Hemlock Ecosystems and Hemlock Woolly Adelgid at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Evans RA. Hemlock Ecosystems and Hemlock Woolly Adelgid at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Hardwick, NJ
Hemlock forests continue to decline at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DEWA), and hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae, “HWA”) is the main cause of this decline. However, other stressors – such as the droughts of recent years, and infestations of elongate hemlock scale (another insect pest of hemlock) – accelerate this decline and complicate management efforts. The best available informa tion indicates that about 20% of hemlocks in DEWA are dead, 60% are at various stages of decline, and only about 20% are healthy. Continued decline of hemlock forests in DEWA will bring about major ecosystem transformations and loss of much valued biodiversity, as well as loss of recreational and esthetic resources.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Evans, Richard
- Units
- DEWA
- Keywords
- Ecosystems, Hemlock, HWA, Trees