Friday, August 6, 2010: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
317-318, David L Lawrence Convention Center
OOS 56 - Ecological Impacts of Emerald Ash Borer on Forest Ecosystems
Forest ecosystems are dynamic, continually changing in response to disturbances. The outcome is largely dependent on the nature of the disturbance and may be beneficial to the forest, such as through gap phase replacement. However, the loss of an entire genus in response to a pest or pathogen (i.e. Dutch elm disease, chestnut blight and hemlock wooly adelgid) may alter the trajectory of forest succession. Since the early 1990s, emerald ash borer (EAB; Agrilus planipennis), an exotic insect pest from Asia, has been spreading throughout eastern forests, leaving behind a wake of dead ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees. Unlike many past pests or pathogens that primarily attack one species, EAB causes mortality in healthy trees of all North American ash species, which are important components of ecosystems ranging from upland hardwood forests to riparian forest corridors to swamp forests. The loss of tens of millions of ash trees has resulted in a cascade of effects on plants, animals, soil, and water. Some effects, such as those on plant growth, are directly related to tree death and resulting canopy gaps; other effects are indirect, including changes in leaf litter composition and the presence of litter-dwelling beetles. The purpose of this session is to bring together researchers from a variety of disciplines in order to present a broad picture of how forests have changed, and are continuing to change, in response to widespread EAB-induced tree mortality. This symposium aims to start a dialogue among researchers from different fields to understand when and how EAB disturbance may lead to fundamental changes in these ecosystems. Research featured in this symposium represents innovative approaches to the study of forest ecosystem disturbance and will include multi-year studies on the impacts of EAB on native and invasive plants, animals, carbon cycling, and soil chemistry. Following the session will be a panel discussion on which kinds of ash ecosystems we expect to have the most extreme long-term changes and what taxa may be most critically impacted.
Organizer:Wendy S. Klooster, The Ohio State University/ OARDC
Co-organizers:Kathleen S. Knight, USDA Forest Service
John Cardina, The Ohio State University
Moderator:John Cardina, The Ohio State University
8:00 AMPotential species replacements for ash in a changing climate, from a modeling and field perspective
Louis Iverson, Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Anantha Prasad, Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Kathleen S. Knight, USDA Forest Service, Daniel A. Herms, The Ohio State University / OARDC, Stephen N. Matthews, Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Matthew Peters, Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Annemarie Smith, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Robert P. Long, USDA Forest Service
8:20 AMThe indirect effects of the emerald ash borer infestation on amphibian populations in southeastern Michigan
Victoria P. Schneider, Wayne State University, Daniel M. Kashian, Wayne State University
8:40 AMDisturbance facilitates a secondary spread of invasive plant species:  Management concerns for emerald ash borer infested forests
Constance Hausman, Kent State University, John F. Jaeger, Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area, Oscar J. Rocha, Kent State University
9:00 AMThe emerald ash borer invasion of North America: How can a secondary pest threaten the existence of an entire genus?
Daniel A. Herms, The Ohio State University / OARDC
9:20 AMHow arthropods are directly and indirectly affected by ash dieback due to emerald ash borer
Kamal J.K. Gandhi, University of Georgia, Annemarie Smith, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Daniel A. Herms, The Ohio State University / OARDC
9:40 AMBreak
9:50 AMWhen does emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) cause changes in light regimes and shifts in species composition?
Kathleen S. Knight, USDA Forest Service, Daniel A. Herms, The Ohio State University / OARDC, John Cardina, The Ohio State University, Robert P. Long, USDA Forest Service, Annemarie Smith, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Joanne Rebbeck, US Forest Service Northern Research Station, Kamal J.K. Gandhi, University of Georgia, Catherine P. Herms, Ohio State University, Wendy S. Klooster, Ohio State University
10:10 AMResponses of native and invasive plants to canopy gaps caused by emerald ash borer-induced ash mortality
Wendy S. Klooster, The Ohio State University/ OARDC, Kathleen S. Knight, USDA Forest Service, Catherine P. Herms, Ohio State University, Daniel A. Herms, The Ohio State University / OARDC, John Cardina, The Ohio State University/ OARDC
10:30 AMImpacts of the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) on forest carbon stocks, tree physiology, and forest ecosystems
Charles E. Flower, University of Illinois at Chicago, Kathleen S. Knight, USDA Forest Service, Robert P. Long, USDA Forest Service, Miquel A. González-Meler, University of Illinois at Chicago
10:50 AMMapping ash trees (Fraxinus spp) using Landsat-scale phenology for improved management of the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire)
Bernard N. Isaacson, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Shawn P. Serbin, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Aditya Singh, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Philip A. Townsend, University of Wisconsin - Madison
11:10 AMAssessing change in riparian forests following the introduction of emerald ash borer in Michigan
Susan J. Crocker, USDA Forest Service, Dacia M. Meneguzzo, USDA Forest Service

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