Spread Of Emerald Ash Borer Research Articles

A bioeconomic analysis of an emerald ash borer invasion of an urban forest with multiple jurisdictions

Bio-invasions occur in management mosaics where local control affects spread and damage across political boundaries. We address two obstacles to local implementation of optimal regional control of a bio-invasion that damages public and private resources across jurisdictions: lack of local funds to protect the public resource and lack of access to protect the private resource. To evaluate these obstacles, we develop a spatial-dynamic model of the optimal control of emerald ash borer (EAB) in the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minnesota, USA. We focus on managing valuable host trees with preventative insecticide treatment or pre-emptive removal to slow EAB spread. The model includes spatial variation in the ownership and benefits of host trees, the costs of management, and the budgets of municipal jurisdictions. We develop and evaluate centralized strategies for 17 jurisdictions surrounding the infestation. The central planner determines the quantities of trees in public ownership to treat and remove over time, to maximize benefits of surviving trees net costs of management across public and private ownerships, subject to constraints on municipal budgets, management activities, and access to private trees. The results suggest that centralizing the budget across jurisdictions rather than increasing any one municipal budget does more to increase total net benefits. Strategies with insecticide treatment are superior to ones with pre-emptive removal because they reduce the quantity of susceptible trees at lower cost and protect the benefits of healthy trees. Increasing the accessibility of private trees to public management substantially slows EAB spread and improves total net benefit.

Estimates of the Potential Cost of Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) in Canadian Municipalities

Emerald ash borer (EAB) is an invasive phloem-feeding insect causing extensive mortality to ash (Fraxinus sp.) in North America. Economic costs associated with EAB-related mortality of street and backyard trees in Canadian urban areas were estimated over a 30-year time horizon. The approach employed a simple spread model to approximate EAB arrival times at each community based on three maximum spread rates: slow (~10 km/year), medium (~30 km/year), and fast (~50 km/year). Costs are estimated for four discount rates (0%, 2%, 4%, and 10%) and three treatment rates (0%, 10%, and 50% of trees treated with an insecticide). Ash density along urban roads was estimated from a variety of sources, including a recently developed survey that allows for rapid assessment of street tree compositions. Based on the 30 km/year spread rate, a 4% discount rate, and a 10% treatment rate, the present value of the costs is estimated to be approximately CAD $524 million (2010 currency rate); this value increases to roughly $890 million when costs associated with backyard trees are included. These estimates are conservative because they focus only on damage to street (and backyard) trees; nonetheless, their magnitude suggests considerable justification for investments to slow the spread of EAB in Canada.

Effects of Cutting Time, Stump Height, and Herbicide Application on Ash (Fraxinus Spp.) Stump Sprouting and Colonization by Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)

Abstract Efforts to eradicate or slow the spread of emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire [Coleoptera: Buprestidae]) include cutting infested and nearby uninfested ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees. However, ash trees readily sprout after they have been cut, providing potential host material for EAB. In 2004–2005, we conducted studies to determine how different cutting times (midspring, late spring, and late summer), different cutting heights (0–5, 10–15, and 20–25 cm above the ground), and triclopyr (44% active ingredient) stump treatment of green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) trees affected subsequent stump sprouting and colonization by EAB. We also cut white ash (Fraxinus americana L.) and black ash (Fraxinus nigra Marsh.) trees 20–25 cm above the ground in late spring. Some stumps of each ash species tested sprouted and were colonized by EAB. All green ash stumps treated with triclopyr died and were not colonized by EAB. Stump sprouting was significantly lower for stumps cut in late spring compared with stumps cut in midspring or late summer. Stump sprouting did not vary significantly among cutting heights. None of the green ash stumps cut in midspring or cut 0–5 cm above the ground were colonized by EAB; however, the frequency of stump colonization by EAB did not vary significantly among cutting times or cutting heights.

Genetic analysis of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) populations in Asia and North America

Emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus plani- pennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is an invasive pest of North American ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees first discovered outside of its native range of northeastern Asia in 2002. EAB spread from its initial zone of discovery in the Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario metropolitan areas, in large part, from inadvertent human-assisted movement of infested ash materials. EAB infestations are now known in 15 US states and two Canadian provinces. The primary goal of this study was to use molecular markers to characterize the population genetic

Simulating the effectiveness of three potential management options to slow the spread of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) populations in localized outlier sites

The emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is a devastating, invasive insect pest of ash trees, Fraxinus spp., in North America. Using a simulation model, we evaluated three potential management options to slow the spread of A. planipennis in discrete outlier sites: (i) removing ash trees to reduce available host phloem resource, (ii) girdling ash trees to attract ovipositing female beetles and destroying the trees before larvae complete development, and (iii) applying a highly effective systemic insecticide. Simulations indicate that systemic insecticide applications provided the greatest reduction in the radial spread of A. planipennis. In simulations in which management options were applied only within a 300 m radius from the origin of the infestation, insecticide applications reduced the radial spread by 30% and larval consumption of ash phloem by 40% beyond the treated area. In contrast, girdling ash trees reduced the radial spread by 15% and larval consumption of ash phloem by 20% beyond the treated area. Both of these management options significantly reduced the spread of A. planipennis when treatments were applied 1 to 4 years after infestations were initiated. Reducing ash phloem by removing ash trees decreased population size within treated areas but did not reduce the radial spread, population size, or larval consumption of ash phloem beyond treated areas.

Dispersal of Emerald Ash Borer within an Intensively Managed Quarantine Zone

Emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis) is one of the most destructive insect pests of urban trees in the United States. The objective of the current study was to determine the rate of spread of EAB in a quarantine zone where aggressive intervention tactics such as tree destruction occurred. Historical records were examined from the Maryland Department of Agriculture for the years 2003, 2006, 2007, and 2008, to determine the rate of spread of EAB in Maryland, U.S., within the quarantine zone. Despite attempts at eradication and public education, EAB persisted, and the leading edge of beetles moved away from the central infestation point at an average annual rate of 1 km per year and a maximum annual rate of 1.37 km per year between 2003 and 2008. This paper discusses the relative merits and limitations of this quarantine and eradication program and makes suggestions for future management of EAB.

Cost of potential emerald ash borer damage in U.S. communities, 2009–2019

Emerald ash borer ( Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire), a phloem-feeding beetle native to Asia, was discovered near Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario in 2002. As of March 2009, isolated populations of emerald ash borer (EAB) have been detected in nine additional states and Quebec. EAB is a highly invasive forest pest that has the potential to spread and kill native ash trees ( Fraxinus sp.) throughout the United States. We estimate the discounted cost of ash treatment, removal, and replacement on developed land within communities in a 25-state study area centered on Detroit using simulations of EAB spread and infestation over the next decade (2009–2019). An estimated 38 million ash trees occur on this land base. The simulations predict an expanding EAB infestation that will likely encompass most of the 25 states and warrant treatment, removal, and replacement of more than 17 million ash trees with mean discounted cost of $10.7 billion. Expanding the land base to include developed land outside, as well as inside, communities nearly double the estimates of the number of ash trees treated or removed and replaced, and the associated cost. The estimates of discounted cost suggest that a substantial investment might be efficiently spent to slow the expansion of isolated EAB infestations and postpone the ultimate costs of ash treatment, removal, and replacement.

Modeling the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer

Recently, an invasive Asian beetle known as the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) ( Agrilus planipennis Coleoptera: Buprestidae) has emerged as a threat to ash trees in the Midwestern United States and Canada [McCullough, D.G., Katovich, S.A., 2004. Pest Alert: Emerald Ash Borer. United States Forest Service, Northeastern Area. NA-PR-02-04]. Significant infestations in Michigan and nearby areas have all but doomed nearly 1 billion native ash trees. However, surrounding regions may still be able to prevent tree damage from occurring at the scale once inflicted by Dutch elm disease in the 1970s. This paper presents an argument for the establishment of a widely accessible knowledgebase of information on the EABs spread capabilities. We argue that spatial dynamic modeling stands as a flexible and powerful decision support system platform. We present initial simulations of EAB spread scenarios constructed using tree information and land use data collected for DuPage County, IL, an uninfected suburban county in the Chicago metropolitan area. These simulations test policies focused on impeding the costly spread of the beetle. This analysis also presents a framework for further studies assessing the economic impacts on municipalities and counties due to tree removal costs and aesthetic damage. Our work points to human driven movement as the major vector for EAB spread throughout our study area. Here, the focus falls on the ability of state and county implemented firewood quarantines to act as effective policies for slowing EAB spread.