Chapter 4The Emerald<strong>Ash</strong> BorerGLOSSARYphloem: A layer of cells justinside the bark of plants thatconducts food from the leavesto the stem and roots.Manage ash trees to keepEAB populations lowEmerald ash borer is considered aphloem-feeding insect. Phloem tissue isbasically the inner bark in trees. A singlelarge tree will have much more phloemtissue than a small tree simply becauseof its greater bark surface area. We canestimate how much phloem tissue isavailable on any given acre by countingthe number of ash trees and their size.The amount of phloem available willdictate how many emerald ash boreroffspring could be produced in any givenarea. The concept is actually quite simple,the more food that is available <strong>for</strong> emeraldash borer larvae, the greater the numberof offspring that can be produced.<strong>Ash</strong> phloem reduction is an attemptto reduce the amount of food availableto EAB. A lack of food could limit howquickly an EAB population expands.Phloem reduction is generally recommendednear locations where EABis newly introduced and would generallybe considered an EAB managementstrategy not necessarily an ash manage-SurveyRecommendation<strong>Ash</strong> phloem reduction strategy ismeant <strong>for</strong> EAB management not ashmanagement, but it could be consideredwhen managing these stands asone of many considerations.ment strategy. Many stands in the wet<strong>for</strong>est and floodplain <strong>for</strong>est types havelarge amounts of ash and there<strong>for</strong>e largeamounts of ash phloem. This makesthem highly vulnerable to EAB once theinsect does arrive in the area.There<strong>for</strong>e, some professionals suggestthat <strong>for</strong>est management in these areasmight include some level of ash removaland replacement with other site appropriatespecies as a stand management tacticthat could also accomplish long termphloem reduction on those sites.Emerald ash borerlocations in Midwestand eastern states.Key:Red dots =positive <strong>for</strong> EABBlue outlines =federal quarantinearea28
Chapter 5The Native PlantCommunitiesThe Minnesota Department ofNatural Resources and the U.S.<strong>Forest</strong> Service have developeda system of classifying areas of land thatdisplay similar ecological features. Thesystem helps land managers and researchersidentify, describe, and map a unit ofland that has uni<strong>for</strong>m ecological features.The system uses associations ofbiotic and environmental factors, <strong>for</strong>instance: climate, geology, topography,soils, hydrology, and vegetation to comeup with ecological patterns <strong>for</strong> areas aslarge as North America or as small as asingle timber stand.Following are descriptions of the fivesystems in which ash in Minnesota willoccur. A more common term <strong>for</strong> theseecological systems is ‘native plant community.’We will use the term “nativeplant community” in this guide, insteadof ecological classification system. Readon <strong>for</strong> a more in-depth description of anative plant community.What is a native plant community?The purpose of this classification isto help land managers make decisionsand understand how native ecosystemsfunction. Nearly all land managementactivities affect vegetation and the nativevegetation provides important clues asto the potential that land has to providetimber, wildlife habitat, and recreationalopportunities. Equally important, theNative Plant Community (NPC) classificationtells land managers about criticalhabitats that Minnesota’s rarest plantsIdentifying Your Native Plant CommunityThere are many kinds of vegetated areas that are not native plantcommunities. These include places where native species have largelybeen replaced by exotic or invasive species such as smooth bromegrass, buckthorn, and purple loosestrife. Also, planted areas suchas orchards, pine plantations, golf courses, and lawns arenot native plant communities.Areas not considered to be native plant communities includeareas where modern human activities such as farming, overgrazing,non-sustainable logging, and development have destroyed orgreatly altered the vegetation.GLOSSARYbiotic: Pertaining to livingorganisms and their ecologicaland physiological relations.hydrology: The study of themovement, distribution, andquality of water on Earth andother planets, including thehydrologic cycle, waterresources and environmentalwatershed sustainability.native plant community: A nativeplant community is a groupof native plants that interactwith each other and with theirenvironment in ways not greatlyaltered by modern human activityor by introduced organisms.These groups of native plantspecies <strong>for</strong>m recognizable units,such as oak savannas, pine<strong>for</strong>ests, or marshes that tendto repeat over space and time.Native plant communities areclassified and described by consideringvegetation, hydrology,land<strong>for</strong>ms, soils, and naturaldisturbance regimes.Photo by Muffet29