WASHINGTON, DC—In a successful USDA intra-agency collaboration, researchers from the Northern Research Station and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service published research on nearly 20 years of Agriculture Quarantine Inspection Monitoring data. The scientists compared the detection rates of wood boring insects entering the U.S. in wood packaging material from before and after the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15) treatment standards were introduced for wood packaging materials in international trade. Their findings show that wood borer detection rates have decreased overall since the introduction of the ISPM 15 standards.

The arrival of non-native wood boring insects is a major concern for U.S. forests due to their potentially destructive impact on U.S. trees. The catastrophic effects of past introductions of wood boring insects like the emerald ash borer have underscored the importance of preventing introductions where possible. Wood packaging materials used in international trade and shipping are one pathway through which wood boring insects arrive and become established in the U.S.  The ISPM 15 standards for treating wood packaging materials were created to reduce the introduction of potentially harmful pests.

International Programs contracted with research lead Robert A. Haack to analyze the monitoring data. Along with Haack, co-authors Jesse A. Hardin of APHIS, Barney P. Caton of APHIS and Toby R. Petrice of the Northern Research Station collaborated on the analyses, allowing the researchers to compare the data from before and after the ISPM 15 standards were fully adopted by the U.S. in 2006. The paper also compared borer detection rates from different phases of the ISPM 15 rollout in the U.S., including the introduction and implementation phases, and the 2010 modification that restricted the amount of bark permitted on wood packaging material.

The paper compared wood borer detection rates from three main cargo survey programs within the monitoring data and from three major U.S. trading partners. The researchers found significant reductions in two individual programs and for two countries, but for one survey program and one country there was no significant reduction.

Having these data on how much and what is arriving through wood packing materials is essential to our understanding of ISPM 15’s effectiveness and the implications for global forest health protection. The findings will contribute to discussions among government, industry and forest practitioners about the efficacy and objectives of the ISPM 15 standards and may generate new interest in the assessment of risk to U.S. and global forests in a time of increasing global trade. "Although rates of infested wood packaging have dropped post-ISPM 15, live borers continue to be found by many countries. Understanding why this is happening is important so that ISPM 15 can be modified and improved,” said Haak.

The paper, titled “Wood borer detection rates on wood packaging materials entering the United States during different phases of ISPM 15 implementation and regulatory changes,” can be found in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, DOI 10.3389/ffgc.2022.1069117.