[Presentation]: TreeVitalize Pittsburgh

Today we’re posting the last of our six presentations from “Preserving Pittsburgh’s Trees: Action and Recovery.”  We’re very much aware that the picture painted by the previous speakers is grim, but we’ve felt it’s crucial to make the public aware of the problems so that we can try to address them before it’s too late.  As we put the finishing touches on the Tree Action Plan, we’ll be able to give you more actionable items for how YOU can help save trees, including lists of currently-unthreatened native species to plant on your own property.

And speaking of planting, now’s the perfect time to introduce you to Lisa Ceoffe, the City of Pittsburgh’s urban forester and coordinator of the TreeVitalize program.  She tells the other side of the story, the side where volunteers from across the city mobilize to plant trees in their neighborhoods and then to take care of them.  And she offers many suggestions for how you can bring all the advantages of the TreeVitalize program to your own community.

Watch her presentation below, or download the slides here.

[Presentation]: Responding to Threats in Pittsburgh’s Urban Forest

“This may be one of those bellwether times in our society and in our region, where what we plan to do now will greatly impact not just us but our children and our children’s children.  We’re going to look back someday and say did we do the right thing or did we not do enough?”

City Forester David Jahn is responsible for looking after Pittsburgh’s tree population, and for mobilizing a response to things that threaten it.  He’s constantly on the lookout for things such as potential landslide conditions or dying trees that may pose a hazard to their surroundings.  As he points out in his presentation from “Preserving Pittsburgh’s Trees: Action and Recovery,” he needs the eyes of the community to make sure all issues with trees are addressed.  If you see a tree that looks like it may pose a hazard, or that exhibits symptoms of one of the diseases or pests we’ve been discussing, calling 311 will alert David and his team to look into the situation.

Watch David’s presentation below, or download the slides here.

[Presentation]: Emerald Ash Borer / Native Wildflowers

Pennsylvania’s resident emerald ash borer expert, David Schmit, is a Forest Health Specialist with the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.  He can spot an EAB-infested ash tree from a mile away thanks to his familiarity with how their bark looks after woodpeckers have discovered the larvae.  In today’s presentation from “Preserving Pittsburgh’s Trees: Action and Recovery,” he shows you all the life stages of emerald ash borer and explains why it’s a much bigger threat than, say, the forest tent caterpillars that periodically defoliate our trees.

He also picks up on a theme from Dr. Carson’s presentation yesterday about deer, and that’s the idea that “deer are the deciders” when it comes to what wildflowers you’re going to see in the parks.  He paints a picture of what the forest would look like if we could isolate an area from deer and begin reintroducing the plants that grew there before their populations were decimated by the overabundance of deer. 

Given our distaste here at the Parks Conservancy for garlic mustard, it’s interesting to think of this plant in terms of deer.  Basically, if the deer liked to eat it, it wouldn’t be invasive–in fact, you’d hardly ever see it.  The main key to being invasive is having no natural predators in a particular location.  It makes sense that native deer love to eat native plants–it’s just unfortunate that the deer population has climbed so high that they’re the ONLY ones who get to enjoy those plants.

Without further ado, check out some of these lovely and little-seen wildflowers (as well as the lifespan of the emerald ash borer) below, or download the slides here.

[Presentation]: The Bambi Plague in the Eastern Deciduous Forest of the U.S.

For wildflowers and saplings in Pennsylvania’s forests, Bambi may well be Public Enemy Number One.  The overpopulation of white-tailed deer contributes to a host of problems.  Deer can turn a native plant into an invasive one, stop the regeneration of a forest understory dead in its tracks, and yes…they can even encourage colonies of voracious rodents.  Who knew one friendly-looking woodland creature could wreak so much havoc? 

Today’s presentation from “Preserving Pittsburgh’s Trees: Action and Recovery” is courtesy of University of Pittsburgh professor Dr. Walter Carson, who works in the fields of Plant Community Ecology and Tropical and Temperate Forest Ecology.  He shares some fascinating information about how the deer imbalance in the ecosystem leads to the dominance of only a few plant species and keeps the cycle of canopy regeneration from functioning properly.

Check out Dr. Carson’s presentation below, or download the slides only here.

[Presentation]: Oak Wilt: Deadly But Manageable Disease

“I don’t know of any pathogen of oak–or any tree–that’s as virulent as this particular fungus.  It’s capable of killing the largest oak within 30 days.”

That’s the bad news about the oak wilt fungus, according to Dr. William MacDonald, Professor at West Virginia University’s Division of Plant and Soil Sciences.  The good news is that it’s not disseminated very effectively, so an active management plan (like the one the City of Pittsburgh and the Parks Conservancy put into play last year) can significantly reduce its impact on our forests.  Listen to Dr. MacDonald’s full presentation by clicking the video link below, or download the slides minus audio here.