International Programs: Invasive Species
Invasive species threaten the health of U.S. forests and grasslands. Finding solutions to managing and preventing invasive species requires international cooperation. Forest Service International Programs supports global collaboration that helps control invasive species that are already in the United States, as well as proactively prevent the importation and establishment of invasive species that threaten U.S. forests.
From the infographic above:
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More than 450 non-native pests & pathogens that feed on trees are living in U.S. forests
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$4.2 billion in forest products industry is lost annually to invasive insect pests
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More than 25 new destructive pests expected to enter the U.S. through trade in the coming decade
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Wood packaging and live plants are the two main entry pathways for non-native forests insects and diseases.
News & Stories
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Press Coverage: IP-supported collaborations on Beech Leaf Disease were featured in Inside the Forest Service (Beech leaf disease: An emerging forest threat in Eastern U.S. | US Forest Service (usda.gov)
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Project News: Under an IP-funded project, ARS collaborators conducted field research on cheatgrass in Europe over the summer, continuing efforts to identify potential biocontrol agents to help manage invasive cheatgrass in the United States.
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Project News: Botanic Gardens Conservation International conducted a tree health monitoring training in Buenos Aires for botanic gardens in Argentina, as part of the IP-funded project to survey North American trees in global botanic garden collections.
Recent Supported Publications
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"The role of climatic similarity and bridgehead effects in two centuries of trade‐driven global ant invasions", Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association; June 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaa2.75
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"First report of Epicoccum latusicollum causing leaf spot disease on red maple (Acer rubrum L.) in China: Insights from a sentinel planting garden", Crop Protection January 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2023.106439
See the “From the Archives” section below for more publications
Program Highlight
Forest Service International Programs is supporting a research team led by Dr. Rima Lucardi (USFS-Southern Research Station) and Dr. Travis Marsico (Arkansas State University) to explore how Saccharum spontaneum and other potentially negative nonnative weeds are able to “hitchhike” to the U.S. during transshipment (overland-transport) associated with global trade.
Saccharum spontaneum (wild sugarcane or canalgrass) is a listed Federal Noxious Weed (FNW) which is naturalizing & encroaching in Florida, and could potentially spread throughout the U.S., as more than half of the country is considered suitable for the grass to establish (USDA APHIS 2016).
This activity will build on the research team’s previous work on the vectors & pathways of global trade and will specifically look at the role of transshipment and its risks for FNW species dispersal from the Panama Canal. Further, the team will identify environments where S. spontaneum or other invasive grasses could spread into the U.S. The team will characterize plant communities in and around the Panama Canal, the isthmus, and its associated maritime terminals, in collaboration with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The team will also analyze genetic risks of nonnative invasive grasses found around the Panama Canal region and identify actions to prevent their accidental transport and importation.
The Invasive Species Program funds initiatives and research that foster international collaboration and lead to applied measures that protect U.S. forests from non-native pests.
We are currently supporting partnerships that:
- improve knowledge and management of non-native forest pests already in the United States, including the emerald ash borer, Sirex wood wasps, and chestnut gall wasps
- builds publicly available scientific information on Agrilus species, commonly known as "jewel beetles," which include many highly invasive forests pests like the emerald ash borer
- explores mitigation of import pathways of pests, especially solid wood packaging materials like wooden pallets;
- experiments with sentinel plantings overseas to identify damaging pests not yet in the United States.
The Invasive Species program supports these efforts through interagency agreements, grants and cooperative agreements, and travel support.
- Agricultural Research Service (USDA)
- Arkansas State University
- Botanic Gardens Conservation International
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- Mississippi State University
- National Museum of Natural History
- Pennsylvania State University
- Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, Scotland
- Scion Research, New Zealand
- Shandong Agricultural University
- The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
- The Ohio State University
- The Nature Conservancy
- Dartmouth College
- University of Florida: Entomology & Nematology
- Washington State University
- Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
2023
Insect wood borers on commercial North American tree species growing in China: review of Chinese peer-review and grey literature”, published April 2023 [link: https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvad039]
Exploring pest mitigation research and management associated with the global wood packaging supply chain: What and where are the weak links?” published May 2023 [link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-023-03058-8 ]
Historical plant introductions predict current insect invasions”, published April 2023. [link: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2221826120 ]
2022
Wood borer detection rates on wood packaging materials entering the United States during different phases of ISPM 15 implementation and regulatory changes”, published December 2022
“Prevalence and drivers of a tree killing bark beetle, Ips typographus (Coleoptera, Scolytinae), in international invasion pathways into the USA”, published September 2022
"Moths and butterflies on alien shores: Global biogeography of non native Lepidoptera", published May 2022
"Alien insect dispersal mediated by the global movement of commodities", published May 2022
“Demography of an invading insect herbivore reunited with hosts and parasitoids from its native range”, published March 2022
“The Global Forest Health Crisis: A Public Good Social Dilemma in Need of International Collective Action”, preprint March 2022
2021
“Introduced plants induce outbreaks of a native pest and facilitate invasion in the plants' native range: Evidence from the emerald ash borer;” published Dec. 2021
“Insect and Disease Disturbances Correlate with Reduced Carbon Sequestration in Forests of the Contiguous United States”, published October 2021
"Invasion disharmony in the global biogeography of native and non-native species;" Published July 2021
"Worldwide border interceptions provide a window into human-mediated global insect movement;" Published July 2021
“Retrospective analysis of factors affecting the distribution of an invasive wood-boring insect using native range data: the importance of host plants;” Published January 2021
“Expanded Foreign Exploration for Natural Enemies of the Emerald Ash Borer;” Published January 2021
“Retrospective analysis of factors affecting the distribution of an invasive wood‑boring insect using native range data: the importance of host plants;” published January 2021
“Biological Invasions and International Trade: Managing a Moving Target;” published winter 2021
2020
"Aggressive tree killer or natural thinning agent? Assessing the impacts of a globally important forest insect;" published December 2020
2019
“Pine defenses against the pitch canker disease are modulated by a native insect newly associated with the invasive fungus;” published April 2019
“The global diversity of Deladenus siricidicola in native and non-native Populations;” published May 2019
“Evolutionary history predicts invasive high-impact herbivorous insect;” published 2019
2018
“Expanded Foreign Exploration for Natural Enemies of the Emerald Ash Borer;” published April 2018
“Two new species of Oobius (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and their phylogenetic relationship with other congeners from northeastern Asia;” published April 2018
“Two new species of Oobius (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and their phylogenetic relationship with other congeners from northeastern Asia;” published April 2018
“Forest pests and their management in the Anthropocene;” published March 2018
“Attack rates of Sirex noctilio and patterns of pine tree defenses and mortality in northern Patagonia;” published April 2018
2017
“Predicting North American Scolytinae invasions in the Southern Hemisphere;” published Jan. 2017
2016
“Population biology of the European woodwasp, Sirex noctilio, in Galicia, Spain;” Published Oct. 2016
“Effects of biotic and abiotic factors on phenotypic partitioning of wing morphology and development in Sclerodermus pupariae (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae);” published May 2016
"Intercontinental Comparisons of Ecology and Impacts: European Woodwasp;" published Oct. 2014
2015
“Trade-offs in parasitism efficiency and brood size mediate parasitoid coexistence, with implications for biological control of the invasive emerald ash borer;” published June 2015
“Natural enemies of emerald ash borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in northeast China, with notes on two species of parasitic Coleoptera;” published Dec. 2015
2014
"Intercontinental Comparisons of Ecology and Impacts: European Woodwasp;" Published Oct. 2014
“Host Use Patterns by the European Woodwasp, Sirex noctilio, in Its Native and Invaded Range;” Published March 2014
“Can entomophagous nematodes slow the spread of invasive pest populations? The case study of Beddingia siricidicola released for the management of Sirex noctilio;” Published July 2014
“Sirex noctilio flight behavior: toward improving current monitoring techniques;” Published June 2014
For more information on the Invasive Species Program at Forest Service International Programs, contact Beth Lebow at elizabeth.lebow@usda.gov.