A USDA Forest Service scientist will discuss a major threat to the Eastern Hardwood Forests at a seminar Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 3:30 p.m. in room 2001 of West Virginia Universitys Agricultural Sciences Building.

Steven Oak, a forest health specialist with the Forest Services Asheville, N.C. office will speak onS.O.D. fromA(Acer) toV(Viburnum): The Threat of Sudden Oak Death to Eastern Hardwood Forests.”

Sudden Oak Death was first reported in 1995 in central coastal California. Since then, tens of thousands of tanoak, coast live oak, California black oak, Shreve oak, and madrone in Pacific forests were killed by a newly identified species, Phytophthora ramorum, which causes Sudden Oak Death. The pathogen also infects rhododendrons, huckleberry, bay laurel, California buckeye, and other tree and shrub species, but usually causes only leaf spots and twig dieback on these hosts.

Sudden Oak Death has proved to be a major crisis in California,said William MacDonald, a forest pathologist in the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences.If this pathogen were to make its way to the Eastern Hardwood Forests, its effects on the oak population here could be devastating.MacDonald has done extensive research on such forest pathogens as chestnut blight and oak wilt.

Steven Oak has taken a particular interest in Sudden Oak Death and has been carefully monitoring developments in the Pacific forests. He has worked extensively with oaks during his scientific career and concentrates current efforts on developing early detection and survey techniques for the pathogen. During his visit, Oak will meet with MacDonald and other WVU faculty, representatives of the regions Forest Service unit and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, and researchers from Minnesota and Michigan to discuss strategy and provide an update on the situation in California.

The seminar is sponsored by the Plant Pathology/Environmental Microbiology Seminar Fund through the WVU Foundation.