Letitia (Letty) B. Brown
PhD Candidate. Ecosystem Sciences Division. ESPM.(anticipated Spr 2007)
MS. Range Management. ESPM; UC Berkeley. 2003.
BS. General Biology. UC San Diego. 1998.Project Description:
Over the past century, a number of tree diseases have had major impacts on forested ecosystems around the world. Classic examples in the US include chestnut blight, dutch elm disease, and white pine blister rust. These diseases are occuring with increasing regularity as globalization enhances the opportunity for novel plant-pathogen combinations.
One of the most recent examples of an emerging forest disease is “sudden oak death” (SOD). Currently confined to several counties in central and northern coastal California and a small area in Oregon, the disease has the potential to become more widespread. The disease is still in the early stages of scientific research: symptoms associated w/SOD were first seen in 1995 and the causal agent, Phytophthora ramorum, was isolated in December 2000. Little is known about the potential short and long term impacts of SOD on forest structure and composition. This study began in 2002 to evaluate the effects of the disease on mixed evergreen, coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia)- bay laurel (Umbellularia californica) forest communities over a gradient of SOD infection.Funding:
This research has been made possible by the USDA-Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station and the California Native Plant Society.Teaching experience (as a Graduate Instructor):
EPS 120: Analysis of Environmental Data (Professor James
Kirchner/Dr. Mark Spencer)
ESPM 11: Americans and the Global Forest (Professor Sally Fairfax)
ESPM 10: Environmental Issues (Professor Steve Welter)
Additional links:
Berkeley Science Review: UC Berkeley’s popular science journal, written, edited, executed by graduate students.
Sudden Oak Death
Organization for Tropical Studies