Treesearch

Balsam woolly adelgid (BWA), Adelges piceae, is an invasive insect colonizing true fir in North America. Following its recent range expansion into Utah, BWA has caused significant mortality of subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa). The first instar (crawler) is the only motile life stage and is responsible for dispersal among trees, usually by wind. Due to BWA’s small size, detection and monitoring is challenging. In this study, monitoring for dispersing crawlers using sticky cards was compared to a more labor-intensive bark sampling method in four northern Utah stands with the goal of identifyi...

As a party to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United States has reported an inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals by sector every year, using the methodological guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), since the mid-1990s (U.S. EPA 2024). The United States is also party to the 2015 Paris Agreement. In 2024, the annual inventory supports both agreements for the first time. It follows guidelines under these agreements and presents information in a common and consistent format to assess the relative...

Predators impose top-down forces on prey populations, with the strength of those effects often varying over space and time and among demographic groups. In ungulates, predation risk is typically greatest for neonatal offspring, with some suggesting that predators can key in on adult activity to locate hidden neonates. However, few field studies to date have been able to directly assess the influence of maternal care on ungulate neonate survival. Using a population of white-tailed deer under heavy coyote predation pressure, we tested the maternal dispersion hypothesis, which suggests the...

Background: Wood carbon fractions (CFs)—the proportion of dry woody biomass comprised of elemental carbon (C)—are a key component of forest C estimation protocols and studies. Traditionally, a wood CF of 50% has been assumed in forest C estimation protocols, but recent studies have specifically quantified differences in wood CFs across several different forest biomes and taxonomic divisions, negating the need for generic wood CF assumptions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its 2006 “Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories”, published its own multitiered...

Root disease caused by Armillaria spp. is among the leading causes of mortality and lost productivity in forests around the world (Kim et al. 2022). In the northern and western USA, A. solidipes (previously known as North American A. ostoyae) is considered the most damaging Armillaria root disease pathogen in coniferous forests (Lockman and Kearns 2016). In many regions, climate change is expected to result in an increasing likelihood of damage from Armillaria root disease as trees become more stressed from maladaptation to climate and extreme weather events (Murray and Leslie 2021; Kim et...

Western white pine (WWP; Pinus monticola) is a keystone species in moist forests of western North America that displays adaptation to ranging climates and resilience to native root diseases. Since Cronartium ribicola, the cause of white pine blister rust (WPBR), was introduced to North America in the early 1900s, WBPR has caused dramatic reductions in WWP across its native range. Although WPBR is well established throughout WWP’s range, observations have suggested some recent, naturally regenerated WWP stands in northern Idaho, USA display lower rates of WPBR incidence than was recorded...

Armillaria root disease, the most common forest root disease in western North America, affects all tree species to some degree and is one of the most complex forest problems to understand and effectively manage. In 1870, Robert Hartig, the father of forest pathology, was one of the first scientists to investigate the disease in Europe. A century later, after a long history of disease observation, research, and treatment, Lewis Roth, a professor of forest pathology at Oregon State University, highlighted the frustration associated with studying the disease by writing, “Armillaria has a...

Armillaria root disease is one of the leading causes of growth loss and mortality in coniferous forests of the western USA (Lockman and Kearns 2016; Kim et al. 2022). In 2019, a collaborative project was started to learn more about Armillaria root disease in the Intermountain Region (USDA Forest Service Region 4). Recent surveys suggested that Armillaria root disease was increasing on trees in Utah, particularly at higher elevations than was previously observed (John Guyon, per. comm.). Previous and subsequent surveys using DNA-based identification revealed that A. solidipes (formerly...

First of all, I am both very grateful and extremely humbled to receive the WIFDWC Outstanding Achievement Award, and, of course, I can easily recognize so many other candidates who are more deserving. However, I am extremely happy that Phil Cannon is a co-recipient of this award, because Phil and I have collaborated on diverse projects for about 25 years, and Phil is an exemplary recipient for this award. Unfortunately, I have little idea about what sort of topics I should address here, so I decided to include a bit on various topics.

Phellinus noxius, is a destructive, fast-growing pathogen that causes brown root rot disease of a very wide range of woody hosts (Cannon et al. 2022). Its devastating effects on fruit trees, cacao, ornamentals, coffee, and rubber have been documented across diverse global regions, such as Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Australia, and various Pacific Islands (e.g., Guam, Saipan, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Palau, American Samoa, etc.) (Stewart et al. 2020; Cannon et al. 2022). To date, this pathogen has not been reported in some Pacific Islands and other U.S. states/territories (e.g.,...