Impacts of the emerald ash borer (EAB) eradication and tree mortality: potential for a secondary spread of invasive plant species

Abstract

Since the discovery of the emerald ash borer in 2002, eradication efforts have been implemented in an attempt to eliminate or contain the spread of this invasive beetle. The eradication protocol called for the removal of every ash tree within a 0.8 km radius around an infested tree. In 2005 this study was established to identify environmental changes attributed to the eradication program and measure subsequent shifts in forest community composition and structure. We conducted this study in Ohio and compared areas that received the eradication treatment (ash trees cut down), to areas that were left uncut, (ash still standing). The goal of this project was to identify how the plant community is responding in these two areas. The eradication protocol accelerated the formation and size of gaps within the forest and thus increased the duration and intensity of light penetrating through to the forest floor. In addition, the use of track vehicles for removal of cut trees resulted in significant soil compaction. The resultant plant community had greater species diversity (H 0 ). When specific species composition differences were compared, an increase in the establishment of invasive plant species was detected in areas that received eradication efforts compared to those that did not. Invasive species accounted for 18.7% of the total herbaceous cover in this highly disturbed environment which included Cirsium arvense, Rhamnus cathartica and 2 species of Lonicera. In contrast, invasive species accounted for \1% of the total herbaceous cover in the undisturbed uncut areas.

Buying Time: Preliminary Assessment of Biocontrol in the Recovery of Native Forest Vegetation in the Aftermath of the Invasive Emerald Ash Borer

“…The EAB parasitoid release data was obtained at mapbiocontrol.org, a geospatial framework for biocontrol information [59]. At the seven biocontrol sites, there were 44 discrete release events with a sum of 14,065 individual releases that took place between the years of 2007 and 2012 (Supplementary Material 2).…”

Competitive Interactions of Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and Damesrocket (Hesperis matronalis)

“…Invasive species may make the environment more conducive for additional invasive species to colonize (Simberloff and Von Holle 1999), or invaders may compete with each other (Belote and Weltzin 2006;Call and Nilsen 2005). Invasive species, by their very definition, are successful competitors within their new environments because they are able to infiltrate, establish, and proliferate in new locations, especially in disturbed habitats (Flory and Clay 2006;Hausman et al 2010).…”

The response of Fraxinus nigra forest ground-layer vegetation to emulated emerald ash borer mortality and management strategies in northern Minnesota, USA

“…Work in northwest Ohio examining mixed species forests, in which Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh. (green ash) made up 60% of the canopy trees, found both clearcutting from preemptive salvage logging and multi-year EAB-induced mortality increased the overall abundance of herbaceous plants, with clearcutting associated with more rapid environmental changes and an increase in invasive plant species (Hausman et al, 2010). In wetland forests where the F. nigra component often accounts for 75-90% of all tree species (MNDNR, 2003), no empirical studies have assessed the response of the herbaceous plant community to canopy changes from EAB mortality or silvicultural management.…”