Auburn University
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Evaluation of Stand Health in Association With Biomass Removal and Standard Silvicultural Practices
  Forestry & Wildlife Bldg.
602 Duncan Drive
Auburn, AL 36849-5418
(334) 844-1007
(334) 844-1084 FAX
Insect trap

Though an important component of southeastern forests, longleaf pine (Pinus taeda) and loblolly pine (P. palustris) have been affected for years by land management techniques. Studies have indicated that loblolly pine suffers premature death on old agricultural lands and longleaf pine has declined widely since European settlement. Insect attacks are a major cause of death for damaged or weakened trees and although the Southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmerman) has been heavily monitored and studied, effects of other beetle species, including root colonizers, have been far less documented. I will quantify pine beetle populations using three different types of trap installations and monitoring them bi-weekly over a two year period. I will study trees under a variety of management techniques and compare insect presence, crown heath and nutrient status of trees under these regimes. Through this study, populations of root and lower stem colonizing insects will be related to silvicultural practices such as biomass extraction, chip dispersal and prescribed burn.

Insect trap ground location Testing equipment