Sudden Oak Death Cases 'Worse Than Expected' In Bay Area

Scientists tracking the prevalence of sudden oak death, a fatal pathogen that plagues tree populations in Northern California, have confirmed that the disease is at "near epidemic levels," the San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday.

"We found that the number of positives were double and in some cases triple what they were last year," Matteo Garbelotto, a UC Berkeley forest pathologist who studies the prevalence of sudden oak death, told the Chronicle. "We were surprised. That was a big jump."

Garbelotto works with the UC Berkeley Forest Pathology and Mycology Laboratory along with hundreds of volunteers to track the disease. This spring, his team collected more than 10,000 samples from tree species throughout the Bay Area and found the infection to be rampant. In certain areas of the South Bay, a whopping 97 percent of examined samples tested positive for the poison.

First discovered in Mill Valley in 1995, sudden oak death (also known as phytophthora ramorum) has claimed the lives of thousands of oak trees along the northwest coast, from as far south as Carmel Valley and as far north as southern Oregon. And it seems poised to keep expanding: The Oregon Department of Forestry recently came across infected trees six miles north of the supposed quarantine zone.

According to the California Oak Mortality Task Force, the disease poses a major threat to the ecosystems it affects, creating the potential to completely destroy the way a forest functions. Wildlife lose food sources, fire patterns are altered and water quality decreases. Sudden oak death has nearly wiped out oak tree populations in parts of Big Sur, China Camp State Park and other nearby natural retreats.

And it shows no signs of retreating. In fact, Garbelotto said the most surprising results of his study revealed the disease spreading beyond the forests and into residential areas in the East Bay, including parts of North Berkeley, Oakland's Montclair district and San Leandro. "I didn't expect it to be that widespread," he told the Chronicle.

Luckily, one local treasure appears to remain untainted--for now. Not a single new infection was found in San Francisco's Presidio. "It's the only good news we got this year," Garbelotto said.

Learn more about how you can help contain and treat sudden oak death here, or check out the informational video below.

Comments

[bioscapecom]

06:38 AM on 10/20/2011

Read "The Dying of The Trees" by Charles Little

[Yota Daga]

03:00 PM on 10/04/2011

This is bad, 50% of trees in Reno Nevada look to be dying, Sacramento has it too.
Perhaps Utah/Idaho/Washingon should immediately put a Fungus Bath and have Cars and trucks drive through to clean off their tires.

[Linus521]

02:56 PM on 10/04/2011

It's not only Northern CA; our southern oaks are under siege. Tragically, California boasted of 23 separate oak species, in every pattern and color known. It would appear, most of our western trees are being killed by new pathogens or pathogens out of control and on a rampage.

This new disease pattern seems to almost be national. Entire forests are falling extinct. Everyone should be deeply concerned. From beetles to fungi to whatever else is coming down the piike.

Our forests, whether they are hardwoods to boreal or grassland are our Earth's terrestrial ecosystems. Ecosystems dying is as dangerous as it gets.

[bioscapecom]

10:03 AM on 10/04/2011

treatsuddenoakdeath.com

[bioscapecom]

10:02 AM on 10/04/2011

SAVEYOURTREES.COM

[trumphent]

05:58 PM on 10/03/2011

This is the first I've heard of SOD but,then, I live in Florida. The video mentioned some bugs we have here. The ambrosia beetle, a single bug is a death sentence to an entire avocado grove.It transmits a pathogen to the source of guacamole.

[robodawa]

05:25 PM on 10/03/2011

The Upper Midwest is suffering from a Beech tree die off. This is caused by an ugly white mold that is accompanied by smallish under bark beetles. The mold is spread by wood peckers moving from one tree to the next. The stuff gets on their bodies and then the mold infects a new tree.
Where are these pathogens coming from? Are they treating the Bay Area Oak Trees with any thing that works?

[personal beliefs]

07:55 PM on 10/03/2011

What is wrong with letting nature take its course? All I hear from the left is how they are sick of humans destroying and messing with ecosystems.

[bioscapecom]

08:32 AM on 10/04/2011

Yes, Agrifos + Pentrabark : Visit treatsuddenoakdeath.com

[personal beliefs]

04:21 PM on 10/03/2011

hmm, a dilemma for the liberals. Should we try and stop it (if we can) or let nature run its course?

[Jim Milks]

04:45 PM on 10/03/2011

Why in the world do you think it would be a dilemma–or even a partisan issue in the first place? Are you that brainwashed that you find politics in everything, even a major ecological problem? Stop and think for a minute. This disease will eliminate the food supply (acorns) for many species, including deer, elk and bears in the Pacific Northwest. How do you think hunters in that area will view sudden oak disease? Don't even mention the impact on the timber industry in that area. It's not a liberal dilemma nor is it a conservative dilemma. It's a dilemma for all of us, regardless of political persuasion.

[personal beliefs]

04:49 PM on 10/03/2011

so liberal Ecologist, what should we ever do? Aren't you tired of us messing with mother nature? Are you prepared to be hypocritical?

[bigskydweller]

05:21 PM on 10/03/2011

Your "personal beliefs" are pathetic. Maybe when every living organism around you dies because of destroyed and unbalanced ecosystems, you'll understand why this is a problem.

[personal beliefs]

05:24 PM on 10/03/2011

so what should we do Mr. big talker?