Fwd: UC Berkeley SEEDS and Sudden Oak Death survey

[SEEDS at UC Berkeley]

Hey,

Sorry to send two emails in one day, but here's an opportunity to assist some research! Good for the resume and you overall! I meant to send it out sooner, sorry, but please email Susan at F5cr...@aol.com if you are interested.

-Steph

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Stephanie Panlasigui <srpanl...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 6:42 PM
Subject: Fwd: UC Berkeley SEEDS and Sudden Oak Death survey?
To: ucbs...@gmail.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <F5cr...@aol.com>
Date: Sun, Mar 20, 2011 at 7:26 PM
Subject: Re: UC Berkeley SEEDS and Sudden Oak Death survey?
To: srpanl...@gmail.com

Hi, Stephanie,

Some time ago you were looking for environmental volunteering projects for SEEDS. I wanted to let you know about a project that I think would be both interesting and important -- surveying the hills for hosts of the Sudden Oak Death pathogen April 30 - May 1 (the first weekend of the break between classes and finals). Could you consider (a) volunteering as a group or (b) if that doesn't work for SEEDS, passing on the information for folks who may want to participate?

 

Background on Sudden Oak Death:

You probably know something about Sudden Oak Death, the pathogen that is ravaging coastal California's oaks and tanoaks. So please put up with the following background: The carrier is Phytophthora ramorum, a fungus-like water mold that reached California, probably on nursery stock from Europe, something over 15 years ago. This pathogen has many carriers, native and non-native, but seems to be lethal only to oaks and tanoaks. 

 

P. ramorum seems to attack only large. old oaks. trees. Usually, leaves turn brown and the tree dies within a few months. Some weakened tree are massively invaded by beetles and fungi that normally attack rotten wood; such trees sometimes snap at the base even before the leaves turn brown. A few survive. 

 

The ecological impacts are obvious -- hundreds of native plants and animals depend on oaks. Loss of oaks affects watersheds and water cycling. Fires become more dangerous, as fires can jump between crowns of dead leaves and twigs rather than just smoldering along the ground. And of course, there's loss of beauty and increased risk of damage from falling limbs and trees.

 

The pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum, has been spreading inexorably. (It seems to need both warmth and moisture, and so advance markedly only in years of late spring rain.) Sudden Oak Death is now reasonably common in the East Bay Regional Parks from El Sobrante south of Oakland. P. ramorum also has been found on campus and some paths north of campus.

 

There is no cure, but some things can be done to  slow the spread, and specific trees can be protected by a chemical treatment that must be applied before the tree is infected. Thus, determining the extent of spread is important.

 

Here is how the survey works:

Dr. Matteo Garbelotto (of UCB) has been conducting "bioblitz" surveys to track this. Folks get an hour's training and materials for collecting samples on Saturday -- our session would be 1:30 PM in Mulford Hall on April 30.  They then fan out, collect leaves that look as if they are infected (mainly from bay trees, which seem to be the major carrier to oaks). Samples are returned to a drop box on campus by 5 PM Sunday, May 1.

 

I would envision student volunteers working in teams of 2-4. (It's good to have more than one set of eyes, and to be able to discuss whether a sample looks like the photo of infected material.) Possibly only one member of the team would have to attend the training.

 

I could help with ideas on where to go. I think the campus itself has been pretty well mapped, but there are many areas nearby.

 

If you think some members of SEEDS as a group might like to participate, could you let me know? If not, could you pass on the information below so that members can consider volunteering on their own? Please call if you'd like more information.

 

Susan Schwartz, President

Friends of Five Creeks

510 848 9358

 

Help track – and slow -- Sudden Oak Death, April 30-May 1

Sudden Oak Death, a fungus-like mold that is ravaging coastal California’s beautiful live oaks, is now fairly widespread in regional parks from El Sobrante to Oakland. The disease is carried on many host plants. Its advance is fitful but inexorable, spurred by high winds or  late-spring rains. The pathogen affects large oaks; most infected trees die quickly (hence the name). Sometimes, massive infestations of beetles and fungi that follow the disease cause trees to snap off at the base even before the leaves turn brown.

Loss of our coastal oaks means much more than loss of beauty or property values.  Hundreds of native animal and plant species depend on oaks. Watershed and water cycling would change. Danger of fire and damage from falling limbs and trees would increase.

There is no cure, but some things can be done to slow the spread and protect high-value or high-risk trees -- for example in parks or near homes.  Most of these must be done before an area, or a tree, is infected.

Working with UC Berkeley’s Dr. Matteo Garbelotto (http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/garbelotto/english/index.php)  and community organizations including Berkeley Partners for Parks (www.bpfp.org) , Friends of Five Creeks (www.fivecreeks.org), and Garber Park Stewards (http://garberparkstewards.blogspot.com/)  are seeking volunteers for a “blitz” survey of infected host plants – mainly California bay laurels.

Volunteers can sign up at http://sodblitz.eventzilla.net to:

1. Attend a free one-hour training and get survey materials, 1:30 PM Sat., April 30, on the UC Berkeley campus (easy access by BART and bus). Training also is available at 10 AM April 30 at the Orinda Community Center. Email Contact: Bill Hudson - wl...@ymail.com.

2.  Look for infected leaves at locations of their choice or suggested by organizers. Volunteers return suspect samples to an on-campus drop box by 5 PM Sunday, May 1.

Samples will be laboratory tested. Results will be posted on an online database and Google Earth. A community meeting will discuss results and what can be done.

For more information about the survey, or if your group is interested in surveying a specific park or neighborhood,  please contact f5cr...@aol.com or 510 848 8358. 

If you think you have an infected oak on your property, check out the Garbelotto lab’s free treatment-training sessions (http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/garbelotto/english/index.php). If the April 30-May 1 blitz doesn’t work for you, but you have an I- phone and want to help add to knowledge of this plague,  check out www.oakmapper.org, an I-phone app from another UC Berkeley lab.

For general information on sudden oak death, go to the California Oak Mortality Task Force  web site, www.suddenoakdeath.org.

 

 

 

 

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In a message dated 1/19/2011 4:27:51 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, srpanl...@gmail.com writes:

Dear Friends of Five Creeks,

My name is Stephanie Panlasigui. I am an officer in the UC Berkeley Chapter of SEEDS, which is an education program of the Ecological Society of America. I am currently searching for environmental volunteering opportunities for our group to do, and I remembered the fabulous work that you do! I have volunteered previously with you for weed pulls through other organizations. Could you please put this email address on your list-serv? I would love to hear about upcoming events that we can join, and hopefully we will collaborate in the near future. 

Best regards,

Stephanie Panlasigui

University of California, Berkeley

Environmental Sciences Major | 2011

Publicity Coordinator, Strategies for Ecology, Education, Diversity and Sustainability

(858) 208-9251

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Stephanie Panlasigui

University of California, Berkeley

Environmental Sciences Major | 2011