Insect in Hemlock Forests Causes Loss of Canopy, Increase in Invasive Plants

According to new research by ecologists at the University of California–Berkeley, canopy loss in eastern hemlock forests as a result of the hemlock woolly adelgid also is setting the stage for the invasion of non-native plants. The canopy decline leads to even greater invasion of non-native plants when combined with a high concentration of the plants’ seeds and white-tailed deer in affected areas.

For more information, visit the University of California–Berkeley website.

Edited from Society of American Foresters E-Forester June 15, 2009.