The susceptibility of European tree species to invasive Asian pathogens: a literature based analysis

Abstract

Alien invasive pathogens have caused numerous disastrous epidemics around the globe during the last two centuries. The frequency of these catastrophes has increased in parallel with the increase of international plant trade. Effective control of the risks requires understanding of factors governing vulnerability of indigenous plants. We tested whether the threat caused by alien pathogens of Asian origin is random among various tree species in Europe or whether it relates to their distribution range. A database including distribution ranges of 75 European tree species and literature-derived information on their susceptibility to invasive forest pathogens (IFPs) of Asian origin was compiled. Analysis on this database indicated that the susceptibility to Asian pathogens is significantly more common among tree species that occur only within Europe than among species with distributional ranges from Europe to Siberia (disease susceptibility percentage, DSP, 52 and 19 %, respectively). Notably, all severely attacked tree species are strictly European while tree species with distribution ranges extending from Europe to Siberia show at most only mild or moderate symptoms of Asian IFPs.Furthermore, the proportion of European broadleaf tree species susceptible to Asian IFPs is significantly higher than that of conifer species. Our results suggest that in Europe, Asian pathogens cause a higher risk to temperate and Mediterranean forests, largely composed of broadleaved species with distributional ranges restricted to Europe, than to boreal forests dominated by conifers distributed to Siberia.Keywords Invasive forest pathogens (IFPs) Á Forest Á Europe Á Asia Á Distribution range Á Fungi Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

Tree invasions and biosecurity: eco-evolutionary dynamics of hitchhiking fungi

“…Invasive pathogens resulting in novel disease associations are generally those transported between regions naturally harbouring related hosts in similar ecosystems; i.e. across the northern hemisphere (Hansen 2008; Loo 2009; Burgess and Wingfield 2016; Ghelardini et al 2016; Müller et al 2016). These fungi have been co-introduced with hosts from a different continent and have moved onto related species (naïve hosts) having little resistance (Müller et al 2016).…”

“…across the northern hemisphere (Hansen 2008; Loo 2009; Burgess and Wingfield 2016; Ghelardini et al 2016; Müller et al 2016). These fungi have been co-introduced with hosts from a different continent and have moved onto related species (naïve hosts) having little resistance (Müller et al 2016). They often do not adversely affect the health of their co-evolved hosts and have thus used their hosts’ EEE to establish as a pathway to invasion.…”

Topographic effects on dispersal patterns of Phytophthora cinnamomi at a stand scale in a Spanish heathland

“…Models at these scales are invaluable to assess not only the impact of future climate scenarios [ 2 ] on the risk occurrence of this disease, but also the combined effects of major factors in this context, such as soil humidity and temperature [ 13 , 14 ]. Additionally, analysis at these scales has revealed the importance of Phytophthora dispersal paths such as international trade in plant material and tourism [ 15 ].…”