Abstract
Although mostly occurring as associate tree species in forest communities,
Persea has a wide native distribution in southeast coastal plains (Shearman and others 2015). Laurel wilt disease (LWD) is a lethal vascular infection of trees in the laurel family (Lauraceae) caused by the fungus
Raffaelea lauricola (Fraedrich and others 2008). The fungus is vectored by a nonnative ambrosia beetle (
Xyleborus glabratus), which was first recorded in the United States in 2002 (Rabaglia and others 2006). Laurel wilt disease was first reported in 2003 in redbay (
P. borbonia), and has since spread throughout
Persea populations in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, as well as parts of North Carolina and small pockets of Mississippi and Alabama (fig. 12.1) (Shearman and others 2015). Laurel wilt disease infestation often causes near 100 percent mortality of
Persea stems, but it also affects sassafras and avocado. The objectives of this project were to document the rangewide population impacts of LWD, to describe community types associated with
Persea, to characterize the patterns of mortality and regeneration of
Persea after infestation, and to quantify changes in fuel and invasive plants.
Parent Publication
Citation
Shearman, Timothy M.; Wang, G. Geoff. 2018. Chapter 12 - Impacts of laurel wilt disease on native Persea ecosystems (Project SO-EM-B-12-05). In: Potter, Kevin M.; Conkling, Barbara L., eds. 2018. Forest health monitoring: national status, trends, and analysis 2017. General Technical Report SRS-233. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. Pages 161-165
