A new generation of elm trees could be equipped to beat the disease that killed the parents
Scientists will breed survivors into disease-tolerant elms for future restoration after testing 6,000 young trees against Dutch elm disease, officials said.
- Scientists with the Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy Vermont injected 6,000 young elm trees with Dutch elm disease spores this summer to test their resistance to the fungal pathogen.
- Dutch elm disease, a fungus spread by bark beetles, has killed millions of trees over the last century, devastating forest hydrology and threatening river systems across the Northeast.
- Gus Goodwin of The Nature Conservancy called the trees a "ubiquitous part of the landscape," noting many in the Northeast remember losing elms from childhood homes and school yards.
- The Appalachian Trail Conservancy employs a different approach, injecting about 1,400 ash trees with insecticide across North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Massachusetts since 2016 to combat emerald ash borer infestations.
- Research ecologist Leila Wilson will place surviving trees in a seed orchard for about 15 years; once they produce seeds, the genetic stock will support restoration in forests and urban areas.
54 Articles
54 Articles
A Decimated American Tree Could See a New Dawn
The very disease that has decimated millions of American elms in the US is now being used to bring the iconic trees back. In Vermont, Leila Wilson, a research ecologist with the US Forest Service, is one of the scientists leading an effort to beat Dutch elm disease, which has...
Scientists inject 6,000 elms to breed disease-tolerant stock
U.S. researchers are using Dutch elm disease to breed and restore American elm trees, injecting thousands of young elms to test disease resistance and then propagating survivors for seed orchards and future reforestation. This effort is part of a broader push to protect forests from pests and pathogens that threaten biodiversity and hydrology, including challenges to other species like ash trees. · 5 sources across the spectrum on IJR News.
American trees get new weapon in disease battle – The Horn News
The very disease that has decimated millions of American elms in the U.S. is now being used to bring the iconic trees back. In Vermont, Leila Wilson, a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service, is one of the scientists leading an effort to beat Dutch elm disease, which has... Read More The post American trees get new weapon in disease battle appeared first on The Horn News - Proudly American, Fiercely Independent.
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