Forest Pathology and Climate Impacts
Summary
Forest pathology examines the causes and consequences of diseases in trees and woody plants, encompassing fungal, bacterial, viral and insect agents. Climate change alters pathogen life cycles, host susceptibility and ecosystem dynamics, often intensifying disease outbreaks through warmer temperatures, altered precipitation regimes and increased frequency of extreme weather events. Such shifts can disrupt carbon sequestration, biodiversity and timber production, and may drive feedbacks between forest health and global climate. Integrated approaches that combine epidemiology, forest ecology and management science are essential to predict emerging threats and to develop strategies that bolster forest resilience. These strategies include selecting resistant genotypes, adjusting silvicultural regimes and monitoring pathogen spread through remote sensing and ground surveys. By understanding the interplay between climate drivers and disease processes, researchers and practitioners can mitigate risks to forest ecosystem services at regional and global scales.
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Forest Pathology and Climate Impacts publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in forest pathology and climate impacts across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Forest resilience: Capacity of a forest to absorb disturbances such as disease or drought while maintaining structure and function.
Inoculum: Material (for example spores or infected tissue) capable of initiating pathogen infection.
Silvicultural system: Planned forest management approach, including thinning, species selection and harvesting methods, designed to meet ecological and economic goals.
Biotrophic pathogen: Organism that derives nutrients from living host tissue without immediately killing cells.
Needle cast: Foliar disease of conifers characterised by premature loss of needles due to fungal infection.
References
- The Effect of Forest Management Options on Forest Resilience to Pathogens. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change (2020).
- Regional patterns of increasing Swiss needle cast impacts on Douglas‐fir growth with warming temperatures. Ecology and Evolution (2017).
- Long-Term Effect of Lophodermium Needle Cast on The Growth of Scots Pine and Implications for Financial Outcomes. Forests (2020).
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