Mechanisms And Deployment Of Resistance In Trees To Insects

Mechanisms and Deployment of Resistance in Trees to Insects is a worldwide synthesis of tree resistance to insects. The contributions are by senior scientists and represent all the major forested regions of the world. The book constitutes a comprehensive treatment of the state of our knowledge on patterns of resistance by insect guilds and how this knowledge can be deployed to achieve the management of damaging forest insects. This book will serve as an essential reference book for all researchers and practitioners attempting to manage forest pests using genetic resistance.

Demand for timber and fibre continues to grow and is being met by increased reliance on plantation forestry. Many of the plantations that are being grown around the globe are non-native species that have characteristics of rapid growth and good commercial qualities. In some cases, the high rates of production are a result of the absence of native herbivore and diseases. This limited pest status is threatened as pest species move around the globe. At the same time there is concern about threats of these non-native plantation species on native communities and the impact of changing climates on forest productivity. This volume explores many of these issues for the first time.

For the first time, a synthesis on the research work done in Europe on all Bark And Wood Boring Insects In Living Trees (BAWBILT) is presented. As final product of a four-year research project gathering together 100 scientists from 24 countries, the book is the fruit of a real collective synthesis in which all European specialists have participated. It reviews and comments on all the European literature, while considering the biological (trees, insects, associated organisms, and their relationships) and forest management aspects. However, although focused on the European forest, it also compares the available information and interpretations to those concerning similar species in other continents. It ends with propositions of research priorities for Europe. The book is directed to all scientists and students concerned with forest entomology and ecology, as well as to forest managers and all scientific public interested in forest biology.

Plants have developed very sophisticated mechanisms to combat pathogens and pestsusingtheleastamountofreservedorgeneratedenergypossible. Theydothis by activating major defense mechanisms after recognition of the organisms that are considered to be detrimental to their survival; therefore they have been able to exist on Earth longer than any other higher organisms. It has been known for the past century that plants carry genetic information for inherited resistance against many pathogenic organisms including fungi, bacteria, and viruses, and that the relationship between pathogenic organisms and hosts plants are rather complex and in some cases time dependent. This genetic information has been the basis for breeding for resistance that has been employed by plant breeders to develop better-yielding disease resistant varieties, some of which are still being cultivated. Single gene resistance is one type of resistance which has been extensively studied by many research groups all around the world using biotechnological methodologies that have been the subject of many books and journal articles; therefore, it is beyond the scope of this book. This type of resistance is very effective, although it can be overcome by the pressure of pathogenic organisms since it depends on interaction of a single elicitor molecule from the pathogen with a single receptor site in the host.

The field of insect nutritional ecology has been defined by how insects deal with nutritional and non-nutritional compounds, and how these compounds influence their biology in evolutionary time. In contrast, Insect Bioecology and Nutrition for Integrated Pest Management presents these entomological concepts within the framework of integrated pest m

The abundance of insects can change dramatically from generation to generation; these generational changes may occur within a growing season or over a period of years. Such extraordinary density changes or "outbreaks" may be abrupt and ostensibly random, or population peaks may occur in a more or less cyclic fashion. They can be hugely destructive when the insect is a crop pest or carries diseases of humans, farm animals, or wildlife. Knowledge of these types of population dynamics and computer models that may help predict when they occur are very important. This important new book revisits a subject not thoroughly discussed in such a publication since 1988 and brings an international scale to the issue of insect outbreaks. Insect Outbreaks Revisited is intended for senior undergraduate and graduate students in ecology, population biology and entomology, as well as government and industry scientists doing research on pests, land managers, pest management personnel, extension personnel, conservation biologists and ecologists, and state, county and district foresters.

This open access book will provide an introduction to forest entomology, the principles and techniques of forest insect pest management, the different forest insect guilds/feeding groups, and relevant forest insect pest management case studies. In addition to covering 30% of the earth, forest ecosystems provide numerous timber and non-timber products that affect our daily lives and recreational opportunities, habitat for diverse animal communities, watershed protection, play critical roles in the water cycle, and mitigate soil erosion and global warming. In addition to being the most abundant organisms in forest ecosystems, insects perform numerous functions in forests, many of which are beneficial and critical to forest health. Conversely, some insects damage and/or kill trees and reduce the capacity of forests to provide desired ecosystem services. The target audience of this book is upper-level undergraduate and graduate students and professionals interested in forest health and entomology.