Forest Health Highlights 1997
Florida
The Florida Division of Forestry provides forest health protection assistance to state and private land managers within the State. This program is funded cooperatively by the State and the USDA Forest Service Forest Health Protection unit
Florida Forest Facts
Over
40% of Florida is forested (more than 14.6 million acres).
Over
80% of forested acreage in Florida is privately owned.
The
National Forests in Florida (1,029,500 acres) provide recreational
and wildlife benefits as well as timber products and jobs for thousands
of people.
Emphasis
on short-rotation management with artificial regeneration (tree planting)
on privately owned land means that there is a constant and high demand
for healthy seedlings. There were no significant pest outbreaks reported
from any of the 7 forest tree nurseries, though, routine monitoring did
detect low level activity for several common nursery pests.
The
Florida Division of Forestry Forest Health section has the lead in a regional
project to develop alternatives to methyl bromide fumigation to
protect seedlings from soil-borne insects and pathogens.
Fusiform
rust and pitch canker continue to be the most serious diseases
of southern pines in Florida.
Starting
in 1997, Florida experienced an unusual southern pine beetle (SPB)
outbreak that occurred in Marion and Levy Counties (near the cities of
Ocala and Silver Springs). This
is the farthest south that SPB has been documented within the state, yet
1997 had record setting losses for the state. SPB killed almost 8,000
acres and the outlook is for continued problems.
The
incidence and magnitude of pine engraver beetle infestations increased
from October to December 1997, following an unusual and prolonged drought.
Infestations were larger and more prevalent in stands that had been recently
thinned.
Florida
also experienced tree defoliation by pine sawflies, forest tent caterpillar
and the cypress looper in 1996. Each of these outbreaks caused public
nuisance, landowner concern, tree growth loss, but only limited mortality.
The defoliation by forest tent caterpillar is continuing in 1997.
The
Florida Division of Forestry is becoming more involved with investigations
to develop biological control agents for exotic weed pests. They
are about to undertake a project with the USDA Forest Service to control
Cogangrass.
The Florida Division of Forestry
and USDA Forest Service
In spite of the relatively good health of Florida's forests, a variety of insects and diseases (both native and introduced), and human-caused impacts such as changes in land use patterns, continue to threaten the State's resources. To deal with this constantly changing mix of challenges, the Division of Forestry and the Forest Health Protection unit of the USDA Forest Service cooperate to prevent, detect, suppress and manage this multitude of threats. The partnership between the two agencies has worked for three decades to maintain and improve the health of Florida's forests.
Forest Health Protection contributions (dollars) to Florida Division of Forestry Cooperative Forest Health program, cooperative pest suppression projects, and National Forests in Florida pest suppression projects, 1995-1998.