الآفات الحرجية
Basic knowledge
What is a forest pest?
A forest pest is any living organism that can cause harm to plants, trees or forests, or to forest products. Such organisms may be insects, spiders, mites, nematodes, fungi, bacteria, viruses, weeds (including woody weeds), mammals and other wildlife, and parasitic plants such as mistletoe.
Serious pest infestations can undermine years of management effort and greatly hamper the achievement of forest management objectives. Pests can adversely affect tree growth, vigour and survival and reduce the yield and quality of wood and non-wood products. Damage caused by pests can degrade wildlife habitat, thereby reducing local biodiversity, and can also have major negative impacts on recreational, aesthetic and sociocultural values. The presence of certain pests may result in the curtailment of reforestation programmes or require a change in the tree species used, and it may require the clearfelling of large areas of forest dominated by infested trees.
Measures to protect forests from pests are an integral part of sustainable forest management (SFM). Effective forest pest management (often called “integrated pest management” – see In more depth) involves:
- maintaining the health of forests;
- managing native pest disturbances that threaten forests; and
- preventing the entry and spread of non-native species into new areas.
الوحدات ذات الصلة
- جرد الغابات
- Forest management planning
- Management of non-wood forest products
- إدارة الغابات المزروعة
- الزراعة الحرجية في الغابات الطبيعية
- إدارة حرائق النبات
تساهم آفات الغابات في تحقيق أهداف التنمية المستدامة:
In more depth
Pests can be classified into two broad categories:
- Native – species occurring naturally at a site. Native pests are also referred to as “indigenous” pests.
- Non-native – species introduced to a particular place in recent history. Non-native pests are also referred to as “alien”, “exotic” and “foreign”.
Native pests are generally of little concern to forest managers because they fulfil important ecological roles. However, when populations of native species reach damaging levels or behave invasively to the point where they threaten forest health and productivity, concerns arise and management strategies to reduce their impact may be needed.
Usually of more concern, however, is the introduction of non-native invasive species.
Good practices to minimize pest presence and spread
Many people associated with the forest sector can play a key role in preventing the spread of pests including those that grow, plant, manage and harvest trees and forests and those that manufacture, store, trade and transport forest products. The following sections share some good practices that you can adopt to protect your forests and forest products from pests.