Percent of Tree Basal Area at Risk of Forest Pathogens

Total Basal Area (BA) for all tree species is in square feet per acre.

To monitor the potential hazards posed by invasive pathogens, the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team (FHTET) created a national database designed to assess the potential hazards on tree mortality and identify forest ecosystems at risk of invasive or pathogenic threats.

When the introduction or increased activity of invasive or pathogenic plant and animal species dramatically alters the structure and function of ecosystems, the benefits that those ecosystems provide to people are also affected. Additionally, the negative effects of forest pathogens and invasives on certain species may be exacerbated by climate change, forest fragmentation, fire, and other landscape processes which may facilitate outbreaks or invasions.

This data is in support of the National Insect and Disease Risk Map (NIDRIM), a nationwide strategic assessment and database of the potential hazard for tree mortality due to major forest insects and diseases. The goal of NIDRM is to summarize landscape-level patterns of potential insect and disease activity, consistent with the philosophy that science-based, transparent methods should be used to allocate pest-management resources across geographic regions and individual pest distributions. In other words, prioritize investment for areas where both hazard is significant and effective treatment can be efficiently implemented.

For more information, see: http://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/technology/nidrm.shtml