Expertise forest ecology, invasive forest pests, air pollution, climate change, nutrient cycling
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Northeastern forests are threatened by air pollution, climate change, and invasive forest pests. Gary Lovett studies the impacts of these stressors on forest productivity and water quality.
Lovett uses computer simulation models and field research in the Hudson Valley, Catskills, and White Mountains of New Hampshire to predict the ability of a forest to maintain crucial ecosystem services in the face of environmental change.
Lovett advises government agencies and advocacy groups that are working to amend federal regulations to stop invasive forest pests. Through Congressional briefings and interactions with state and federal agency staff, Lovett is promoting Tree-SMART Trade – a series of federal policy actions that would reduce the introduction of new forest pests – in partnership with the Science Policy Exchange.
The panel discussion explores the history of the imported forest pest problem, recent challenges, the economics of the issue, the role of horticulture and international shipping, and potential policy and management solutions.
The hemlock woolly adelgid, native to East Asia, is slowly killing trees from Maine to Georgia. It's among the latest in a line of invasive pests slipping into the US.
What can be done to prevent the importation of forest pests? Cary Institute forest ecologist Gary Lovett talks about changes to the US Farm Bill and actions that would build on current policy proposals to prevent new forest pests from arriving in the US.
