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Updated: Mar 24, 2026

Simulating Impacts of Ice Storms on Forest Ecosystems
Published on: June 30, 2020
Forest health conditions in North America
Borys Tkacz1, Ben Moody, Jaime Villa Castillo
1USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Protection, RPC7-FHP, Arlington, VA 22209, USA. btkacz@fs.fed.us
Abstract:
Some of the greatest forest health impacts in North America are caused by invasive forest insects and pathogens (e.g., emerald ash borer and sudden oak death in the US), by severe outbreaks of native pests (e.g., mountain pine beetle in Canada), and fires exacerbated by changing climate. Ozone and N and S pollutants continue to impact the health of forests in several regions of North America. Long-term monitoring of forest health indicators has facilitated the assessment of forest health and sustainability in North America. By linking a nationwide network of forest health plots with the more extensive forest inventory, forest health experts in the US have evaluated current trends for major forest health indicators and developed assessments of future risks. Canada and Mexico currently lack nationwide networks of forest health plots. Development and expansion of these networks is critical to effective assessment of future forest health impacts.
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