1
|
Gougherty AV, Davies TJ. Evolutionary history of host trees amplifies the dilution effect of biodiversity on forest pests. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002473. [PMID: 38412281 PMCID: PMC10898760 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Biodiversity appears to strongly suppress pathogens and pests in many plant and animal systems. However, this "dilution effect" is not consistently detected, and when present can vary strikingly in magnitude. Here, we use forest inventory data from over 25,000 plots (>1.1 million sampled trees) to quantify the strength of the dilution effect on dozens of forest pests and clarify why some pests are particularly sensitive to biodiversity. Using Bayesian hierarchical models, we show that pest prevalence is frequently lower in highly diverse forests, but there is considerable variability in the magnitude of this dilution effect among pests. The strength of dilution was not closely associated with host specialization or pest nativity. Instead, pest prevalence was lower in forests where co-occurring tree species were more distantly related to a pest's preferred hosts. Our analyses indicate that host evolutionary history and forest composition are key to understanding how species diversity may dilute the impacts of tree pests, with important implications for predicting how future biodiversity change may affect the spread and distribution of damaging forest pests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew V. Gougherty
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - T. Jonathan Davies
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Williams GM, Ginzel MD, Ma Z, Adams DC, Campbell F, Lovett GM, Pildain MB, Raffa KF, Gandhi KJK, Santini A, Sniezko RA, Wingfield MJ, Bonello P. The Global Forest Health Crisis: A Public-Good Social Dilemma in Need of International Collective Action. ANNUAL REVIEW OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2023; 61:377-401. [PMID: 37253697 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-phyto-021722-024626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Society is confronted by interconnected threats to ecological sustainability. Among these is the devastation of forests by destructive non-native pathogens and insects introduced through global trade, leading to the loss of critical ecosystem services and a global forest health crisis. We argue that the forest health crisis is a public-good social dilemma and propose a response framework that incorporates principles of collective action. This framework enables scientists to better engage policymakers and empowers the public to advocate for proactive biosecurity and forest health management. Collective action in forest health features broadly inclusive stakeholder engagement to build trust and set goals; accountability for destructive pest introductions; pooled support for weakest-link partners; and inclusion of intrinsic and nonmarket values of forest ecosystems in risk assessment. We provide short-term and longer-term measures that incorporate the above principles to shift the societal and ecological forest health paradigm to a more resilient state.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey M Williams
- International Programs, US Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, Lansing, Michigan, USA;
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Matthew D Ginzel
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Zhao Ma
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Damian C Adams
- Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Faith Campbell
- Center for Invasive Species Prevention, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Gary M Lovett
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York, USA
| | - María Belén Pildain
- Centro de Investigación y Extensión Forestal Andino Patagónico, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Esquel, Chubut, Argentina
| | - Kenneth F Raffa
- Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Kamal J K Gandhi
- D. B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Alberto Santini
- Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Richard A Sniezko
- Dorena Genetic Resource Center, US Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, Cottage Grove, Oregon, USA
| | - Michael J Wingfield
- Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Pierluigi Bonello
- Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA;
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Li Y, Bateman C, Skelton J, Wang B, Black A, Huang YT, Gonzalez A, Jusino MA, Nolen ZJ, Freeman S, Mendel Z, Kolařík M, Knížek M, Park JH, Sittichaya W, Pham TH, Ito SI, Torii M, Gao L, Johnson AJ, Lu M, Sun J, Zhang Z, Adams DC, Hulcr J. Preinvasion Assessment of Exotic Bark Beetle-Vectored Fungi to Detect Tree-Killing Pathogens. PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2022; 112:261-270. [PMID: 34261341 DOI: 10.1094/phyto-01-21-0041-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Exotic diseases and pests of trees have caused continental-scale disturbances in forest ecosystems and industries, and their invasions are considered largely unpredictable. We tested the concept of preinvasion assessment of not yet invasive organisms, which enables empirical risk assessment of potential invasion and impact. Our example assesses fungi associated with Old World bark and ambrosia beetles and their potential to impact North American trees. We selected 55 Asian and European scolytine beetle species using host use, economic, and regulatory criteria. We isolated 111 of their most consistent fungal associates and tested their effect on four important southeastern American pine and oak species. Our test dataset found no highly virulent pathogens that should be classified as an imminent threat. Twenty-two fungal species were minor pathogens, which may require context-dependent response for their vectors at North American borders, while most of the tested fungi displayed no significant impact. Our results are significant in three ways; they ease the concerns over multiple overseas fungus vectors suspected of heightened potential risk, they provide a basis for the focus on the prevention of introduction and establishment of species that may be of consequence, and they demonstrate that preinvasion assessment, if scaled up, can support practical risk assessment of exotic pathogens.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- You Li
- School of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, U.S.A
- Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Craig Bateman
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, U.S.A
| | - James Skelton
- Department of Biology, William and Mary, Williamsburg 23185, U.S.A
| | - Bo Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China
| | - Adam Black
- Peckerwood Garden Conservation Foundation, Hempstead 77445, U.S.A
| | - Yin-Tse Huang
- School of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, U.S.A
| | - Allan Gonzalez
- School of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, U.S.A
| | | | | | - Stanley Freeman
- Plant Protection Institute, The Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Zvi Mendel
- Plant Protection Institute, The Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Miroslav Kolařík
- Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Miloš Knížek
- Forestry and Game Management Research Institute, 156 04 Prague 5-Zbraslav, Czech Republic
| | - Ji-Hyun Park
- National Institute of Forest Science, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Wisut Sittichaya
- Department of Pest Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90110, Thailand
| | - Thai-Hong Pham
- Mientrung Institute for Scientific Research, VNMN and Graduate School of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hue, Vietnam
| | | | - Masato Torii
- Department of Mushroom Science and Forest Microbiology, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba 305-8687, Japan
| | - Lei Gao
- Shanghai Academy of Landscape Architecture Science and Planning, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Landscaping on Challenging Urban Sites, Shanghai, China
| | - Andrew J Johnson
- School of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, U.S.A
| | - Min Lu
- School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jianghua Sun
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhen Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Protection of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Damian C Adams
- School of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, U.S.A
| | - Jiri Hulcr
- School of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, U.S.A
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
A National Multi-Scale Assessment of Regeneration Deficit as an Indicator of Potential Risk of Forest Genetic Variation Loss. FORESTS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/f13010019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Genetic diversity is essential because it provides a basis for adaptation and resilience to environmental stress and change. The fundamental importance of genetic variation is recognized by its inclusion in the Montréal Process sustainability criteria and indicators for temperate and boreal forests. The indicator that focuses on forest species at risk of losing genetic variation, however, has been difficult to address in a systematic fashion. We combined two broad-scale datasets to inform this indicator for the United States: (1) tree species occurrence data from the national Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot network and (2) climatically and edaphically defined provisional seed zones, which are proxies for among-population adaptive variation. Specifically, we calculated the estimated proportion of small trees (seedlings and saplings) relative to all trees for each species and within seed zone sub-populations, with the assumption that insufficient regeneration could lead to the loss of genetic variation. The threshold between sustainable and unsustainable proportions of small trees reflected the expectation of age–class balance at the landscape scale. We found that 46 of 280 U.S. forest tree species (16.4%) may be at risk of losing genetic variation. California and the Southeast encompassed the most at-risk species. Additionally, 39 species were potentially at risk within at least half of the seed zones in which they occurred. Seed zones in California and the Southwest had the highest proportions of tree species that may be at risk. The results could help focus conservation and management activities to prevent the loss of adaptive genetic variation within tree species.
Collapse
|
6
|
Gougherty AV, Davies TJ. Towards a phylogenetic ecology of plant pests and pathogens. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200359. [PMID: 34538142 PMCID: PMC8450633 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Plant-pathogens and insect pests, hereafter pests, play an important role in structuring ecological communities, yet both native and introduced pests impose significant pressure on wild and managed systems, and pose a threat to food security. Global changes in climate and land use, and transportation of plants and pests around the globe are likely to further increase the range, frequency and severity of pest outbreaks in the future. Thus, there is a critical need to expand on current ecological theory to address these challenges. Here, we outline a phylogenetic framework for the study of plant and pest interactions. In plants, a growing body of work has suggested that evolutionary relatedness, phylogeny, strongly structures plant-pest associations-from pest host breadths and impacts, to their establishment and spread in new regions. Understanding the phylogenetic dimensions of plant-pest associations will help to inform models of invasive species spread, disease and pest risk in crops, and emerging pest outbreaks in native plant communities-which will have important implications for protecting food security and biodiversity into the future. This article is part of the theme issue 'Infectious disease macroecology: parasite diversity and dynamics across the globe'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew V. Gougherty
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - T. Jonathan Davies
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- African Centre for DNA Barcoding, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2092, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|