An economic analysis of Emerald Ash Borer management options

An economic analysis of Emerald Ash Borer management options
This is the Emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis. Credit: Stephen Ausmus

A new study in the Journal of Economic Entomology examines several options for managing the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive insect that is destroying US ash trees.

The , Agrilus planipennis (Fairmaire), an invasive insect from Asia which was first found in the U.S. in the 1990s, has since spread to 15 states and is responsible for the deaths of millions of . This insect has the potentionl to kill billions more trees and to do several billions of dollars worth of damage.

In " of Emerald Ash Borer Management Options," a recent study published in the , the authors performed an economic analysis of management options to aid in preparing for likely future infestations. A relative economic analysis was used to compare a control option (do-nothing approach, only removing ash trees as they die) to three distinct management options: 1) preemptive removal of all ash trees over a 5 yr period, 2) preemptive removal of all ash trees and replacement with comparable nonash trees, or 3) treating the entire population of ash trees with to minimize mortality.

The results show that the retention of ash trees using insecticide treatments typically retained greater urban forest value, followed by doing nothing, which was better than preemptive removal and replacement.

Preemptive removal without tree replacement, which was the least expensive management option, also provided the lowest net urban forest value over the 20-yr simulation.

The authors conclude that communities can prepare for emerald ash borer and attempt to minimize a significant loss in canopy in a narrow window of time through the treatment of ash, the preemptive replacement (underplanting) of nonash before ash trees die, the removal of the worst condition ash first, and the development of an emerald ash borer management plan in advance.

More information: dx.doi.org/10.1603/EC11130

Citation: An economic analysis of Emerald Ash Borer management options (2012, February 9) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2012-02-economic-analysis-emerald-ash-borer.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Ice storm tree damage offers chance to detect emerald ash borer

0 shares

Feedback to editors