Impacts of Insects in Forest Landscapes: Implications for Forest Health Management

The devastating forest fires and catastrophic outbreaks of both native and introduced forest insect and disease pests, witnessed in recent times throughout North America, are in part a consequence of forest management practices of the last century. The frequency and intensity of these fires and pest outbreaks exceed all historical records and many view a deteriorated state of the forest environment as a primary cause for those problems. To address this issue President George W. Bush in 2002 launched the Healthy Forest Initiative (HFI). Subsequently the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA) became law and thereby provided a new emphasis to forest management in the US. Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008.

Impacts of Insects in Forest Landscapes: Implications for Forest Health Management Chapter