Recipient Organization
KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
FRANKFORT,KY 40601
Performing Department
Agriculture & Environmental Science
Non Technical Summary
Kentucky has 12.5 million acres of forested land and 467,000 private woodland owners; therefore, forest management approaches are important to the people of the Commonwealth. The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a very recent problem; research on its management is still in its infancy. Furthermore, it is the first time a beetle has become such a wide-spread forest pest in Europe and North America in such a short time period. Thus there is little experience on which to base new management strategies. For the moment, the control of the EAB outbreak mainly relies on quarantine regulations and containment activities, through the prevention of artificial movement of the pest; detecting and eradicating outlier populations. The dramatic situation that is occurring in North America has initiated many studies and developed research management plans such as visual surveys, girdled traps and insecticidal control; injections or sprays.
Animal Health Component
25%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
75%
Applied
25%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
1. To determine the short and long-term effects on the Kentucky forest ecosystem in areas where ash trees are declining in the Commonwealth of Kentucky's river basin.2. Determine the economic affect that the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is having on forest landowners in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and to offer statistical/wellness data to forest landowners on how to deal with the loss of North American ash by treatment or removal of the infested ash trees.3. Determine strategies to deal with the loss of North American ash.
Project Methods
Objective 1. In an effort to determine the long term influence of the loss of green and white ash on the forest regions and river basin in different areas of Kentucky, a study will be conducted to assess the ash tree health, incidence of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), and forest ecosystem health at three locations in Kentucky. Ash tree condition or health will be conducted using The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) and Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) field sampling protocols at numerous forest regions in different areas of Kentucky. Will work directly with Ben Lyle, Forester for the Kentucky Department of Forestry, and Jody Thompson, Forest Health Specialist for the Kentucky Department of Forestry, on the tree health and recommendation; will be able to present data collected at different conference, papers, etc. Briefly, these trees will be rated using the five different variables for urban forest health monitoring (Cumming et al 2008). Tress will be examined in three different areas: Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, Cove Spring Park, the Environmental Education and Research Center (EERC) and other private landowners around the Kentucky River. These areas were chosen because they are in different locations and levels of infestation in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, in which the whole state has completely been quarantined. For each plot, forest health monitoring data collection protocols will be used on all trees greater than or equal to 1 in. (0.4 cm) in diameter at breast height (DBH; 4.5 ft [1.37 m]) based on the number of plots per stand based on acreage. A stand is defined as a forested area with homogenous species composition, landscape position and hydrology. Stands will be chosen to represent a range of ash densities as well as different habitats to encompass the different ash species present in Kentucky. Plot placement will depend on the shape and size of the stand plus the abundance of ash. In large stands with abundant ash, plots will be placed 50-100 m apart in the forest interior. In stands where ash are not abundant, plots will be positioned by pacing 50 m and placing a plot at the end of the pacing distance if at least two ash trees ≥ 10 cm. If no ash are present at that point, then pacing will continue to the first location where the ash are present. In small stands, plots will include at least two ash trees > 10 cm and to be at least 20 m from other plots. The plot placement methods are not random and probably overestimate the abundance of ash stands where ash is sparse. Circular plots will be used to collect data for ash trees ≥ 10 cm and smaller circular plots will be used to collect data for trees 0.1 cm to 10 cm. Forest condition or health, in terms of function of riparian/wetland vegetation will be conducted through inspection of 5 x 5 meter plots in and outside ash sampling areas using the evaluation tool stated in the Watershed Condition Classification Technical Guide (Potyondy and Geier; 2011). The three different locations where ash trees are found will also be examined to determine the invasive and/or native plants that will thrive in the loss of the ash trees. For this study, TreeAzin™, will also be used for the treatment portion of the study. This systematic insecticide (injected into the trunk of ash trees) produced from extracts of Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) seeds, which has shown potential in controlling both the larval and egg stages of the EAB life cycle; typically done in two year intervals (biennially). Early summer injections (5ml/cm DBH) will be examined to determine if this substance provides effective control of EAB for up to two seasons. The model generated for EAB control will have considerable interest and feedback from municipal representatives and homeowners providing motivation to continue upgrading the application over time. The model will show different parameters (size, soil, etc.) of ash trees and possible replacement trees; this will assist to inform the public in making more informed decisions about the fate of ash tress affected by the EAB.Objective 2. To examine the economic effects of whether to treat or remove ash species in the Commonwealth of Kentucky that incorporate forest with forest health and the occurrence of the EAB, trees will be evaluated at the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, Cove Spring Park, the Environmental Education and Research Center (EERC) and other private landowners around the Kentucky River. Will work with Dr. Jeffery Stringer, Professor at the University of Kentucky, on the economic effects and will be able to present data collected from the invasion of the pest known as the EAB. A relatively simple sensitivity analysis will be carried out by running a model using three plausible values for each of six different parameters while holding the values of all other parameters at the default values for a medium-size ash tree. The parameters values can be overridden by model user as required for specific circumstances at the different locations in the study.Objective 3. To determine the strategies of the loss North American Ash, one would have to estimate many of the costs and benefits, it is necessary to characterize the existing ash tree and if possible the replacement costs with artificial regeneration which would include regeneration harvests, site preparation for artificial regeneration for full stand replacement or enhancement planting.