The Oak Conservation Alliance
A call for community collaboration to protect the forests from "sudden oak death" and
other threatening diseases affecting trees in the oak family.
(This site is still under construction. Expect limited functionality.
Please be patient as we continue to build it.)
About
The oak family (Fagaceae) represents many ecologically, ethnobotanically, and economically valuable species, including the *oaks, chestnuts, and beech. However, multiple pathogenic diseases—such as sudden oak death, oak wilt, and beech bark disease—are threatening their long-term health and conservation. Synergistic, interdisciplinary, and cross-agency collaborations will be required to effectively monitor and plan for these threats. To this end, we are organizing the Oak Conservation Alliance and are seeking allies from research and academic institutions, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, private sectors, citizen scientists, and other groups to help in the process. Forming this alliance will help provide a stronger framework for collaboration, education outreach, and funding opportunities.
Community forum discussions have been held, representing stakeholders from various backgrounds that have provided valuable insights to address concerns. Monitoring and educational methods will include the use of mapping technologies, remote sensing, tissue sampling, community scientist applications, various online platforms/tools, and landscape ethnoecology/ethnobotany studies. Collaborative efforts in prevention, early detection, and planning will be key to success. The resulting data will be funneled into databases for use in future research (including spatial analyses, risk assessments, ecological impact studies, and sociocultural implication analyses and reports) to help study and preserve our valuable ecosystems and heritage.
*This family (Fagaceae) is commonly referred to as the beech family, however, we unorthodoxly refer to it as the "oak family" since oak species outnumber the others in the family and our focus is therefore more balanced towards the trees in the oak genus, thus it is called the "Oak Conservation Alliance" even though we also may cover beech and chestnut. Similarly, and for simplicity, when we refer to "oaks", we may be including other trees in the "oak family", not only those in the oak genus (i.e. chestnuts and beeches).
Sing for the Oak Tree,
The monarch of the wood;
Sing for the Oak Tree,
That groweth green and good;
That groweth broad and branching
Within the forest shade;
That groweth now, and yet shall grow
When we are lowly laid!
– Mary Howitt –
The Oak Tree
Hoarsely to the midnight moon
Voiced the oak his rugged rune:
"Harken, sibyl Moon, to me;
Hear the saga of the Tree."
– William Henry Venable–
Saga of the Oak
Become an Ally
Synergistic, interdisciplinary, and cross-agency collaborations will be required to effectively monitor and plan for the threats facing trees in the oak family (Fagaceae). The Oak Conservation Alliance is seeking allies from research and academic institutions, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, private sectors, citizen scientists, and other groups to help in the process. Forming this alliance will help provide a stronger framework for collaboration, education outreach, and funding opportunities. Community forum discussions have been held, representing stakeholders from various backgrounds that have provided valuable insights to address concerns. Monitoring and educational methods will include the use of mapping technologies, remote sensing, tissue sampling, community scientist applications, various online platforms/tools, and landscape ethnoecology/ethnobotany studies. Collaborative efforts in prevention, early detection, and planning will be key to success. The resulting data will be funneled into databases for use in future research (including spatial analyses, risk assessments, ecological impact studies, and sociocultural implication analyses and reports) to help study and preserve our valuable ecosystems and heritage.
We are just getting started! Help us build the foundation for the OCA. There are many ways you can help. Sign up below to receive updates and/or email rdh5b@uvawise.edu.
