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Economic and Social Consequences of Invasions of Tree Pests and Pathogens in St. Petersburg

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Abstract

An economic assessment of the damage caused to the plantings in St. Petersburg by invasive species of tree pests and pathogens is presented. Introduction of elm beetles Scolytus multistriatus (Marsham), S. scolytus (Fabricius), and S. pygmaeus (Fabricius) and concomitant spread of Dutch elm disease caused by Ophiostoma ulmi (Buisman) Nannfeldt and O. novo-ulmi (Brasier) (Ascomycota: Ophiostomataceae) led to the death of at least 37 000 elms in the urban area from 2001 to 2020. The total damage exceeded 50 billion rubles. The mass cutting of elms caused a significant public concern. Plantations of common use, especially historical parks, lost the most important landscape compositions, in which elms played a key role. Monetary losses from the introduction and spread of the Emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis for 2 years (2020–2022) reached 50 million rubles. Detection of infested trees and their timely felling was effective. However, not all infested trees were spotted and removed, in connection with which the reproduction of the pest continued. It is necessary to take urgent measures to prevent the further spread of the Emerald ash borer and other invasive pests and pathogens in St. Petersburg and adjacent territories.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 21-16-00065, https://rscf.ru/project/21-16-00065/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. St. Petersburg State Forest Technical University, 194021, St. Petersburg, Russia

    A. V. Selikhovkin, M. Yu. Nekhaeva & I. A. Melnichuk

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  1. A. V. Selikhovkin
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  2. M. Yu. Nekhaeva
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  3. I. A. Melnichuk
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Correspondence to A. V. Selikhovkin.

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Conflict of interest. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.Statement of the welfare of humans or animals. The article does not contain any studies involving humans or animals in experiments performed by any of the authors.

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Translated by M. Shulskaya

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Selikhovkin, A.V., Nekhaeva, M.Y. & Melnichuk, I.A. Economic and Social Consequences of Invasions of Tree Pests and Pathogens in St. Petersburg. Russ J Biol Invasions 14, 398–404 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2075111723030165

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