Forest Ecosystem Responses to Exotic Pests and Pathogens in Eastern North America

Lovett, Gary M.; Canham, Charles D.; Arthur, Mary A.; Weathers, Kathleen C.; Fitzhugh, Ross D.

doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2006)056[0395:fertep]2.0.co;2

Cited by 433 publications

(344 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Effects of such introductions include changes in ecosystem function (e.g. primary productivity, nutrient retention, hydrology, carbon storage, sensitivity to future disturbance), loss of forest diversity (including flora and fauna that depend on the affected tree species), changes in fire regime, disruption of competitive hierarchies and socioeconomic costs associated with losses for forest-based industries (Liebhold et al 1995;Ellison et al 2005;Lovett et al 2006;Ford & Vose 2007). The most notorious examples of invasive forest pests are those in which the affected tree species are effectively eliminated from the landscape, as happened to American chestnut following the introduction of the blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) from Asia (Paillet 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subcontinental impacts of an invasive tree disease on forest structure and dynamics

et al. 2011

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Summary1. Introduced pests and pathogens are a major source of disturbance to ecosystems world-wide. The famous examples have produced dramatic reductions in host abundance, including virtual extirpation, but most introductions have more subtle impacts that are hard to quantify but are potentially at least as important due to the pathogens' effects on host reproduction, competitive ability and stress tolerance. A general outcome could be reduced host abundance with concomitant increases in the abundance of competitors. 2. Beech bark disease (BBD) is a widespread, fatal affliction of American beech (Fagus grandifolia), currently present in c. 50% of beech's distribution in eastern North America. Despite high adult mortality, beech remains a dominant component of the forest community. 3. Employing spatially extensive data from the national Forest Inventory and Analysis program of the United States Forest Service, we show that forests have changed dramatically in the presence of BBD. Within the 2.3 million km 2 range of beech, size-specific mortality was 65% higher in the longest-infected regions, and large beech ( >90 cm diameter at breast height) have declined from c. 79 individuals km )2 to being virtually absent. Small stem beech density was dramatically higher ( >350%) such that infested forests contain a roughly equivalent cross-sectional (basal) area of beech as before BBD. 4. There was no evidence for compensation by sugar maple or other co-occurring tree species via increased recruitment or adult survivorship at the landscape scale. Overall, community composition remained roughly unchanged as a result of BBD. 5. Surprisingly, trajectory of stand dynamics (shifts in stem density and mean tree size reflecting normal stand maturation (self-thinning) or retrogression (more abundant, smaller trees over time)) did not differ between affected and unaffected regions. Variance in stand dynamics was greater in afflicted forests, however, indicating that predictability of forest structure has been diminished by BBD. 6. Synthesis. Forests of eastern North America have shifted to increased density and dramatically smaller stature -without notable change in tree species composition -following the invasion of a novel forest disease. Our results reinforce the conclusion that introduced diseases alter fundamental properties of ecosystems, but indicate that the spectrum of potential effects is broader than generally appreciated.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subcontinental impacts of an invasive tree disease on forest structure and dynamics

et al. 2011

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“…Statistics confirm the validity of this approach (Box 1, Figure 1). Hemlock replacement by species producing higher quality litter that stimulates nutrient cycling [83] Black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus and red deer (Cervus elaphus)…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of biological invasions: what's what and the way forward

Simberloff

Martin

Genovesi

et al. 2013

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

2,556

1,765

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International audienceStudy of the impacts of biological invasions, a pervasive component of global change, has generated remarkable understanding of the mechanisms and consequences of the spread of introduced populations. The growing field of invasion science, poised at a crossroads where ecology, social sciences, resource management, and public perception meet, is increasingly exposed to critical scrutiny from several perspectives. Although the rate of biological invasions, elucidation of their consequences, and knowledge about mitigation are growing rapidly, the very need for invasion science is disputed. Here, we highlight recent progress in understanding invasion impacts and management, and discuss the challenges that the discipline faces in its science and interactions with society

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“…3c). For example, loss from North American forests of American chestnut (Castanea dentata) caused by invasive chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) or of hemlock (Tsuga spp) by the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae), has led to replacement by other tree species that produce higher quality residues and are therefore likely to promote decomposer activity and nutrient cycling (Ellison et al 2005;Lovett et al 2006;Finzi et al 2014). Invertebrate and fungal pathogen outbreaks also have the potential to modify forest ecosystem processes even when they exert major but sublethal effects.…”

Section: Invasive Aboveground Consumersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of invasive biota in forest ecosystems in an aboveground–belowground context

Wardle

Peltzer

2017

Biol Invasions

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Forest ecosystems world-wide are being subjected to invasion by organisms representing all domains of life. Here we use a combined aboveground-belowground approach to provide a conceptual framework for assessing how forests respond to biological invasions. We first address mechanisms by which invasive plants and aboveground and belowground consumers impact on forests, and highlight that although we have a growing understanding of the determinants of the effects of invasive plants, for invasive consumers we have yet to move from a series of iconic case studies to the development of general principles. We also address the effects of invasive biota in the context of the drivers of invasion, coinvasion and invasional meltdown, the issue of simultaneous species gains and losses, and forest restoration and recovery post-invasion. We then highlight areas that would benefit from further work, particularly regarding underlying mechanisms, determinants of context-dependency of invader effects, and linkages between causes and consequences of invasion. In concluding, we emphasize that biological invaders have the potential for largescale and long-term impacts on forest processes, and consideration of these impacts in an abovegroundbelowground context will enable better prediction of future responses of forests to invaders and their management as well as of restoration efforts.

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Forest Ecosystem Responses to Exotic Pests and Pathogens in Eastern North America

Cited by 433 publications

References 69 publications

Subcontinental impacts of an invasive tree disease on forest structure and dynamics

Subcontinental impacts of an invasive tree disease on forest structure and dynamics

Impacts of biological invasions: what's what and the way forward

Impacts of invasive biota in forest ecosystems in an aboveground–belowground context

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