Economic Analysis Examines Ash Tree Removal, Pesticide Options

The emerald ash borer has imposing Latin designations: Agrilus planipennis (Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Whatever you call it, it?EUR??,,????'?????< Photo: Stephen Ausmus

That nasty little emerald ash borer, an invasive Asian insect first seen in the U.S. in the 1990s, now inhabits 15 states.

Now a new study¹ published in the Journal of Economic Entomology proffers an economic analysis of management options to help decision makers prepare for likely future infestations.

The economic analysis compared a control option (remove dead trees, but do nothing else) with three management scenarios: 1) preemptive removal of all ash trees over a five year period; 2) preemptive removal of all ash trees and replacement with comparable nonash trees; 3) treat all ash trees with insecticides to minimize mortality.

The research found that employing option three (insecticide all ash trees) typically retained greater urban forest value, followed by doing nothing, which was better than preemptive removal and replacement.

Preemptive removal of ash trees without replacing them was the least expensive option, but provided the lowest net urban forest value over the 20-year simulation.

The authors assert communities can minimize a significant loss in the ash canopy in a narrow window of time through the treatment of ash trees, the preemptive replacement (underplanting) of nonash before ash trees die, the removal of the worst condition ash first, and the development of an emerald ash borer management plan in advance.

The full study is available at www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1603/EC11130

^{1. Vannatta, A R, Hauer RH, Schuettpelz NM. Economic Analysis of Emerald Ash Borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) Management Options. Journal of Economic Entomology, Vol. 105, No. 1, Feb. 2012 , pp. 196-206(11).}