Fever in the Forests.

SUDDEN oak death; REDWOODS; TREE diseases & pests; CLIMATE change; PATHOGENIC microorganisms; FOREST health; OAK diseases & pests; FRANKEL, Susan; MUIR Woods National Monument (Calif.)

This article reports on the Muir Woods National Monument in San Francisco, California and how the forest pathogen known as sudden oak death could affect the redwood trees there. Sudden oak death causes the leaves of affected oak trees to turn brown in the first year of infection and the tree to fall completely by the fifth. The death of the oaks have created room for new redwood maple and oak growth, but there are fears that another outbreak of the pathogen could occur. The article also discusses researcher Susan Frankel and her work with the Sudden Oak Death Research Program. Information is also provided on how climate change is related to the formation of new pathogens and fungal diseases and how they will ultimately affect forest health around the world.