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The Forest
Resource
About 42 percent of New Jersey's
4.2 million acres are forested. To maintain
the
health and sustainability of 2.1 million forested
acres, the New Jersey Forest Service faces many
challenges. The major forest health issues in
New Jersey are urban development, loss of habitat,
invasive plant species, and exotic insect infestations.
Forests in New Jersey capable
of producing timber products have decreased slightly
during the last 45 years from 2.1 million acres
in 1955 to 1.9 million acres in 1999, the latest
inventory available. In addition to fewer forested
acres, New Jersey has experienced urban development
that fragments forests and destroys forest habitats.
Land ownership patterns have
also changed over the same period. In 1955, an
estimated 29,000 landowners held 88 percent of
the forests. By 1999, this number more than doubled
to over 88,000 landowners owning 62 percent of
the forestland. The result of this change has
meant each individual now owns fewer forested
acres in New Jersey. 68 percent of the private
forestland owners hold less than 10 acre parcels
and collectively this group owns about 10 percent
of the forestland.
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The New Jersey
- 2006 and 2005
Forest Health Highlights can be downloaded in PDF.
A brief description of some of the Highlights can be read
below.
Exotic Pest Issues
Asian
Longhorned Beetle (ALB) - The ALB is a pest introduced
from Asia. Host trees include maples, willows, poplars, ash,
horsechestnuts, elm, and buckeye trees. For more information
please visit the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) and
our ALB page.
NJ Dept. of Agriculture:
ALB
Information:
- HOT ISSUE -
If you see evidence of ALB,
call the NJDA at 1.866.BEETLE.1 (1.866.233.8531)
Gypsy
Moth (Lymantria dispar)- The statewide aerial
survey of gypsy moth defoliation completed in mid-July
2006 found that the gypsy moth had defoliated 128,000 acres
of forest lands. This is an increase of 84,000 acres from
2005. The high gypsy moth population
in
New Jersey can be attributed to reduced activity
of the fungal parasite Entomophaga
maimaiga. The reduced activity is due to lack of
precipitation.
Hemlock
Woolly Adelgid (HWA) (Adelges tsugae)- This
insect has infested all 26,000 acres of Hemlock stands
to some
degree
in New Jersey.
Some hemlock stands have been destroyed, while others have
only low HWA infestations. For information on biological
control of this insect please visit the NJ Department of
Agriculture's Web
site.
Emerald
Ash Borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis)- The
NJ Department of Agricultural entered into a cooperative
survey
agreement
with the USDA
Forest Service to determine if the EAB was
inadvertently introduced to the state.
Special Pest Issues
Southern
pine beetle (SPB) (Dendroctonus frontalis)-
Continues to be active in southern NJ. The SPB is attacking
all species
of pine
occurring
in
the region; pitch, shortleaf, Virginia and historical white,
loblolly and red pine stands. Approximately 960
acres were infested in 2006. The appearance
of
the outbreak
could be from beetles moving northward after surviving the
warmer winters in the Mid-Atlantic region in recent years.
The
vast pine forests of southern New Jersey continue to be at
risk from the SPB. The 2003 and 2002
NJ SPB Report in PDF can
be downloaded for additional information. Please download the
map (PDF) that is part
of the 2003 report.
Sudden
oak death (SOD) - Each year during the month of June
2006, 2005 and 2004 the NJ Forest Service completed ten
-(10)
woodland
plot
surveys
in order to detect if SOD was present in the forest environment.
SOD is caused by the pathogen Phytophthora ramorum and infects certain
oak (Quercus spp.) species.
The surveys proceeded from Cape May
County
in
the southern
portion of the state to Bergen and/or Morris County in the north.
Samples collected were sent to diagnostic labs in Maryland and Mississippi. All
samples
from the
2004-06
surveys
tested negative for P. ramorum. The 2004
SOD Report (PDF) can be downloaded
for additional information. Please download Map 1 and Map
2 that are part of
the
2004 report.
For
more
information
on
SOD,
please visit the US Forest Service's
SOD Web
site.
Bacterial Leaf Scorch - Bacterial Leaf Scorch (BLS) is
a wilt disease of trees in the red
oak group caused
by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. The bacterium
is transmitted to healthy trees by feeding leafhopper and
spittlebug insects
moving from diseased herbaceous plants, such as goldenrod,
blackberries, and clover, to healthy trees. This disease
continues to be a serious health threat to urban shade trees
in NJ. For more information please visit our BLS
page.
Forest Health Monitoring
One-third of the 30 Forest
Health Monitoring (FHM) Plots established in New Jersey
during 1991 were visited last year as part of the annual FHM
detection monitoring program. The data gathered from these
plots will help to evaluate the influence of climate change,
insect and disease pests, and anthropogenic impacts on forest
ecological resources across the United States.
Forest Fires
For
information on forest fires please visit the NJ
Forest Fire Service. |
