Trees showing symptoms of oak wilt. Credit: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources - FIA, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Bugwood.org, CC BY-NC 3.0 US.
Background
Oak wilt, caused by the fungal pathogen Bretziella fagacearum, is the most destructive oak disease in the Upper Midwest and responsible for large-scale oak death. In Minnesota, maintaining and increasing the amount of oak forests is an important land management priority. To do this, new oaks must be able to grow and take the place of oak trees that die. This is called natural oak regeneration.
Oak wilt and its management creates openings in the forest canopy that increase light and could potentially foster oak regeneration, but prior research suggests that oaks are instead being replaced by shade tolerant species such as red maple and invasive buckthorn. This project seeks to investigate the factors influencing natural oak regeneration after oak wilt has been managed.
Research questions
- Do herbicides effectively control belowground spread of oak wilt?
- What are the impacts of oak wilt management strategies on oak regeneration, environment, and community composition in oak wilt pockets?
- Can planting oaks improve regeneration after oak wilt treatment?
Practical implications
Results from this work will provide recommendations to land managers to support decision-making such as choice of an oak wilt management method, the conditions that foster natural oak regeneration, and the areas on which to focus oak plantings. The project will expand beyond limiting disease transmission to a more holistic examination of oak wilt management.
Findings
This project began in February 2025 and is in progress for the next several years. Please check back at a later time for updates.
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