The past few months have highlighted the importance of parks and nature in cities. Urban natural areas are critical as refugia, protecting biodiversity and mitigating the impacts of climate change all while contributing to the health and wellbeing of...

Six elements are required in small amounts for the growth and development of plants. These are referred to as micronutrients: iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), molybdenum (Mo), and boron (B). Only two of these, iron and manganese, are...

Concern over the use of pesticides in public areas, such as schools, daycare centers, and parks, has prompted some state and local governments to severely restrict or ban pesticides in these locations. Connecticut currently has bans for daycare centers...

Sonic tomography, or the use of sound waves to detect decay in trees, is a relatively new technology available to arborists.  This technology uses the differential speed of sound as it moves through solid wood, decayed wood, or hollow space to create a...

The horticultural trade relies on healthy plants to flourish. However, its very nature
means that it is also a key pathway for the introduction and spread of plant pests and diseases.
These pests and diseases threaten horticultural...

Thousands of trees are struck by lightning every year. These trees will have varying degrees of damage ranging from complete shattering and destruction of the tree, to a slow lingering death, to virtually no apparent damage at all (Figure 1). When...

Join Jenica Allen and Bethany Bradley to learn about new tools for identifying and prioritizing range-shifting invasive plants coming soon to a landscape near you. Whether you’re a property owner, land manager, landscape professional, or policymaker,...

European ash is a significant tree commercially, ecologically, and culturally. It is currently
threatened by two invasive species, the fungus that causes ash dieback and
the emerald ash borer (EAB) beetle. We show that saplings of...

Conifers are commonly planted in North America to provide year-round screening, as windbreaks or as focal trees in the landscape. However, conifers including certain species of spruce, pine, hemlock, cedar and fir planted in northern areas of North...

Nate Siegert, Ph.D., USDA Forest Service, discusses the latest information pertaining to the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and its continued spread across the urban forests of the U.S. and Canada. Learning Objective: Attendees will better understand the...

From the American Public Gardens Association Plant Collections Management Symposium. Thursday, October 18, 2018 from Vancouver, Canada.

Oak decline is a slow-acting disease complex that involves the interaction of biotic and abiotic factors such as climate, site quality and advancing tree age. Oak decline occurs more commonly among red oak species, but white oaks are susceptible as...

Interception of potential invasive species at ports-of-entry is essential for effective biosecurity
and biosurveillance programs. However, taxonomic assessment of the immature stages
of most arthropods is challenging; characters for...

Iconic tree species include those native trees that once dominated the typical American city landscape. The American elm and chestnut are the first two that come to mind, and now ash trees are similarly under significant threat of loss. The USDA Forest...

This webinar was brought to you by the Natural Areas Association.

Presented by Sarah Wurzbacher, Forestry Extension Educator, Penn State University.

The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is an invasive planthopper native to China, India and Vietnam.  It was first discovered in Pennsylvania and has spread to other counties in the eastern United States.  This insect has the potential to greatly...

Tree defects such as co-dominant leaders, girding roots and buried trunk flares, present at time of planting, cause failures and decline long after the warrantee period has expired.  Landscape architects may go to nurseries to tag trees; but often...

Ice or snow loads can cause branch breakage or failure of entire trees and shrubs. Branches or entire trees that fall in storms can impact homes, vehicles, power lines and block roads. After a storm, the first priorities are safety and restoration of...

Intensively managed landscapes, like those found in many public gardens, attempt to mitigate the impact of significant weather events through irrigation, improving soil characteristics, and mulching. At the same time many gardens purposefully push the...

In August 2008, a dangerous pest, the nonnative, invasive Asian longhorned beetle, was discovered in Worcester County, Massachusetts. To contain the infestation, Worcester County was put under quarantine and whole neighborhoods were clear-cut in a...