Southern Research Station

Title: Biology and Sampling of Red Oak Borer Populations in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas

Author: Crook, Damon; Stephen, Fred; Fierke, Melissa; Kinney, Dana; Silisbury, Vaughn

Date: 2004

Source: Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-73. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pp. 223-228

Description: A complex interaction of multiple factors has resulted in >75 percent mortality/decline of more than 1 million acres of red oak (Quercus, subgenus Erythrobalanus) on the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. The most striking feature of this oak decline event is an unprecedented outbreak of red oak borer. A visual stand assessment method was devised for categorizing red oak borer infestation based on crown condition and number of adult emergence holes in the tree bark. An intensive sampling method was also developed to study borer populations at the within-tree level. Complete tree dissections revealed that red oak borer colonizes the entire tree bole. Emergence holes are the highest ever reported in the literature averaging 19.97/m² of bark despite high mortality during early larval stages.

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Citation

Crook, Damon; Stephen, Fred; Fierke, Melissa; Kinney, Dana; Silisbury, Vaughn  2004.  Biology and Sampling of Red Oak Borer Populations in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.   Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-73. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pp. 223-228