PREPARING PLANT COLLECTIONS FOR BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS: A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF EMERALD ASH BORER (AGRILUS PLANIPENNIS FAIRMAIRE) THROUGH CASE STUDY ANALYSIS by Andrew T. Gapinski A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Public Horticulture Summer 2010 Copyright 2010 Andrew T. Gapinski All Rights Reserved PREPARING PLANT COLLECTIONS FOR BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS: A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF EMERALD ASH BORER (AGRILUS PLANIPENNIS FAIRMAIRE) THROUGH CASE STUDY ANALYSIS by Andrew T. Gapinski Approved: __________________________________________________________ Robert E. Lyons, Ph.D. Professor and Director, Longwood Graduate Program Approved: __________________________________________________________ Blake C. Meyers, Ph.D. Chair of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences Approved: __________________________________________________________ Robin W. Morgan, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Approved: __________________________________________________________ Debra Hess Norris, M.S. Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to Robert Lyons, PhD., Judith Hough-Goldstein, PhD., Pam Allenstein, and Tony Aiello for their assistance and guidance over the past two years. To my professional colleagues and friends of the Longwood Graduate Program and The Morton Arboretum, who have inspired and enriched my passion for public horticulture and the plant world. To my family and friends for their unwavering love and support. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................ix LIST OF FIGURES...................................................................................................... x ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................xi Chapter 1: Introduction............................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review ..................................................................................... 8 Biological Invasions at Public Gardens.............................................................. 8 Initiatives at Public Gardens Regarding Biological Invasions......................... 11 Effects and Lessons from Other Natural Disasters at Public Gardens ............. 15 Disaster Readiness Planning in the Museum World ........................................ 17 Cases of Collections Assessment ..................................................................... 19 Chapter 3: Materials and Methods........................................................................... 22 Research Approach........................................................................................... 22 Human Subjects Review Board........................................................................ 23 Qualitative Research Methods.......................................................................... 23 Case study design .................................................................................... 23 Case study site selection.......................................................................... 24 Case study data collection protocol......................................................... 26 Supporting phone interviews................................................................... 27 Qualitative data analysis.......................................................................... 28 Quantitative Research Methods........................................................................ 29 Survey design .......................................................................................... 29 User Group Survey.................................................................................. 29 Survey of Fraxinus Collections............................................................... 30 Quantitative data analysis........................................................................ 32 Chapter 4: Results: Descriptions of Case Study Sites & Supporting Phone Interviews ........................................................................................................ 33 Case Studies: Institutions Having Located EAB on Their Grounds ................ 33 The University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum...................................................................... 33 Fraxinus at the institution............................................................ 35 Disaster readiness planning prior to the EAB introduction......... 37 History of EAB at the institution................................................. 37 Impact of EAB and other biological invasions............................ 38 Preparation and management strategies utilized ......................... 42 Additional initiatives ................................................................... 44 iv W.J. Beal Botanical Garden & Campus Arboretum of Michigan State University ........................................................................... 46 Fraxinus at the institution............................................................ 47 Disaster readiness planning prior to the EAB introduction......... 49 History of EAB at the institution................................................. 49 Impact of EAB and other biological invasions............................ 50 Preparation and management strategies utilized ......................... 51 Additional initiatives ................................................................... 56 Case Studies: Institutions Located in EAB’s Impending Range...................... 57 The Morton Arboretum ........................................................................... 57 Fraxinus at the institution............................................................ 59 Disaster readiness planning prior to the EAB introduction......... 60 Preparation and management strategies utilized ......................... 61 Additional initiatives ................................................................... 66 The Dawes Arboretum ............................................................................ 70 Fraxinus at the institution............................................................ 71 Disaster readiness planning prior to the EAB introduction......... 72 Preparation and management strategies utilized ......................... 73 Additional initiatives ................................................................... 74 Phone Interviews: Additional Institutional Perspectives Regarding EAB....... 78 Hidden Lake Gardens.............................................................................. 78 University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum ..................................... 82 Phone Interviews: Institutions Affected by Other Biological Invasions.......... 86 The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University........................................ 86 University of California Botanical Garden ............................................. 91 Montgomery Botanical Center ................................................................ 95 Phone Interviews: Professionals Involved in Collaborative Initiatives............ 99 North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station ................................. 99 North American Plant Collections Consortium..................................... 103 Chapter 5: Results: Lessons Learned and Preparing for Future Biological Invasions........................................................................................................ 107 Institutional Planning...................................................................................... 107 Theme 1: Institutional vulnerability...................................................... 107 Need to acknowledge the threat ................................................ 107 Theme 2: Disaster readiness planning................................................... 108 Need for overarching disaster planning.................................... 108 Development of action plans that address specific foreseen threats......................................................................... 109 Collections and Natural Areas Stewardship................................................... 109 Theme 3: Importance of documentation and mapping.......................... 109 Importance of internal record keeping...................................... 109 Need for multi-institutional externally accessible databases.... 110 Furthering the documentation of your collections:................... 110 v Theme 4: Prioritizing collections .......................................................... 111 Prioritizing at the collection level ............................................. 111 Prioritizing individual accessions within collections................ 112 Importance of providing adequate resources............................ 112 Prioritizing with the use of objective criteria............................ 113 Theme 5: Backing-up of collections ..................................................... 114 General importance................................................................... 114 Value of on-site duplication....................................................... 114 Need for duplication at alternative locations............................ 114 Seed and other forms of repository storage .............................. 115 Theme 6: Value of consortium