TGI is made possible by support from the U.S. Forest Service

Tree Genes Initiative

TGI Endeavors to Accelerate Stress-Adapted Trees

TreeGenes

Initiative

1. Why we need stress-adapted trees

2. TGI overview

3. 8 gaps & initial recommendations

4. Expected outcome

5. How you can help

Some of our Forests are Under Threat

Changing climates - ~5 KM/yr ecoregion shift >>> ½ KM/yr tree natural migration rate

- Warmer winters allowing native and invasive pests to thrive

Pests- More travel, more shipping, more invasives

- 10,400,000 forest acres damaged in 2014

Fragmentation- 232,000,000 HA lost to houses, roads, malls, etc. by 2050

- 13,000,000 HA converted to agriculture and grazing per year

The scale, risk, & cost of inaction is MASSIVEUSFS FHTET National Insect & Disease Risk Map 2013-2027

Prediction: More Demands on Forests

Forest2Market

Union of Concerned Scientists report: Planting for the Future

TGI – Accelerating Stress-Adapted Trees

TGI is a consortium engaged in the research, growth, deployment, and management of stress-adapted trees.

What are stress-adapted trees?- Trees bred with greater resistance to pests, diseases, drought,

salinity, moisture, and temperature extremes

What is TGI Doing?- Bringing experts together- Identifying gaps- Making recommendations- Communicating results

Isn’t this being done?- No. Efforts are fragmented.

TGI Provides a unified voice

Mountain pine beetle damageDezene Huber, Univ. Northern British Columbia

TGI Structure

All points along the Research Growth Stewardship chain

Chairs: Adam Costanza and Keith Woeste (USFS)

Steering Committee: Jean Bosquet, Barry Goldfarb, Gary Peter, Glenn Howe

Consortium: 50+, see current list at treegenes.org

Upstream Research Midstream Growth Downstream Use

Funding agencies Land owners Timber management companies

Forest biotechnologists Forest growers Forest products companies

Tree breeders Forest managers Federal land management agencies

TreeGenes.org

2015 TGI Report:8 Gaps & Initial Recommendations

3 high-level areas identified- Innovation (a.k.a research)- Policies- Markets

8 Specific gaps - Including examples for context- Initial, high-level recommendations

to ameliorate gaps

Innovation

Innovation gaps in forest genetics, pathology, genomics, and physiology:

1. Genomics: Increase support of ongoing efforts to improve translational genomics*

2. Tree Breeding: Put resources toward restarting or increasing the capacities of tree breeding programs

Southern pine co-ops have lost more than ½ of their full members since peaking in mid 1980s

Policy

Policy gaps from miscommunication or a lack of process to regularly update policies based on current scientific information:

3. Communication: Improve communication within the scientific community and to policy makers

4. Certification: Accelerate incorporation of scientific advances into SFM policies

5. Regulation: Develop actionable, risk-based analysis that better matches forest threat levels

EAB management cost to US taxpayers is estimated at $10,000,000,000 - $18,000,000,000

Market

Market gaps constrain uptake of valuable technologies:

6. Information Generation and Uptake: Better translation and communication of science to forest landowners, industry, growers, and the public

7. Forest Regeneration: Have a regeneration strategy that includes stress-adapted trees

8. Fiber Security: Invest in improved trees to enhance fiber security through increased wood supply

Stress-adapted trees could allow for decreasing rotation times to help limit risks associated with changing climates and increased pest pressure

TGI 2016

More detailed recommendations- Develop in depth recommendations for 2-3 gaps- Highlight ongoing efforts working to bridge gaps

Retrospective look- Reassess gaps & any progress from prior year- Add new gaps as necessary

New Steering Committee- Fast rotation ensures fresh perspectives

Expand TGI reach and support

GM Chestnut tree grown by Scott Merkle at University of Georgia

Expected Outcome

1. Get more stress adapted trees growing

Communicate expert’s recommendations to guide future research & investment

Provide expert and insider reviews of gaps

Get high-level decision maker’s attention

Be a credible voice for change

Top 5 Ways You CanHelp TGI

5. Join the TGI

4. Work to fill the gaps identified by TGI

3. Tell colleagues about the need and this effort

2. Tell your congressperson that stress- adapted trees are important to our nation

1. Sign the TGI Support Letter

TreeGenes.org/support

Stay Engaged!

Learn more about stress adapted trees, and how you can help at treegenes.org

Feel free to contact TGI Staff, Adam Costanza and Susan McCord directly

Adam Costanza Susan McCordPresident Executive Director

adam.costanza@forestbiotech.org susan.mccord@forestbiotech.org