FOREST PATHOLOGY

BOTANY 394

Spring 2006

 

Instructor: Terry W. Henkel, Ph.D.

Office: Science Building B, Room 123 Telephone: 826-4841 Email: twh5@humboldt.edu

Office Hours: Tues. 12-2; Thurs 10-11; or by appointment

 

Meeting Times: Tuesday: 5-5:50 Wildlife 258; 6-8:50 SciB 128 (Lecture and Lab); with scheduled field trips

 

Course Format: The course consists of one lecture/lab (5-9 pm Tu) and, on average, 3-6 hours of field time per week. Lecture/lab time will be spent covering the biology, symptomatology and diagnosis of major fungal and bacterial diseases of western trees, as well as mistletoes. Field identification and diagnosis is the focus of the course, with emphasis on late successional and old growth forests. Extensive required field trips will allow on-site assessment and identification of tree diseases. Students are required to complete a collection of forest pathogens.

 

Recommended Textbooks:

                        a. Diseases of Pacific Coast Conifers-USFS handbook 521                                                                                       b. Forest Disease Management Notes

c. Common Tree Diseases of British Columbia

            -online version at: http://www.pfc.forestry.ca/diseases/CTD/index_e.html

                        d. Diseases of Trees and Shrubs by Sinclair et. al. (can be ordered); two weeks required to get                          the books.

Note: 1) Books a, b, and c above require a $10.00 cash deposit each; 2) the books will be handed out by the instructor in class to those that pay the deposit; 3) The money will be available at any time upon return of the books; 4) students must return the books at semester’s end. You can obtain private copies of each book by directly contacting the publishing agency.

 

Required equipment: 10X handlens, preferably Bausch and Lomb. Order directly from:

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?ID=5250 ; "Write in the Rain" notebook and pencils for field notes and exams (available from bookstore). Optional: machete or small hand axe.

 

Blackboard: Regular use of Blackboard is REQUIRED of all students in BOT 394. Blackboard is an indispensable tool for sharing information and documents between the instructor and students. Lecture notes, powerpoint presentations, lab and field instructions, announcements and other items will be available (sometimes exclusively) through Blackboard. Log on at: http://blackboard.humboldt.edu/

 

Grades: A student's grade will consist of quizzes, field and laboratory examinations, and collections:

 

            Examination

Date

Value

Written Quiz

Tu Feb 14

25

Field Examination

Sun Mar 5

50

Written Quiz

Tu Mar 21

50

Field Examination

Sat Apr 8

50

Written Quiz

Tu Apr 11

75

Field Examination

Sun Apr 30

100

Final Lab examination

Tu May 2

150

Collection

Tu Apr 25

100

 

Total points =

600

 

Grading Scale:

 

% total points

Grade

% total points

Grade

100-93

A

77.9-73

C

92.9-90

A-

72.9-70

C-

89.9-88

B+

69.9-68

D+

87.9-83

B

67.9-60

D

82.9-80

B-

59.9-0

F

79.9-78

C+

 

 

 

REQUIRED Field Trips: 1) Sun. Jan. 22; 2) Sun Feb. 19; 3) Sun Mar. 5; 4) Sat Apr.8; 5) Sat & Sun Apr. 29/30. THESE MUST TRIPS MUST BE ATTENDED.

 

Assigned Readings: Assigned readings will be made from various sources (e.g. research papers, Forest Service publications, etc.) throughout the semester, and students are responsible for the material contained therein.

 

Collection: The purpose of the collection is to enable you to become adept at finding and identifying, on your own, forest pathogen signs, disease symptoms, and indications in the field.

 

1. Date due: On or before April 25; 50% of the collection for each category is due on the date indicated below.

2. When you can turn them in: in designated class times or during office hours.

3. Diseases needed (all on forest trees):

 

Type of disease

Number

date 50% due

date 100% due

rots (at least 3 on living trees)

10

Mar 7

Apr 25

root diseases

4

Mar 7

Apr 25

rusts

4

Mar 7

Apr 25

needle diseases

6

Apr 4

Apr 25

cankers/proliferations

3

Apr 11

Apr 25

mistletoes

4

Apr 18

Apr 25

Total

31

 

 

 

 

4. Requirements of Collection

                                   

a. Label on each collection, containing: General and specific location, host species, symptom(s) or indication(s), causal species, and sign(s)

            b. Intact, high-quality specimens with signs and symptoms or indications required; sharing          unacceptable.

 

 

5. Grading of Collections: The full collection of 31 correctly identified specimens will be worth 100 points out of the 600 total.


 

IV. Schedule

 

day

date

month

type of test/field trip

field trip site; lecture/laboratory topics

Tu

17

Jan

 

Introduction to forest pathology; the disease cycle

 

Sun

22

Jan

FIELD WALK

Arcata Community Forest

 

Tu

24

Jan

 

Terminology: symptoms, signs, indicators

 

Tu

31

Jan

 

Wood Decay I. Brown Rots

 

Tu

7

Feb

 

Wood Decay II. White Rot and Slash Rotters

 

Tu

14

Feb

WRITTEN QUIZ

Root diseases I

 

Sun

19

Feb

FIELD TRIP

Redwood Creek

 

Tu

21

Feb

 

Root diseases II

 

Tu

28

Feb

 

Rusts I

 

Sun

5

Mar

FIELD EXAM

Burnt Ranch

 

Tu

7

Mar

 

Rusts II

 

Tu

14

Mar

SPRING BREAK

SPRING BREAK

 

Tu

21

Mar

WRITTEN QUIZ

Needle Diseases I

 

Tu

28

Mar

 

Needle Diseases II

 

Tu

4

Apr

 

Cankers & Proliferations

 

Sat

8

Apr

FIELD EXAM

Horse Mountain

 

Tu

11

Apr

WRITTEN QUIZ

Mistletoes I

 

Tu

18

Apr

 

Mistletoes II

 

Tu

25

Apr

 

completion of collections

 

Sat

29

Apr

FIELD TRIP

Hayfork Summit (overnight)

 

Sun

30

Apr

FIELD EXAM

location TBA...

 

Tu

2

May

LAB EXAM

 

 

 

 

Very useful websites:           http://www.forestpathology.org/index.html - online textbook! Contains a number                                                  of assigned readings.

                                            http://www.forestryimages.org/ - vast index of forest disease images

                                                http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/nr/fid/wid.shtml - Forest Service catalog of western tree                                                           diseases

                                                http://www.pfc.forestry.ca/diseases/CTD/index_e.html - Common Tree                                                                         Diseases of British Columbia

 

Disease-specific websites:

 

Port Orford Cedar Root Rot: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/siskiyou/poc1.htm

Armillaria Root Rot: http://students.washington.edu/melliott/diseases/armillaria.html

Black Stain Root Disease: http://www.pfc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/diseases/ctd/group/root/root5%5Fe.html

Heterobasidion annosum Root Disease: http://helios.bto.ed.ac.uk/bto/microbes/heterob.htm

Phellinus weirii: Laminated Root Disease: http://students.washington.edu/melliott/diseases/phellinus.html

Pitch Canker: http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/pitch_canker/

Sudden Oak Death:     http://cemarin.ucdavis.edu/ecology.html

                                    www.suddenoakdeath.org