Progress 06/06/12 to 06/05/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience included scientists interested in impact assessment of forest insect. Impact included economic as well as ecological values. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project involved development of advanced skills in remote sensing, GIS applications, and impact assessment. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through publications in refereed journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This project investigated two aspects related to impact assessment of the hemlock woolly adelgid: development of a monitoring method for the evaluating tree mortality in remote locations in the Southern Appalachians and evaluation of the spatial distribution of the insect in the Southern Appalachians.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Kantola, Tuula, P. Lyytikainen-Saarenmaa, R. N. Coulson, M. Holopainen, M. D. Tchakerian and D. A Street. 2016. Development of monitoring methods for hemlock woolly adelgid induced tree mortality within a Southern Appalachian landscape with inhibited access. iForest 9: 178-86.
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Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience includes scientists interested in the impact of invasive forest insects on North American forests Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated through a peer reviewed publication What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To continue examination of climate effects on the distribution, abundance, and mortality resulting from herbivory by the HWA.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
An invasive species, the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand, HWA), causes widespreadmortality of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L. Carr.) and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana Engelm.) communities in eastern USA. Successful invasion patterns of HWA coupled with effects of climate change threaten the persistence of these species in forest landscapes of North America.Ecological niche modeling (ENM) was used to examine potential change in species distribution. Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) was used to evaluate insect distribution. We projected the potential distribution of HWA under historical conditions and 2050 climate according to a high emission climate change scenario within North America. In the model calibration, we used species occurrences downloaded from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and USDA Forest Service county-level infestation data. Our results suggest that HWA is able to invade most of the native range of eastern hemlock, remaining areas with mean winter temperature below -5°C unsuitable. The range shift according to the climate change scenario may be over 500 km to north and northeast. Higher altitudes, i.e., the Southern Appalachians, remain suitable for the species in the South.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Kantola, Tuula, P. Lyytikainen-Saarenmaa, R. N. Coulson, M. Holopainen, M. D. Tchakerian and D. A Street. 2016. Development of monitoring methods for hemlock woolly adelgid induced tree mortality within a Southern Appalachian landscape with inhibited access. iForest 9: 178-86.
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Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences for this report are scintists and forest managers interested in impact assessment of the hemlock woolly adelgid. The hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand, HWA) is an introduced invasive forest pest. Herbivory by this insect results in mortality to eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L. Carr.) and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana Engelm.). These species occur in landscapes where extreme topographic variation is common. Additional coniferous species are part of vegetation diversity. Traditional forest inventory procedures and insect pest detection methods within these landscapes are not practical. Accordingly, the goal of this study was to develop a semi-automatic method for mapping coniferous tree species and HWA induced hemlock mortality using aerial images and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). The study was conducted in the Linville River Gorge in the Southern Appalachians of western NC, USA. Mapping tasks included a two phase approach: decision tree and support vector machine classifications. We found that 2% of the forest canopy surface was covered by dead trees and 43% by coniferous tree species. The majority of the forest canopy surface, 55%, was covered by deciduous tree species. The resulting maps provide a means for evaluating the impact of HWA herbivory, as this insect was the only significant coniferous mortality agent present within the study site.The hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand, HWA) is an introduced invasive forest pest. Herbivory by this insect results in mortality to eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L. Carr.) and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana Engelm.). These species occur in landscapes where extreme topographic variation is common. Additional coniferous species are part of vegetation diversity. Traditional forest inventory procedures and insect pest detection methods within these landscapes are not practical. Accordingly, the goal of this study was to develop a semi-automatic method for mapping coniferous tree species and HWA induced hemlock mortality using aerial images and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). The study was conducted in the Linville River Gorge in the Southern Appalachians of western NC, USA. Mapping tasks included a two phase approach: decision tree and support vector machine classifications. We found that 2% of the forest canopy surface was covered by dead trees and 43% by coniferous tree species. The majority of the forest canopy surface, 55%, was covered by deciduous tree species. The resulting maps provide a means for evaluating the impact of HWA herbivory, as this insect was the only significant coniferous mortality agent present within the study site. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided graduate student training for a visiting scholar from the University of Helsinki, Finland. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A journal article was published that summarizes the methodology used for evaluating impact of hemlock woolly adelgid and estimates of the degree of impact resulting from herbivory by the insect. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to use a UAS (unmanned aerial system) to provide ground truth for damage estimates.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The goal of the project was to develop a procedure, using remote sensing technologies, to evaluate the impact of herbivory by the hemlock woolly adelgid on hemlock forests.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Kantola, T., P. Lyytik�inen-Saarenmaa, R. N. Coulson, S. Strauch, M.D. Tchakerian, M. Holopainen, H. Saarenmaa, and D. A. Streett. 2014. Spatial Distribution of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Induced Hemlock Mortality in the Southern Appalachians. Open Journal of Forestry. 4: 492-506.
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Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14
Outputs
Target Audience: Scentists interested in forest protection and forest managers interested in mitigating adverse impacts of insects in forest landscapes Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The mapping system developed for the hemlock woolly adelgid can serve as a general survey sampling system for the insect. Hemlocks and herbivory by the hemlock woolly adelgid cannot be easily surveyed using conventional inventory procedures because of extreme topographical variation. The rmote sensing procedures developed in the project provide a practical meansimpact assessment. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results of the research have been reported to the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station and Forest Health Protection. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? During the next reporting we plan to use the remote sensing methodology to evaluate the impact of herbivory by the hemlock woolly adelgid on the Grandfather Ranger District (GF) (35?56’N, 81?55‘W), Pisgah National Forest, Southern Appalachian Mountains, NC, USA. Most of the 48 km2 area is forested in mature mixed hardwood and coniferous stands. A large portion of the study site occurs within the Linville Gorge Wilderness area. This wilderness area has remained mostly unlogged, although it has been subjected to different stress factors, such as chronic acidic decomposition and frequent forest fires.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand, HWA) is an introduced invasive forest pest. Herbivory by this insect results in mortality to eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L. Carr.) and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana Engelm.) These species occur in landscapes where extreme topographic variation is common and vegetation diversity includes additional coniferous species. Traditional forest inventory procedures and pest detection in this landscape are not practical. Accordingly, the goal of this study was to develop a semi-automatic method for mapping coniferous tree species and HWA induced mortality using aerial images and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). The study was conducted in the Linville River Gorge in the Southern Appalachians of western NC, USA. Mapping task included a two stage approach: decision tree and support vector machine classifications. We found that 2% of the forest canopy surface was covered by dead trees and 43% by coniferous tree species. The majority of the forest canopy surface, 55%, was covered by deciduous tree species. The resulting maps provide a means for evaluating the impact of HWA herbivory, as this insect was the only significant coniferous mortality agent present within the study site.
Publications
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Coulson, R. N., A. Birt, M. Tchakerian. 2014. Forest landscape change in response to change. The practicality. In. Azevedo, J. C., A. H. Perera, and M.A. Pinto (Eds. Forest Landscapes and Global Change. Springer, NY.
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Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Landscape Ecologists, Entomologists, Foresters Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results from the research have been presented at the following conferences: Mapping Spatial Pattern and Mortality of Eastern and Carolina Hemlocks to Estimate effects and Potential Spreading of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Infestations in the Southern Appalachians. Natl. Entomol. Soc. Conf., Austin, TX. 2013. Mapping Areas Covered by Hemlocks to Estimate Potential Gaps in the Forest Canopy Following Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Infestations in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Southern Forest Insect Work Conference, New Orleans, LA. 2013. Estimating Spatial Pattern and Extent of Hemlock Mortality after HWA Infestation in the Linville River Gorge via Aerial Imagery. The Southern Forest Insect Work Conference, New Orleans, LA. 2013. Mapping Eastern and Carolina Hemlocks to Estimate Potential Forest Gaps Following Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Investations in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. US/International Association of Landscape Ecologists (IALE), Austin TX, 2013. Assessing the Likelihood of Invasive Species Establishment Following Herbivory by the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. East Texas Forest Entomology Seminar. Nacogdoches, TX. 2012. Evaluating the Impact of Non-Native Invasive Species on Southern Appalachian Forest Landscapes Following Herbivory by the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. East Texas Forest Entomology Seminar. Nacogdoches, TX. 2012. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? This project will produce a survey and monitoring instrument of assessment of the distribution, abundance, and pattern of hemlock and mortality resulting from HWA herbivory. The summary data, based on the application of remote sensing technologies, will permit the quantitative assessment of HWA herbivory on ecosystem services associated with Southern Appalachian forest landscapes. With minor modification, the monitoring instrument can be used throughout the range of hemlock and HWA in Eastern North America.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We use a spatially explicit forest landscape model, LANDIS-II, to simulate forests of the Grandfather Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina on two scenarios: forest with and without hemlock. Model was parameterized and calibrated using field data and actual landscape. We compared the forest dynamics from the scenarios of with and without hemlock. In the landscape without hemlock, the abundances of most species significantly increase by amounts ranging from 25% to 74% in comparison with that in the forest with hemlock. The number of the species with abundance greater than 50% increase from 2-4 to 5-7 in ecoregions. In addition, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) increases its abundance substantially, while great rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) does not. Finally, the species abundances fluctuate in greater numbers and for longer time before reaching a stable state. The modeling suggests that less shade-tolerant species, e.g., pines (Pinus) and oaks (Quercus), would be more abundant without hemlock. The simulations also project less temporal stability in forest composition without hemlock than when hemlock is present.
Publications
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Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: During this reporting period we evaluated the probable effects of on Appalachian forest dynamics following removal of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) as a consequence of herbivory by the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae). The study was conducted on the Grandfather Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina. We use a spatially explicit forest landscape model, LANDIS-II, to simulate forests of the Grandfather Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina on two scenarios: forest with and without hemlock. The odel was parameterized and calibrated using field data and actual landscape. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
We compared the forest dynamics from the scenarios of with and without hemlock. In the landscape without hemlock, the abundances of most species significantly increase by amounts ranging from 25% to 74% in comparison with that in the forest with hemlock. The number of the species with abundance greater than 50% increase from 2-4 to 5-7 in ecoregions. In addition, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) increases its abundance substantially, while great rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) does not. Finally, the species abundances fluctuate in greater numbers and for longer time before reaching a stable state. The modeling suggests that less shade-tolerant species, e.g., pines (Pinus) and oaks (Quercus), would be more abundant without hemlock. The simulations also project less temporal stability in forest composition without hemlock than when hemlock is present.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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