Findings of new research recently showed that over the next three decades, over a million street trees will be destroyed by invasive insects and it would cost a lot for their replacement. Specifically, a Phys.org report specified that 1.4 million street trees will die and more than $900 million will be needed to address the losses.
Researchers from McGill University, the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, and North Carolina State University have developed the first nationwide spatial forecast of mortality among street trees from invasive insects, utilizing data from approximately 30,000 urban areas throughout the United States.
The data showed that 90 percent of the 1.4 million trees death predicted in the research are forecasted to be results of emerald ash borer or Agrilus planipennis, which is anticipated to cill all ash trees virtually in over 6,000 urban sites.
Hotspots
Researchers of the study, Hotspots of pest-induced US urban tree death, 2020-2050, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology forecasted that the impacts of invasive insects will not be spread evenly throughout the country, with less than 25 percent of United States communities set to experience 96 percent of all street tree mortality caused by invasive insects.
Hotspots specified in this research include Chicago, Milwaukee, and New York. These are sites with extremely high numbers of ash trees and are in the emerald ash borer's recent or near-future path. Large human populations are forecasted to increase as well, the influx of invasive insects to a place.
The study investigators forecasted the dangers of insect species that have not yet arrived in the country. Essentially, Asian wood-boring insects such as the citrus long-horned beetle or Anoplophora chinensis were seen to posture the highest treat, with new establishments of the species possibly costing 4.9 billion dollars over the next three decades.
Describing their findings, the researchers said they can help urban tree managers as well, to know which tree species in which sites, will have the highest risk from invasive insects. Such information can be utilized to prioritize management initiatives like quarantining wood products, among others.
Impacts of Invasive Insects on Street Trees
To predict the impacts of invasive insects on US street trees over the next 30 years, the researchers incorporated a series of four models.
The models comprised street tree populations in 30,000 communities, the forecasted spread of around 57 invasive insect species, how deadly the insects are to various species of trees, and the cost of dead trees' removal and replacement initiatives.
In addition, a similar Mirage News report said that because of the availability of accurate data, the research focused particularly on street trees, which depict a small portion of all urban trees.
The study only predicted too, the economic cost to municipalities that deal with street trees being killed and not more extensive and ecological effects.
According to Dr. Koch, the ecological impacts of urban trees disappearing or an invasive species moving from urban areas to natural forests would both be substantial. Nonetheless, such impacts were outside the scope of this research, he added.
Report about the invasive insects killing street trees is shown on NewsRme's YouTube video below:
RELATED ARTICLE : Emerald Ash Borers Destroy Millions of US Trees; Can Biocontrol Plan Save Greens From The Exotic Beetles?
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