak decline in the United Kingdom

Abstract

In recent years, a novel form of decline has been observed in southern and central England. This syndrome has been termed acute oak decline (AOD) and affects native oak, Quercus petraea and Q. robur. Typical symptoms include bark cracks that weep dark exudates, which are caused by necrotic patches in the inner bark. Studies show bacteria are consistently isolated from lesion edges, with two species, Gibbsiella quercinecans and Brenneria goodwinii, thought to cause tissue necrosis. Agrilus biguttatus (a native beetle, with apparently increasing populations) is often reported at affected sites. In fact, the small samples of inner bark taken for bacterial isolations revealed larval galleries in 36 of 38 AOD affected trees. Here, we present the findings of two monitoring exercises that were conducted to document AOD dynamics at different spatial scales. At the local scale, within stand dynamics were monitored at eight locations across England. This work was complimented by a national scale survey, which was used to investigate environmental predisposition factors.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the sudden oak death sixth science symposium

Citation

Brown, Nathan; Parnell, Stephen; Bosch, Frank van den; Jeger, Mike; Denman, Sandra. 2017. Monitoring for pests and diseases in native oak woodlands: the case of acute oak decline in the United Kingdom. In: Frankel, Susan J.; Harrell, Katharine M., tech. coords. Proceedings of the sudden oak death sixth science symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. GTR-PSW-255. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: 34-35.