Cork Oak Pests: a Review of Insect Damage and Management Riziero Tiberi, Manuela Branco, Matteo Bracalini, Francesco Croci, Tiziana Panzavolta
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Cork oak pests: a review of insect damage and management Riziero Tiberi, Manuela Branco, Matteo Bracalini, Francesco Croci, Tiziana Panzavolta To cite this version: Riziero Tiberi, Manuela Branco, Matteo Bracalini, Francesco Croci, Tiziana Panzavolta. Cork oak pests: a review of insect damage and management. Annals of Forest Science, Springer Nature (since 2011)/EDP Science (until 2010), 2016, 73 (2), pp.219-232. 10.1007/s13595-015-0534-1. hal- 01532379 HAL Id: hal-01532379 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01532379 Submitted on 2 Jun 2017 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Annals of Forest Science (2016) 73:219–232 DOI 10.1007/s13595-015-0534-1 REVIEW PAPER Cork oak pests: a review of insect damage and management Riziero Tiberi1 & Manuela Branco2 & Matteo Bracalini1 & Francesco Croci1 & Tiziana Panzavolta 1 Received: 7 July 2015 /Accepted: 10 December 2015 /Published online: 20 January 2016 # INRA and Springer-Verlag France 2016 Abstract provide the tools to predict the transition from endemic to & Key message Cork oak decline is widespread in all its epidemic insect populations, forestry practices (sanitary distribution range and seems to be triggered mainly by both felling), biological control, and trapping are some of the mismanagement and unfavorable climatic factors. As a re- most promising measures in protecting cork oak forests. sult, cork oak forests become susceptible to pest attack, & Context Over the last decades, cork oak (Quercus suber L.) which accelerates the onset of decline. Pest management decline has affected millions of trees throughout its distribu- strategies for this valuable and highly biodiverse ecosystem tion range. Cork oak is a typically Mediterranean species re- are examined in this review, taking into account the main markably relevant for the biodiversity and landscape conser- insect pests and how their impact on cork oak forests is vation of vast evergreen oak forests. Cork oak is also well affected by climate change. While monitoring pests may known and highly valued for cork production. Climatic changes, management practices, and biotic factors, particular- Handling Editor: Aurelien SALLE ly plant pathogens and insect pests, play a decisive role in tree Contribution of the co-authors Riziero Tiberi and Tiziana Panzavolta: death and market devaluation of cork. conceived the idea, supervised literature reviewing, wrote the manuscript, & Aims Here, we review the major insect pests possibly in- and reviewed its final version. volved in cork oak decline, while discussing pest management Manuela Branco: contributed to the writing of the manuscript, the reviewing of literature, and the revision of the final draft. strategies. Matteo Bracalini: contributed to the writing of the paper, the selection of & Methods A survey of the current literature was performed to literature, and the English revision of the manuscript. identify major insect pests affecting cork oak trees, as well as Francesco Croci: contributed to the writing of the manuscript and the to establish the most promising pest management strategies assembling of related literature. All authors have read and approved the under climate change. final manuscript. & Results Many authors seem to agree that the decline is trig- * Riziero Tiberi gered by both anthropogenic and abiotic factors, such as the [email protected] mismanagement of cork oak forests and unfavorable climate Manuela Branco (high temperatures and droughts). Consequently, trees be- [email protected] come susceptible to pests and pathogens, which accelerate Matteo Bracalini the onset of decline. [email protected] & Conclusion Since a further increase in temperatures and droughts is expected, developing adequate management strat- Francesco Croci [email protected] egies to adapt cork oak trees to climate change, while simul- taneously preventing and reducing insect pest attacks, is of Tiziana Panzavolta [email protected] foremost importance in the effort to conserve these unique and highly diverse ecosystems. 1 Department of Agri-Food Production and Environmental Sciences, University of Florence, via Maragliano 77, 50144 Florence, Italy 2 Centro de Estudos Florestais (CEF), Instituto Superior de Keywords Quercus suber . Cork oak decline . Climate Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal change . Forest management 220 R. Tiberi et al. 1 Introduction harmful insect species are increasingly more abundant and frequent in cork oak forests, contributing to the general cork Among evergreen oaks, cork oak Quercus suber L. is of par- oak decline and market devaluation of cork (Sousa and Kadiri ticular landscape, conservation, and economic importance, 2005). Here, we review the major insect pests affecting cork due to the high biodiversity of cork oak-dominated stands, oak trees, while scrutinizing their possible role in cork oak its use in agro-silvo-pastoral systems, and its exploitation for decline. Furthermore, we examine pest management strategies cork. Cork oak forests occur mainly in the central and western for this unique and highly biodiverse ecosystem and discuss part of the Mediterranean Basin, in discontinuous areas from how forest health is affected by climate change. southern Italy to the Iberian Peninsula, and in North Africa among the Atlas Mountain forests, in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia in genetically differentiated populations (Magri et al. 2 Cork oak pests 2007)(Fig.1). Cork oak finds optimal growing conditions in humid and sub-humid areas with at least 450 mm mean annual Many phytophagous insects feed frequently or occasionally rainfall, such as in the Atlantic areas (Portugal and Morocco) on cork oak trees (Villemant and Fraval 1993a; Villemant of its geographical range. A unique aspect of the cork oak and Fraval 1993b), though only some species attain pest sta- forest ecosystem is its continuing manipulation by humans tus. These species can be sorted into five main feeding guilds: since ancient times. In its western range, the management of sap-sucking insects, gall makers, acorn feeders, defoliating these forest areas has led to low-density cork oak savannas insects, and bark-/wood-boring insects. Sap-sucking insects with about 30–60 trees per ha, with a high diversity of asso- are not usually harmful to cork oaks, causing mostly aesthetic ciated plant and animal communities, and whose conservation damage, such as Phylloxera quercus Boyer de Fonscolombe is dependent on human mediated actions (Bugalho et al. and Kermes vermilio Planchon, just to name a few. However, 2011). In Spain and Portugal, for example, cork oak, together the latter species deserve more consideration as it poses as a with other oak species, is part of a traditional Mediterranean possible vector of the pathogenic fungus Diplodia mutila Fr. silvopastoral system, which has high socio-economic impor- apud Mont. (Ibarra et al. 2001). Some gall makers, gall tance, also providing environmental benefits (Antonietty midges, and gall wasps occur on cork oaks; however, damage 2013). Yet, the over-exploitation of cork oak in northwestern is almost never recorded on this plant species (Villagrán et al. Africa, as well as partial abandonment in southwestern 2002; Skuhravá et al. 2006; Pujade-Villar et al. 2010). As Europe, may still both compromise the sustainability of these regards acorn feeders, insects that mostly feed on acorns are forest areas and raise conservation concerns. the weevil Curculio elephas (Gyllenhaal) (Coleoptera, Over the last decades, cork oak decline has affected mil- Curculionidae) and moths from the genus Cydia Hübner lions of trees throughout its distribution range (Luisi et al. (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae). They somewhat contribute to 1993). Records from the whole cork oak distribution range threatening both natural regeneration and afforestation pro- highlighted the increasing occurrence of weakened cork oak jects in cork oak ecosystems; however, several other biotic trees (Sechi et al. 2002), as confirmed by a higher mean defo- agents play a bigger role here, like birds and mammals, affect- liation rate (Michel et al. 2014) with a resulting decrease in ing acorns, seedlings, and young cork oak plants (Acácio et al. cork production (losses ranged from 40 to 89 %) (Sousa and 2007). Furthermore, abiotic factors, like water stress (Vaz Kadiri 2005). This phenomenon includes also an increase of et al. 2012), and anthropogenic factors, such as woodland the annual rate of clearance (from 3.9 to 4.4 % per year) (Cano multiuse and associating pastures (Branco et al. 2002; et al. 2003; Costa et al. 2014) and even a regression of the cork Branco and Ramos 2009), contribute to this phenomenon. oak forests (Sedda et al. 2011). For all these reasons, sap-sucking insects, gall makers, and Driving factors of tree decline are numerous, including acorn feeders were not considered in this review. On the other abiotic, biotic and anthropogenic ones. Climatic anomalies, hand, several defoliating insects can be particularly harmful to namely increasing temperatures,