Forest health and protection

Malacosoma disstria ©M. Noseworthy

Publications

2007

This paper is one of a series of FAO documents on forest-related health and biosecurity issues. The purpose of these papers is to provide early information on on-going activities and programmes, and to stimulate discussion. In an attempt to quantify the impacts of the many factors that affect the health and vitality of a forest, the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 (FRA 2005) asked countries to report on the area of forest affected by disturbances, including forest insects, diseases.

2007

This paper is one of a series of FAO documents on forest-related health and biosecurity issues. The purpose of these papers is to provide early information on on-going activities and programmes, and to stimulate discussion. In an attempt to quantify the impacts of the many factors that affect the health and vitality of a forest, the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 (FRA 2005) asked countries to report on the area of forest affected by disturbances, including forest insects, diseases.

2007

This paper is one of a series of FAO documents on forest-related health and biosecurity issues. The purpose of these papers is to provide early information on on-going activities and programmes, and to stimulate discussion. In an attempt to quantify the impacts of the many factors that affect the health and vitality of a forest, the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 (FRA 2005) asked countries to report on the area of forest affected by disturbances, including forest insects, diseases.

2005

Records of ALB in China date back to at least the Qing Dynasty but significant losses attributed to the insect were not recorded until the 1980s when vast tracks of poplars were grown as shelterbelt trees in the Three North Region, especially in the northwestern area. Population explosion and spread were rapid and within a decade (1980s-1990s) the damaged area increased from about 70,000 ha to more than 150,000 ha and the infested area increased from 70 counties to more than 240 counties.

2005

This paper is one of a series of FAO documents on forest-related health and biosecurity issues. The study was carried out as part of a Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP/CPR/2903), Shelterbelt Management and Control of Asian Longhorned Beetle Anoplophora glabripennis in the Three-North Region of China, a technical agreement between FAO and the Goverrnment of the People’s Republic of China.

2004

Between 1993 and 2003 the value of international trade in wood and wood products grew by 50 percent (from US$100 billion to $150 billion). Meanwhile, in the last decade of the twentieth century, the world lost 9.4 million hectares of forest. What is the relationship between trade and the state of the world’s forest resources? A recently concluded research and analysis project undertaken by FAO and the Government of Japan explored this question...

2004

Forests have long been threatened by a variety of destructive agents. Today, the frequency, intensity and timing of fire events, hurricanes, droughts, ice storms and insect outbreaks are shifting as a result of human activities and global climate change, making forest ecosystems even more prone to damage. This issue of Unasylva 217 examines the threats posed by a number of biotic and abiotic agents and some of the measures for overcoming them.

2004

Edible insects are a deliberate part of the diet in different cultures. This synthesis focuses on caterpillars and it analyses examples from four Central African countries based on four case studies by local experts. The paper provides some information on the natural resource base (such as the taxonomical identification of insect and host plant species), the abundance of caterpillars in their habitats and management of the resource.

2003

"Biosecurity" in food and agriculture describes the concept and process of managing biological risks associated with food and agriculture (in its broadest sense, i.e. including forestry). In the forestry sector, biosecurity encompasses three main fields of activity: forest protection and phytosanitary issues; naturalization of introduced forestry trees and their impact on ecosystems or individual species; and the release of new genotypes, including genetically modified organisms.

2003

The aim of this guide is to help readers recognize symptoms of ill health in trees and understand their general significance. The guide provides 140 photographs of symptoms from more than 50 tree species to be used as a basis for demonstrating the effects of pest (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) influences on trees. It aims to assist anyone interested in tree health or responsible for managing trees.