1365-2664/asset/olbannerleft.gif?v=1&s=8b608cc23970983efcf0bf9354181123ee4feba9)
1365-2664/asset/olbannerright.gif?v=1&s=01405a21098d64198820bdbe2e30807b513e69f2)
You have full text access to this OnlineOpen article
Timber import and the risk of forest pest introductions
Article first published online: 26 SEP 2008
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01561.x
© 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2008 British Ecological Society
Additional Information
How to Cite
Skarpaas, O. and Økland, B. (2009), Timber import and the risk of forest pest introductions. Journal of Applied Ecology, 46: 55–63. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01561.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 14 JAN 2009
- Article first published online: 26 SEP 2008
- Received 30 November 2007; accepted 17 August 2008; Handling Editor: Quentin Paynter
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- bark beetles;
- biological invasions;
- dispersal;
- forest pests;
- Gompertz model;
- Ips sp.;
- pest risk assessment;
- propagule pressure;
- timber import;
- trade
Summary
- 1Many invasive species are introduced by trade, and there is a need for studies of pre-emptive measures to lower the risk of introductions, as post-establishment management is often extremely costly or nearly impossible.
- 2In this study, we present a generic model for the first step of the invasion process for trade-imported pests, and further develop this model for potentially harmful bark beetles to assess the risk of introductions and alternative management options.
- 3Our results suggest that introductions of bark beetles are likely, given present timber import practices, and that immigration may often go undetected by pheromone traps.
- 4The most effective measures for reducing introduction risk were those aimed at isolating the storage from forest (storage enclosure, location) followed by those reducing the available resources for forest pests (debarking, timber irrigation, rapid processing), whereas delayed import was least effective.
- 5Synthesis and applications: The generic model framework of species introductions presented here may easily be adapted to other import systems. The submodels of population dynamics and dispersal are also quite general, and we expect our qualitative results to hold in many cases, although the models were parameterized for bark beetles in this study. Our results suggest that detection of dispersal from storage to forests will be difficult, which implies that management actions should not be deferred until after detection in nature, as the pest species may then already be established and eradication may be too late. However, pre-emptive measures reducing propagule pressure at one or several stages of the introduction process, in particular isolation measures, may strongly reduce introduction risk.