Insects and Disease of Southern Forest

Insects and Diseases of Southern Forests
Forestry Sciences Laboratory
320 Green Street
Athens, GA 30602-2044
Phone: 706-559-4283 * Fax: 706-559-4287

Our Mission - To provide the knowledge about insects and microorganisms needed to manage productive, healthy seed orchards, nurseries, plantations, and native forests.

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Research Overview

Our goal is to provide information that will support the development of a mosaic of forest management practices, which maintains the lifestyle of the American people, and sustains the productivity and health of these forests for future generations.

Our Research Work Unit provides information on insects and diseases needed to manage National Forests for the diversity of benefits they provide. We study the effects of management practices on insects and other arthropods that serve as prey for endangered species, such as the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, or as pollinators for rare and endangered plants.

We also recognize that increasing national demand for forest products, coupled with decreased resource availability in other regions, has led to increased timber harvests in the South. Replanting and intensive management have become more common on both industrial and non-industrial private land. The frequency and economic impact of pest problems often increases with management intensity in these plantations. Practical, integrated pest management strategies that are scientifically rational, environmentally sound, and operationally safe, require detailed knowledge of the life history of the pest, the nature of its interaction with its host, the influence of cultural conditions and practices, and genetics, on both host and pest.

We will provide expertise to develop environmentally acceptable management strategies to support a stable forestry economy, reduce dependence on harvests from national forests, and decrease the probability of importing exotic pests, therefore leading to the long-term sustainability of our forest resources.

SRS 4552 - Insects and Disease of Southern Forests is a Research Work Unit of the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station.

Please visit the Station publications page for more information on our research.