Skip to main content

Identifying Healthy Ash Trees with Aerial Surveys to Propagate Resistance to the Emerald Ash Borer

McIntire Stennis - Identifying Healthy Ash Trees with Aerial Surveys to Propagate Resistance to the Emerald Ash Borer - College of Natural Resouces at NC State

About

The emerald ash borer is an invasive, tree-killing beetle spreading quickly across the landscape and causing widespread mortality of ash trees in the United States. In areas where the emerald ash borer has already killed mature, native, untreated ash, some persist and remain healthy. These trees are dubbed “lingering ash” by the U.S. Forest Service. The majority of lingering ash screening and research occurs in the Midwest and Northeast, where ash mortality originated. Now, emerald ash borer mortality in parts of North Carolina allow researchers to identify surviving individuals.

This project aims to identify, characterize, and propagate ash that may be resistant to the emerald ash borer in North Carolina. Researchers at the College of Natural Resources are capitalizing on large acreage, randomized plantings of 20-25-year-old, native seed-collected green ash to pilot geospatial detection of resistant trees and evaluate candidate trees for propagation. Working with geospatial data and images from Unmanned Aerial System surveys, the researchers will create a visual map of healthy, unhealthy and dead trees. 

PIs

Kelly Oten (Director)
Elizabeth Nichols
Justyna Jeziorska
Robert Jetton

Collaboration

Unmanned Aerial System surveys are a collaborative effort with NC State’s Center for Geospatial Analytics. Researchers are working on sites managed by the City of Raleigh, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, and the City of Jacksonville. Identified ash genotypes will be shared with the University of Georgia for propagating resistant ash via somatic embryogenesis and the N.C. Forest Service for nursery propagation and dissemination.

Impact

  • Tens of thousands of native green ash trees screened for survivorship amid emerald ash borer mortality.
  • Development of ash propagation techniques. 
  • Novel use of a resistograph (an electronically controlled drill that measures the relative density of wood in trees) to evaluate tree productivity and growth rates.

A McIntire-Stennis supported project

About McIntire-Stennis

The McIntire-Stennis program, a unique federal-state partnership, cultivates and delivers forestry and natural resource innovations for a better future. By advancing research and education that increases the understanding of emerging challenges and fosters the development of relevant solutions, the McIntire-Stennis program has ensured healthy resilient forests and communities and an exceptional natural resources workforce since 1962.