PARTNERS: University of Georgia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station

SUMMARY: Control programs exist in the southern US for an invasive species, the Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus), in cities, but not for forest lands, into which it is spreading. Effects of the Formsan termite on forests in the southeastern coastal plain are likely to be enormous. Unlike US native subterranean termites that eat dead wood on the ground, Coptotermes attacks live trees, hollowing out trunks, roots and branches, reducing growth, fecundity, and survival. In their natural range, they prefer certain tree species over others; thus, in occupied forest lands in the US they are probably changing forest structure and thereby the associated goods and services derived from the land. The effect of Coptotermes on the carbon cycle in southern forests is also expected to drastically alter the conversion of wood into carbon dioxide and methane, yielding potentially significant increases in greenhouse emissions across US forests.

A collaborative study with the USDA Forest Service is being developed to ascertain the extent of Coptotermes formosanus invasion into US forests and to assess the changes in forest structure, composition, and function that may be associated with the exotic pest. The approach will be to utilize transect-based sampling from areas with known invasion inception dates to assess the rate of spread into the forested landscape; sites in the south Atlantic coastal plain (Charleston, SC) and Gulf coastal plain (New Orleans, LA) have been selected. Plots will be established along the gradient to assess the degree of infestation and specific effects on the forest; attempts will be made to have corresponding reference sites. Measurements and analyses will provide the basis for assessing the rate of migration into the forests, the extent of damage in terms of consumption and tree vigor, documentation of preferred species, and an assessment of the potential consequences of Coptotermes formosanus in the southern forests.

This work complements Forest Service initiatives on the Santee Experimental Forest to assess the effects of termites on carbon cycling in coastal plain forests, and it also complements work on termite ecology being conducted by the Forest Service and Agricultural Research Service in Mississippi. This work specifically addresses a serious threat to southern forests that hasn’t been considered previously; it will provide information needed to assess this new threat. This information will also be new to the scientific community, and it will be of considerable interest to the forest products and building industries. The work will be conducted in the latter half of 2010, and will yield a project report and a journal manuscript.

EFETAC'S ROLE: EFETAC is providing funds for this project.

STATUS: New

LINKS:

University of Georgia

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station

CONTACT: Brian Forschler, University of Georgia Department of Entomology, bfor@arches.uga.edu or (706) 542-4282

Updated May 2010