http://groups.ucanr.org/sbdisplay/blogs.cfm?county=1410&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed SOD Blog en-us UC ANR http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:09:26 PST Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:09:26 PST At the end of the day on Monday, as we finished up looking at and measuring trees in our plots, the 104-degree heat in the north coast interior was a bit distracting. But I noticed this guy growing on a black oak and wanted to take his picture (sorry for the blurriness) before he gets old and dried-out. This is a fresh fruiting body of Phellinus gilvus. The black oak on which it was growing has for several years displayed bleeding cankers that are probably caused by P. ramorum. (I haven't......
]]> Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:53:48 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1561&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1561 A few weeks ago I wrote about Phytophthora in stream water. I mentioned that monitoring streams provides a good early detection strategy for P. ramorum and that the ecology of this pathogen in streams is still somewhat mysterious. On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle published a story about Sudden Oak Death and the spread of P. ramorum in waterways. It mentioned that ten streams, ditches, or ponds in six states have now been found infested with P. ramorum. Many of these are states that are......
]]> Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:23:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1555&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1555 In a way, Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) is the "sister" invasive species to Phytophthora ramorum. It's a problem in the midwest rather than the far west. Its epidemic developed over roughly the same time span as P. ramorum. Its mortality impacts are focused on one tree genus (Fraxinus, ash trees), in much the same way P. ramorum kills trees in two closely related genera (Quercus, true oaks, and Lithocarpus, tanoak). One difference is that P. ramorum mortality is episodic, depending on......
]]> Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:48:22 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1522&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1522 A couple of months ago, I was on a large ranch near Boonville in Mendocino County, walking back from a plot where we have been counting and measuring trees killed by P. ramorum. As I came out of the drainage where most of the dead trees were, I was suddenly walking through a white oak woodland. Here the trees were statelier, they were widely spaced, and everything felt drier. Besides the white oaks, huge bay laurels shaded the leaf litter and flowering plants in the understory. I looked down......
]]> Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:11:52 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1500&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1500 Mountain biking through China Camp State Park a few days ago, I was struck by all of the different signs of change in the forest around me. First, I rode through the area that recently burned along the southeast corner of the park. The air still smells of charcoal and the ground is black, but I know that come winter and spring, new green shoots will burst forth, adding to the mosiac of plants and habitats in the grassland. All along that trail, I saw another sign of change - the seasonal......
]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:02:35 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1496&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1496 When most of us think about the word "wilt," we don't picture trees. Instead, we think about green shrubs and flowering plants losing all their support and flopping over, usually from lack of water. But many diseases of forest and urban trees are classified as wilts. The pathogens that cause these diseases grow into the water-conducting vessel elements and tracheids in the sapwood of the tree, clogging them up and stopping the flow of water. Some of the better-known tree diseases......
]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:06:29 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1488&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1488 The encroaching army leaves mayhem in its wake, spreading from hillside to hillside, county to county, with alarming speed and determination. Only the strong and brave can stare into the gaping maw: educated school children. This is one great example of citizen science at work - the AntWeb database sponsored by the California Academy of Science, one of many such projects through the Academy's Naturalist Center. More than 800 citizen scientists have participated thus far in the......
]]> Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:48:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1467&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1467 On Friday, I was at the Trinity River in eastern Humboldt County, watching my son splash his way through water as clear as the sky above. One hundred feet upstream, a helicopter repeatedly dipped its bucket into the river, rising up each time to carry its load to one of the fourteen fires that broke out in our county and neighboring counties last week, the results of lightning strikes. As the helicopter passed over our heads, it trailed a stream of water from the bucket, and about three minutes......
]]> Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:23:37 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1466&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1466 I'll be upfront: I stole the title of this post from my supervisor at UC Extension in Eureka, Yana Valachovic, who also took the pictures. She has talked about this subject several times to various audiences, and I think it's so interesting I wanted to post it. Below are two pictures of the same California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica) tree, one from a distance and one up close. Bay laurel (also called pepperwood, Oregon myrtlewood, or just plain bay) is the main transmitting host of......
]]> Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:24:56 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1454&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1454 One of the biggest problems in dealing with invasive, non-native species is that it is rarely possible to exterminate them once you've seen the mess they've made, and you often don't even know to be concerned until the problem is too large to deal with. Preventative actions to limit their introduction in the first place and aggressive actions to control early infestations seem to be the best course of action, but has its obvious limitations. How many of us know to floss regularly to prevent......
]]> Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:10:49 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1444&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1444 Since Nicole has been weighing in on the Sudden Oak Death Science Symposium IV held last week in Santa Cruz, I may as well do the same. Of all the creative ideas and new thoughts stimulated by the assemblage of scientists, ecologists, and land managers gathered together to discuss what they've learned about this disease, the one that strikes me most right now is the idea of the importance of site specificity. As we took a field trip to the Santa Lucia Preserve on June 15 to look at the......
]]> Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:10:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1438&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1438 A wind-driven, grass fire burned through chapparal in China Camp State Park in Marin County yesterday. The park, heavily impacted by Sudden Oak Death, has many dead or dying trees which prompted an all out response - 79 local firefighters, two Cal Fire air tankers and a helicopter quickly contained the blaze. Photo of China Camp showing many dead (red and grey) oak The full effects of Sudden Oak Death on wildfire are not yet fully understood but firefighters and researchers alike suspect......
]]> Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:35:05 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1429&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1429 When stars make an appearance in Hollywood the paparazzi are sure to follow, cameras in tow. In Santa Cruz it seems that is not the case, not unless you count the handycam my fellow blogger, Janice Alexander, set-up. Though we had the world’s best and brightest the only fanfare was a round of applause after the celebrities gave their presentations. Who were these cynosures you ask? World leaders in the field of Phytophthora. In the coming weeks, I’ll be working to digitize, edit......
]]> Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:08:32 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1426&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1426 As next week nears, and researchers, regulators, land managers and industry representatives from around the world start their migration to Santa Cruz for the Fourth Sudden Oak Death Science Symposium, I thought we might take a "flight" to look at the impacts of the disease in other parts of the world. In the spotlight for this post is Clyne Gardens, a botanical garden in Swansea, Wales, known internationally for its collection of Rhododendrons, Pieris and Enkianthus. The last two......
]]> Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:19:55 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1383&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1383 This time next week, researchers, regulators, land managers, and industry representatives from throughout the world working on Phytophthora ramorum, Sudden Oak Death, other Phytophthora species, and related pests will gather in Santa Cruz for the Fourth Sudden Oak Death Science Symposium. The Symposium will include 59 talks and 46 posters from top researchers around the globe, as well as a field trip to infested Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel. In addition to several big-picture and emerging......
]]> Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:44:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1376&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1376 My neighbor is re-doing a large part of the house she owns and rents out on our street. Her father, who left the house to her, had never been overly concerned with home maintenance, so when the previous tenant moved out, she decided to investigate the structure's health. What she found was discouraging. She estimates that if she hadn't intervened, the house would have collapsed because of rot in three or four years. She found dry rot in the framing, in the wood sheathing under all the windows,......
]]> Fri, 05 Jun 2009 08:44:23 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1365&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1365 Unless you are planning an outdoor activity, rain in June in our neck of the woods is considered a blessing. The pitter patter of rain drops last night meant we could skip our early morning watering of tomatoes, basil, and all other things edible that grow in our garden and leave the water in the reservoir. With the drought these past few years, water use in gardens is a constant consideration. We've addressed it by going native. We have a few edibles that require regular watering, but the......
]]> Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:26:24 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1352&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1352 The most obvious connection between Sudden Oak Death and Italy would be the sound of Matteo Garbelotto's accent as he delivers another presentation on the disease. (This fulfills my personal requirement of mentioning Matteo in all of my blog posts.) However, there is an even more unlikely connection coming up this fall in Sonoma County: Levi Leipheimer's King Ridge GranFondo. For those of you who follow professional cycling, you know that Levi Leipheimer is one of the - or just the - best pro......
]]> Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:08:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1342&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1342 A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the rain events early this month, when many locations on the north coast saw 3-5 inches of rainfall within a few days. I speculated that since this rain coincided with relatively warm conditions, we might soon see symptoms of P. ramorum infection on a wide variety of host plants. As a follow-up, here are some photos of symptoms I saw the week after that post. On Douglas-fir On evergreen huckleberry On western starflower Several of these......
]]> Sat, 30 May 2009 08:25:40 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1339&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1339 While at a dinner party over the weekend, we sampled a few lovely local wines. After the popping of corks and clinking of glasses, a lively discussion ensued about the use of cork in wines. To cork or not to cork? That was the question. The cork popping sound we in North America (and many other parts of the world) associate with the sound of celebration is made possible by the cork oak (Quercus suber). Cork oaks are native to the Mediterranean and are found in large numbers in Portugal, Spain,......
]]> Wed, 27 May 2009 21:35:45 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1326&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1326 As we slide into Memorial Day weekend, I thought it would be worthwhile to look back at an earlier forest disease epidemic that galvanized foresters and forest pathologists for half a century and changed the look, makeup, and function of forests in the eastern U.S. for perpetuity: chestnut blight. This disease, caused by the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica, practically eliminated the American chestnut, Castanea dentata, from the eastern forests to which it is native. In these forests, the......
]]> Fri, 22 May 2009 08:38:34 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1312&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1312 While Janice was writing her Monday's post on O OAK OH!, an arts event celebrating oaks in the context of Sudden Oak Death, I was listening to an NPR programme on the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension's music campaign against aquatic invasives. In Wisconsin too, it seems scientists and artists have come together to get their message across. Bret Shaw, Environmental Communication Specialist for UW Extension and Assistant Professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication,......
]]> Wed, 20 May 2009 14:34:43 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1299&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1299 For those of our readers in Athens, Georgia, today is your chance to hear one of the world's leading researchers on Sudden Oak Death. Dr. David Rizzo of the University of California Davis, will discuss “Emerging plant diseases in natural ecosystems: biological invasions and microbial diversity” at the University of Georgia - Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at 3pm today(details below). The major focus of the Rizzo Lab is studying Phytophthora ramorum, from basic......
]]> Tue, 19 May 2009 09:45:58 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1297&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1297 Last week, in a very rare event for me, I was surrounded not by scientists, but by artists. While I tend to take great care to follow and support the scientific method and speak in carefully chosen words about what we do and do not know, this was not the case with a group of passionate and engaged artists striken with the calamity of Sudden Oak Death in their forest. The forest in question is part of the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga. Its 5 acres of performance spaces, artist workshops, and......
]]> Mon, 18 May 2009 15:15:36 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1296&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1296 Well, OK, maybe that's a little much. Admire a forest pathogen? But bear with me. Armillaria is the genus name for a group of fungi that are found in forests worldwide. Some species of Armillaria are virulent tree-killers, while others mostly play a role in forest recycling by decaying dead wood. In coastal California, the most common species of Armillaria can produce bleeding symptoms on hardwood trees that look exactly like the symptoms caused by P. ramorum. Armillaria (white) beneath......
]]> Thu, 14 May 2009 22:16:29 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1287&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1287 "Despite all of this wonderful work, we still don't have all of the answers we need to effectively control and manage Sudden Oak Death in our forests and yards." When I read this ending to Janice's blog on Monday it reminded me of all the work that still needs to be done, but more importantly all the work that has been done. Someone sent me a link to a YouTube video recently and watching it felt like I had discovered an artifact in a time machine. The video, simply titled......
]]> Wed, 13 May 2009 07:05:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1278&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1278 Warning: The following blog post contains shameless self- and cross-promotions! Early this morning, my husband gingerly worked his way down the stairs to grab his bike for work, leaving me in the rare state of having two sleeping children and quiet in the early dawn. I heard the quiet murmurs of the garage radio click on below me, and then a bounding of steps and a flinging of doors as he leapt back upstairs and switched on the radio in the bedroom. Soon, both kids were up, too. Such is the......
]]> Mon, 11 May 2009 11:20:09 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1272&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1272 Janice mentioned on Monday that the rainy weather last weekend and this week may encourage new P. ramorum infections in our coastal forests. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the rest of the rainy season shapes up to get an idea of just how extensive or damaging this pathogen activity might be. But since the rain this week was long-lasting, windy, and wet (we got 3.5 inches in southern Humboldt County over the past few days), I will be keeping my eyes open as I go out in the field for some......
]]> Fri, 08 May 2009 08:16:00 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1256&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1256 While out on a trail run with Tomas Pastalka last week, he mentioned the discovery of Phytophthora siskiyounsis in a grove of Italian alder (Alnus cordata) in Foster City, CA. The discovery and isolation of this pathogen from a commercial landscape is outlined by authours Suzanne Rooney-Latham, Cheryl Blomquist, Tomas Pastalka and Larry Costello in, "Collar Rot on Italian Alder Trees in California Caused by Phytophthora siskiyouensis", recently published online at Plant Management......
]]> Wed, 06 May 2009 12:10:22 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1261&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1261 Hosting a field trip in May, at least in the Bay Area, usually doesn't require a back-up plan due to bad weather. Such was not the case last Friday, as I stood outside with 20 folks in varying states of water-resistance. The farmers we were with that day relished the rain, even as the wind picked up and turned the drops horizontal. The lack of water this spring, as well as the past few springs, helps water keep its status as “liquid gold” here in semi-arid......
]]> Mon, 04 May 2009 13:25:46 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1250&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1250 Everybody's thinking green these days. Among other things, that means that people are re-assessing some of the hidden costs of our world's interconnectedness: fossils fuels burned for travel; the complexities of job outsourcing, trade imbalances, and linked economies; and the flattening of cultural distinctiveness. We can add to this list the continual threat of invasive species. On the news this week, we can see that the swine flu virus has spread from New Zealand to Canada, from Mexico to......
]]> Fri, 01 May 2009 15:31:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1236&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1236 We urban dwellers have a complicated relationship with nature. We seek solace in the wild, putting shoe to trail or fly to water, escaping urban jungles for nights spent under the stars. But too much of good thing can leave us feeling out of sorts. Wells Tower, author of "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" comically describes his urban escape to the wilds in "Felled Wood" (4.19.09 New York Times Magazine). His retreat from the concrete jungle of a large American city,......
]]> Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:03:28 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1231&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1231 As federal stimulus funds begin to work their way down through our state and local governments and non-profit groups, some of my professional and personal associates are in the enviable and challenging position of deciding how to best make use of this new financial resource. In a much, much smaller way, I too am challenged with how best to use a sometimes bountiful resource - though in my case, the capital is human. The notoriety of sudden oak death and the large impact it can have on......
]]> Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:16:59 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1229&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1229 Since Phytophthora ramorum is most active in the late winter and early spring, this part of the year is when we spend the most time out in the field sampling and monitoring for the pathogen. Here are some of the signs of spring I've seen in the past few weeks en route to our field plots: Calypso orchid (Calypso bulbosa) Shooting star (Dodecatheon hendersonii) Minor cicada (Platypedia minor) In the north coast, P. ramorum shows up primarily in two forest types: (1) redwood......
]]> Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:04:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1225&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1225 In hot weather people tend to seek shade and restful activities during the day, waiting for the cooler nights to increase their movement; so too for snakes, at least that is my conclusion after multiple snake sightings last night. As we made our way on Coastal Fire Road to Pantoll Station in Mt. Tamalpais Park, sitting squarely in the center of the road was a juvenile coastal rattlesnake. It seemed stunned, rather than energized, not even giving a small warning as I nearly stepped on the......
]]> Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:47:40 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1212&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1212 In 16th and 17th-century England, courtiers and writers regarded nature as most beautiful when combined with human artifice and ingenuity. They didn't have quite the same concept of the beauty of wilderness that so many of us have today. Here's an example of an idealized nature from "The Garden," a famous poem by Andrew Marvell (1621-1678): What wondrous life in this I lead! Ripe apples drop about my head; The luscious clusters of the vine Upon my mouth do crush their......
]]> Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:07:03 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1198&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1198 If my last blog was not enough to make you think Phytopthora are incredible, perhaps today’s post will convince you. In talking with Steven Swain, our Horticultural Advisor about Phytopthora he shared what he what he called, “The coolest things about Phytophthora: the zoospores.” Here are the highlights, with some additions from yours truly. For starters the zoospores accomplish movement in a unique way. If you are familiar with single celled organisms , you’ll know......
]]> Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:58:21 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1196&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1196 Education and outreach on sudden oak death often address the beastly aspects of Phytophthora ramorum - namely the mortality it causes and the long term impacts. This is to be expected with an introduced pathogen as its effects can be devastating. There is another side of course - the beauty of this beast. While looking at micrographs of P. ramorum sporangia, I was reminded of the beauty and complexity of this oomycete. Micrograph of sporangia courtesy of Dave Rizzo Unlike other......
]]> Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:58:41 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1189&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1189 It seems like the biggest hazard in recreating in California's many national, state, and regional parks is not making a campground reservation early enough. Last night, my family finally found a summer spot at a state parks campground in Mendocino - but not until mid August. That's the price we pay for such wonderful, inexpensive recreation within a few hours drive. That, and dirty, dirty clothes. Of course, there are other issues to consider when we're out in California's forests. In the......
]]> Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:57:58 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1182&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1182 Nicole’s last blog entry about tomato late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, was pretty interesting, and it inspired me to look up some more information about the disease and its management. Given that both tomato late blight and sudden oak death are caused by members of the Phytopthora genus, one might expect some common themes to show up. And they do. Following are what I think are some of the more interesting parallels, with quotes about late blight (in......
]]> Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:17:30 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1173&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1173 The UCCE Marin Master Gardners' Organic Heirloom & Hybrid Tomato Market will be held on Saturday April 18th and Sunday April 19th. There will be an amazing selection of seedlings on hand. Yes, it is that time of year - time to choose which tomato varieties to plant. I usually end up planting at least two varieties, and many people plant 6 or more. So how do you choose? With thousands of varieties available -the UCCE Market will have almost 30 for sale- the selection can be difficult.......
]]> Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:54:11 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1169&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1169 The front page of the Thursday's San Francisco Chronicle had an article on anticipated climate change in California. Unsurprisingly, we are to expect "less water, more frequent and intense wildfires, heat waves and bad-air days". The article also mentioned that we could see, worst case scenario, temperature increases of up to 3 degrees (F). Significant temperature changes are not good news for forest health issues and 3 degrees is definitely significant. When temperatures rise, and......
]]> Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:56:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1153&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1153 All this blogging about California’s oaks has got me thinking about . . . Arkansas’ oaks! Or, as I should say, about oaks of the eastern U.S.--Arkansas just happens to be where I’m from, and where I’m most familiar with oaks. Several kinds of eastern oak species from the red oak subgroup have been found in the laboratory to be susceptible to Phytophthora ramorum infection. What this means, of course, is that if the pathogen makes it to that area of the country, sudden......
]]> Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:36:08 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1157&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1157 Janice's blog on Monday got me to thinking about our historic, present and future relationship with oak trees. According to "The Life of and Oak" the varied etymology of the word oak in northern languages indicates the importance of this plant to past cultures. The English, Dutch and German words -ac, eik and Eiche are related, but other European languages have completely different origins: the Latin quercus, chêne in French, roble or encino in Spanish and deru in Celtic. It......
]]> Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:44:33 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1148&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1148 That's a question that I get asked fairly regularly, and there is a simple answer ("the pathogen was introduced on imported nursery plants") and a much more complicated one. Really, the questions that people want answered are "Why does this pathogen kill trees the way that it does? What allows it to establish itself and spread so easily in our forests? Why are so many plants hosts and why do so many susceptible oaks die?" The answers to those questions can be a bit more......
]]> Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:30:40 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1141&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1141 If you are not already in full Dipsea swing then you are likely not affected by Dipsea Madness; a little known and poorly understood affliction with disease hot spots in Marin County. For some this ailment begins in March when applications are due, for others it starts on New Year's and for a select few it is a year-long occurrence. What is Dipsea Madness? A complete obsession with all things Dipsea related. The Dipsea , first run in 1905, is the oldest American trail race. This year marks the......
]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:39:50 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1134&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1134 Here on the north coast, Phytophthora ramorum kills tanoaks almost exclusively. We don’t have coast live oaks, and our California black oak population has steadily been decreasing because of land-use changes accompanied by corresponding changes in forest cover (a topic for another blog entry sometime). This year I’ve had the opportunity to see more majestic tanoaks than usual because of some projects we’ve been involved in—projects to save large......
]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:08:19 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1131&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1131 I don't know if hitchhiking is so common anymore in our human communities, but it is a dispersal strategy that is alive and well in the plant world. Take a walk through Califorina's annual grasslands in the summer and check what's left in your boot laces and socks to see what I mean. (Photo coutesy of http://waynesword.palomar.edu/plmay98.htm) Even organisms that need not rely on animals for dispersal can still benefit from the worldwide movement of plants and animals. Take, for instance,......
]]> Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:19:26 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1122&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1122 The first signs of spring have arrived in the hills, with early wildflowers like Blue-Eyed Grasss (Sysirinchium bellum), Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja affinis), Douglas Irises (Iris douglasiana) and Mosquito Shooting Stars(Dodecatheon hendersonii) blooming along the trails. As Mother Nature shows her handiwork, my eyes have turned to my own garden, and started me thinking about spring plantings and general landscaping. Deciding what to plant can be an exciting challenge at best and an......
]]> Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:51:12 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1115&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1115 The Eureka Times-Standard reported yesterday morning that the rain we received on the north coast over the last weekend brought our rainfall totals up to 78% of normal for the water year. As far as water reserves go, this isn’t great, but it’s better than it was back in February. Still, it would take a whole lot of water over the rest of the spring to boost our levels up to anywhere close to normal. Phytophthora ramorum,......
]]> Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:56:28 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1111&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed cale@ucdavis.edu(Christopher Lee) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1111 I was chatting with our local Agricultural Commissioner, Stacy Carlsen, last week when he casually informed me that fully one third of all pesticide use in Marin County is due to Agri-Fos, the phosphonate compound used to prevent Sudden Oak Death on susceptible oak trees. One third! If we didn't have SOD in Marin County, we'd be saving that much money, labor, and resources on just this one aspect of the disease. That doesn't even take into account the dollars that homeowners and land......
]]> Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:01:54 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1099&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed jalexander@ucdavis.edu(Janice Alexander) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1099 In the late fall through the early spring, hunters can be seen combing the forests, pocket knife and basket at the ready. Their elusive prey? The flavour packed, trumpet shaped, chanterelle mushroom. (photo courtesy of Andres Tarasco) Chanterelles usually show up after a big rainstorm and locally, are most easily found under the leaf litter of mature oak trees. Sometimes all that gives away their location is a little bump in the browning leaves. As mychorrizal fungi they are associated......
]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:34:13 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1082&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1082 Preventative treatments for Sudden Oak Death, and the hard working researchers that discovered them, are prominently featured in the latest edition of California Agriculture. A misty shot of tanoaks, decorated with spring-loaded injectors, filled with Agri-Fos, the phosphonate compound which protects healthy red oaks from the disease, adorns the cover. Researchers from Matteo Garbelotto’s lab are now trying to discover if Agri-Fos can......
]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:08:01 PST http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1069&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed npalkovsky@co.marin.ca.us(Nicole Palkovsky) http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=1069