Intro To Forest Health

Question 1

What are the 3 levels of healthy forests?

Answer 1

Individual tree (urban forestry)

Forest (stand or landscape level)

Ecosystem, all parts, functions, current management (EBM)

Question 2

Forest health agents

Answer 2

Disease

Abiotic

Fire (high or low intensity give different results).

Insects (Bark beetles, defoliators, adelgids, terminal weevil.)

Question 3

What are the scales of disturbance?

Answer 3

Endemic - natural level, thinning agent, increases stand diversity, create habitat (Snags, CWD, openings). Makes FRST healthier. We like this because it thins weak trees for us.

Epidemic - outbreak or major disturbance event. Referred to as stand replacement event. Results in impairment of function and raised water table. Long term increase in landscape diversity.

Question 4

Why would a diverse age and species range make a forest more resistant to pest disturbance?

Answer 4

Many pests are age and species specific

Question 5

What insect moderates the interface between forest and range?

Answer 5

Douglas fir tussock moth

Question 6

What is a complex?

Answer 6

When a disease such as root disease weakens a trees ability to fight off a more deadly (usually insect) pest.

Question 7

What are some introduced pests

Answer 7

• Chesnut blight from Asia 1900
• WPBR 1910
• DED 1928
• Balsam Wooly Adelgid 1900
• Gypsy moth 1860

Question 8

Pest triangle

Answer 8

Environment, host, pest

Question 9

What are some short term managements

Answer 9

• stumping
• pruning
• trapping insects
• sanitation
• pesticides (btk (bacteria), NPV(virus)) mainly for defoliators

Question 10

What are the long term strategies

Answer 10

Promote mix Spp to increase resilience

Mimic natural disturbance by spacing cutblocks and varying size and frequency. Breaks up landscape producing a mosaic, very resistant to age specific pests.

Promote stand vigor with proper stand density, species and fertilization.

Question 11

What defines IPM?

Answer 11

Considers all available options

Treat only as needed

3 E’s: effective, economic, environmentally safe

Question 12

What are the steps in IPM?

Answer 12

1) correct pest ID
2) monitor pop and damage
3) consider all options
4) implement all treatments
5) evaluate results (potentially alter).

Question 13

What is antibiosis

Answer 13

Breeding trees to kill pest

Question 14

What are the healthy forest traits? Any 4

Answer 14

• Normal bio function: photosynthesize, absorb water and nutrients, translocation sugar water, grow and reproduce
• resilient to short term stress
• can adapt to long term change
• MAJORITY of trees are healthy
• satisfies mgmt goals