Increased global biosecurity threats to trees, woods and forests have been strongly linked to the upsurge in worldwide trade and the expansion of tourism. A whole range of social, economic and political actors are implicated and affected by the movement 2 of pests and diseases along these international pathways. A number of factors affect the actions of stakeholders, and wider public, including their values and motivations, how risks are perceived and acted upon, their ability to act, as well as the existing regulatory and economic environment. Understanding these factors is key to any future attempts to improve biosecurity policy and practice, and we present available evidence on six key dimension: (1) the role of different stakeholders and the broader public within tree health; (2) levels of knowledge and awareness of tree pests and diseases amongst the variety of end-user 'stakeholder' groups, and influences on their attitudes and practices; (3) social acceptability of management approaches; (4) the impact of formal and informal governance arrangements; (5) risk communication; (6) economic analyses on the impact of tree pests. We conclude by identifying evidence gaps and emphasising the need for better integration within the social sciences and between the social and natural sciences to promote effective interdisciplinary and policy-relevant contributions to tree health.

When we think of natural disasters in New Zealand, we tend to think of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. However, a series of events is placing New Zealand communities at greater risk of wildfire. In a case study of a rural New Zealand community that experienced wildfire, process elements such as networks and relationships among locals, development and application of local knowledge and experience, and access to and application of expert knowledge and institutional capacity helped build adaptive capacity for disasters.

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