|
|
|
|
|
|
Ports of commerce are important bottlenecks in biological invasion pathways. Monitoring plants near ports promotes the early detection of forest pests and pathogens, but surveillance capacity is limited, and novel invasions can go undetected. These plantings will act as bait for invasive pests that may be virulent on North American trees. Alabama has a significant port of entry and because it is located near urban population centers, there is a great opportunity for engaging urban communities in bio-surveillance to add capacity for early detection of new pests and pathogens. Installing these plantings will be a proactive approach in screening for invasive species entering through our ports. Infectious diseases of plants are an ongoing and increasing threat to international biosecurity, with wide range of implications. These outbreaks in plant populations have devastating economic, environmental and societal consequences. Sentinel plantings give an opportunity for fast detection of invading pathogens and insects acting as an early warning beacon which is essential to prevent widespread transmission. Lovell-Read et al. (2023) has been shown that including sentinel plants in monitoring programs can reduce the expected prevalence of infection upon outbreak detection substantially, increasing the feasibility of local outbreak containment. |
|
Contact: Jessica Baldwin, Research
Associate |
| Forest Health Cooperative |
3301
Forestry and Wildlife Sciences
Building Auburn University, Alabama 36849-5418 | Phone: (334) 844-1012 | E-mail: bowerep@auburn.edu |