Pathologists and entomologists must join forces against forest pest and pathogen invasions

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Authors

Jactel, Herve
Desprez-Loustau, Marie-Laure
Battisti, Andrea
Brockerhoff, Eckehard
Santini, Alberto
Stenlid, Jan
Bjorkman, Christer
Branco, Manuela
Dehnen-Schmutz, Katharina
Douma, Jacob C.

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Pensoft Publishers

Abstract

The world’s forests have never been more threatened by invasions of exotic pests and pathogens, whose causes and impacts are reinforced by global change. However, forest entomologists and pathologists have, for too long, worked independently, used different concepts and proposed specific management methods without recognising parallels and synergies between their respective fields. Instead, we advocate increased collaboration between these two scientific communities to improve the long-term health of forests. Our arguments are that the pathways of entry of exotic pests and pathogens are often the same and that insects and fungi often coexist in the same affected trees. Innovative methods for preventing invasions, early detection and identification of non-native species, modelling of their impact and spread and prevention of damage by increasing the resistance of ecosystems can be shared for the management of both pests and diseases. We, therefore, make recommendations to foster this convergence, proposing in particular the development of interdisciplinary research programmes, the development of generic tools or methods for pest and pathogen management and capacity building for the education and training of students, managers, decision-makers and citizens concerned with forest health.

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Keywords

Capacity building, Detection, Disease, Exotic, Fungi, Forest health, Identification, Insects, Interdisciplinarity, Management

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Jactel H, Desprez-Loustau ML, Battisti A, Brockerhoff E, Santini A, Stenlid J, Björkman C, Branco M, Dehnen-Schmutz K, Douma JC, Drakulic J, Drizou F, Eschen R, Franco JC, Gossner MM, Green S, Kenis M, Klapwijk MJ, Liebhold AM, Orazio C, Prospero S, Robinet C, Schroeder M, Slippers B, Stoev P, Sun J, van den Dool R, Wingfield MJ, Zalucki MP (2020) Pathologists and entomologists must join forces against forest pest and pathogen invasions. NeoBiota 58: 107–127. https://DOI.org/10.3897/neobiota.58.54389.