A broader, more comprehensive concept of forest pest management is needed to make it a really integral part of forest resource management. A generalized model structure of a forest pest management system is presented, and the major components are discussed briefly. Predictive models are the primary mechanism of information flow to decision and action in the system. General considerations affect...

Plants are in constant communication with a multitude of diverse organisms. Some symbioses, such as the association of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi with plant roots, are beneficial to the plant. Others, such as the interaction of plants with viral, microbial, fungal, and nematode pathogens, are harmful. Most plant-organism interactions go unnoticed simply because they are unde...

Dwarf mistletoes are markedly host specific, perennial, obligate parasites. The success of mistletoe populations is tied not only to the suitability of the environment, but also to the availability and conditions of the hosts they infect. Thus, the dynamics of forest stand development and change exert major influences on the capacity of dwarf mistletoes to spread, intensify, and cause damage to...

Individual trees of giant sequoia (Sequoia gigantea [Lindl.] Decne.) have demonstrated a capacity to attain both a long life and very large size. It is not uncommon to find old-growth giant sequoia trees in their native range that are 1,500 years old and over 15 feet in diameter at breast height. The ability of individual giant sequoia trees to survive over such long periods of time has often b...