The Ecological Impacts of the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus Planipennis): Identification of Conservation and Forest Management Strategies
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF THE EMERALD ASH BORER (AGRILUS PLANIPENNIS): IDENTIFICATION OF CONSERVATION AND FOREST MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES A dissertation submitted to Kent State University College of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Constance E. Hausman December, 2010 Dissertation written by Constance E. Hausman B.S., Bowling Green State University, USA, 1998 M.S., Bowling Green State University, USA, 2001 Ph.D., Kent State University, USA, 2010 Approved by ___________________________________ , Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Oscar J. Rocha ___________________________________ , Members, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Andrea L. Case ___________________________________ Daniel A. Herms ___________________________________ Marilyn A. Norconk ___________________________________ Alison J. Smith Accepted by ___________________________________ , Chair, Department of Biological Sciences James L. Blank ___________________________________ , Dean, College of Arts and Sciences John R. D. Stalvey ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... VII LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... IX DEDICATION.................................................................................................................. X ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................. XI CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 Host Plant: Genus Fraxinus ......................................................................................... 6 Emerald Ash Borer Control Options ........................................................................... 9 Emerald Ash Borer Eradication Efforts ..................................................................... 12 Scope of Research ...................................................................................................... 15 Organization of the Dissertation ................................................................................ 16 CHAPTER 2 IMPACTS OF THE EMERALD ASH BORER (EAB) ERADICATION AND TREE MORTALITY: POTENTIAL FOR A SECONDARY SPREAD OF INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES ......................... 19 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... 19 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 20 MATERIALS AND METHODS ...................................................................................... 23 Study Site Description ............................................................................................... 23 Experimental Design and Biotic Sampling ................................................................ 24 Abiotic Sampling ....................................................................................................... 26 Statistical Analysis ..................................................................................................... 27 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................... 28 iii DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................... 44 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. 48 CHAPTER 3 DISTURBANCE FACILITATES A SECONDARY SPREAD OF INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES: MANAGEMENT CONCERNS FOR EMERALD ASH BORER INFESTED FORESTS ......................................... 50 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... 50 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 51 Research Objectives ................................................................................................... 56 MATERIALS AND METHODS ...................................................................................... 56 Site and Experimental Design ................................................................................... 56 Abiotic Sampling ....................................................................................................... 57 Biotic Sampling ......................................................................................................... 59 Seed Bank Survey ...................................................................................................... 59 Statistical Analysis ..................................................................................................... 60 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................... 61 Abiotic: Light Environment ...................................................................................... 61 Abiotic: Soil Compaction. ......................................................................................... 65 Biotic: Species Diversity. .......................................................................................... 65 Seed Bank .................................................................................................................. 78 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................... 81 Forest Stand Maintenance .......................................................................................... 85 iv CHAPTER 4 GENETIC STRUCTURE OF GREEN ASH (FRAXINUS PENNSYLVANICA) IN THE STATE OF OHIO: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF EX SITU CONSERVATION PROTOCOLS.87 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... 87 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 88 MATERIALS AND METHODS ...................................................................................... 94 Study Species ............................................................................................................. 94 Study Site ................................................................................................................... 95 DNA Isolation ............................................................................................................ 97 Genetic Diversity Analysis ........................................................................................ 98 RESULTS ....................................................................................................................... 100 Allelic Diversity ....................................................................................................... 100 Genetic Variation Within Populations ..................................................................... 100 Genetic Differentiation Among Populations ........................................................... 103 Sampling Design ...................................................................................................... 108 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................. 110 Recommendations .................................................................................................... 115 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................ 118 EMERALD ASH BORER IMPACTS............................................................................ 118 EMERALD ASH BORER ERADICATION.................................................................. 119 SCALE OF DISTURBANCE ......................................................................................... 121 CONSERVATION EFFORTS FOR ASH...................................................................... 123 v BROADER CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS ........................................................ 125 Management Concerns for Hazardous Trees ........................................................... 125 Management Concerns of Deer Herbivory .............................................................. 127 APPENDIX .................................................................................................................... 130 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 132 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Summary of the Fraxinus phylogeny adapted from Wallander 2008. .......... 7 Figure 1.2 EAB eradication locations in Northwest Ohio from 2003 to 2005. ............ 14 Figure 2.1 Example of Hemispherical pictures. ........................................................... 32 Figure 2.2 Light environment as determined by Global Site Factor (GSF). ................ 33 Figure 2.3 The number of sunflecks (a) and average duration of each sunfleck (b) in Uncut and Cut plots. ............................................................................... 34 Figure 2.4 Soil compaction in Cut and Uncut plots at five different depths in the soil profile from 2005. ....................................................................................... 37 Figure