Bark beetles and pathogens are recognized as two of the most important components of conifer forest ecosystems, and their interactions have major consequences for timber production and ecological processes. Because of the close interaction between these groups of organisms, management of their effects requires an integrated approach rather than the traditional separation of insect and pathogen management. Bark beetles often vector of facilitate pathogen transmission, while pathogens often predispose trees to bark beetle attack.
This book addresses advances in bark beetle and pathogen systematics, environmental and host factors predisposing trees to bark beetle or pathogen colonization, mechanisms of interaction between bark beetles and pathogens (and associated organisms), effects on trees and forest ecosystems, and management strategies. No previous book has addressed these multiple aspects of bark beetle - pathogen interactions and their management. Interest in these interactions is certain to increase as global change and forest management affect future responses.
Timothy D. Schowalter received his Ph.D. degree in Entomology from the University of Georgia in 1979. Since 1981, he has been a professor of entomology at Oregon State University, Corvallis, studying the effects of environmental changes, including natural and anthropogenic disturbances, on arthropod communities in temperate and tropical ecosystems, and effects of herbivores and detritivores on primary production, carbon flux, biogeochemical cycling. From 1992-93, he served as Program Director for Integrative and Theoretical Ecology at the National Science Foundation, where he was involved in developing global change and terrestrial ecosystem research initiatives at the federal level. He served as a U.S. delegate to international conventions to develop collaboration between U.S. Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and long term sites in Hungary and East Asia and the Pacific.