Abstract
A nalyzing patterns of forest pest infestation is necessary for monitoring the health of forested ecosystems because of the impact insects and diseases can have on forest structure and composition, biodiversity, and species distributions (Castello and others 1995). In particular, introduced nonnative insects and diseases can extensively damage the diversity, ecology, and economy of affected areas (Brockerhoff and others 2006, Mack and others 2000). Examining pest occurrences from a landscape-scale perspective is useful, given the regional extent of many infestations and the interaction between landscape patterns and the development of pest outbreaks (Holdenrieder and others 2004). The detection of geographic clusters of disturbance is one such landscape-scale approach, which allows for the identification of areas at greatest risk of significant impact and for the selection of locations for more intensive analysis.
Parent Publication
Citation
Potter, Kevin M.; Koch, Frank H. 2012. Large-scale patterns of insect and disease activity in the conterminous United States and Alaska, 2006. In: Potter, Kevin M.; Conkling, Barbara L. 2012. Forest health monitoring: 2008 national technical report. General Technical Report SRS-158. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pages 63-72.
