Decision support dataset to prevent establishment of exotic wood borers

We study wood borers of important tree commodities before they get introduced to the US, so that when they do appear here, the agencies know which action needs to be taken. We also conduct economic analyses and analyze current legal landscape to study whether such proactive approach is feasible, and what can be done in the case of a major pine or oak pest (Jiri Hulcr and Damian Adams)

To prevent future epidemics of the most important American tree commodities driven by invasive borer-vectored pathogens, regulatory agencies and importers need an evidence-based decision support system to distinguish species that may be ignored if introduced, species that need close monitoring, and species that need eradication when introduced. Such decision support system will justify the listing of exotic species of proven concern on the “2012 Prioritized Offshore Pest List”, and justify leaving the majority of non-threatening species off the list.

In order to develop such decision support resource, our team is conducting economic analysis of the value of pre-invasion assessment, assessment of the association between Asian wood borers and tree pathogens as well as law and policy analysis. This information combined with data about the ecology of each wood borer species, particularly on their invasion potential, tree-killing potential, and host specificity will allow us to rank the wood borer species according to their threat level. The decision support resource will consist of a list of species of Asian woodborers, their association with fungal pathogens of trees, and the effect of those fungi on American timber industries.

Our results will allow reviewing and updating the “2012 Prioritized Offshore Pest List” with regards to insect species that (1) can be removed from the list, (2) added to the list, (3) de-prioritized on the list, or (4) prioritized on the list. We anticipate that the use of this decision support resource along with the revised “2012 Prioritized Offshore Pest List” will enhance the technical and institutional capacities to protect US forest and avoid potential economic losses or even downright ecological disasters. Our project will demonstrate that pest entry prevention and rapid eradication can be accomplished with proactive research without any new regulations.

The project is currently funded by the Farm Bill section 10007, by the USDA Forest Service - Forest Health Protection and the Southern Research Station, and by the University of Florida.

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