Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center

U.S. Forest Service - Southern Research Station - Asheville, North Carolina

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Welcome to the Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center!

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What's New

Forest ThreatNet is EFETAC's quarterly newsletter providing the latest information about ongoing research, projects, and partnerships. Read the current issue here.

EFETAC scientists are developing Forecasts of Climate-Associated Shifts in Tree Species (ForeCASTS). Click here to learn more.

Fact sheets describing current EFETAC research and projects are available. Click here to view and print the fact sheets.

TACCIMO has been upgraded and enhanced. Click here to learn more.

A two-volume report, Advances in Threat Assessment and Their Application to Forest and Rangeland Management, is now available. Click here for more information.

EFETAC is headquartered with the Southern Research Station in Asheville, NC. Eastern forests are vulnerable to stresses from insects and disease, wildland loss, invasive species, uncharacteristic fire, and climate change. As new threats emerge and old threats resurface, the Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center (EFETAC) is an interdisciplinary resource that is actively developing new technology and tools to anticipate and respond to emerging eastern forest threats. Center researchers work with other scientists nationally as well as with a variety of Federal, State, and local government agencies, universities, and non-governmental partners to address these threats. More...

Message from the Director...
Dr. Danny C. Lee

Dr. Danny C. Lee, EFETAC Director Welcome to the Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center’s Web site – a resource for cutting edge research, technology, and tools addressing emerging forest threats. Our site is intended to be a user-friendly, reliable, and timely source of information for anyone interested in environmental threats.

EFETAC is addressing a variety of complex issues that demand cross-disciplinary integration, collaboration, and creativity. Our work complements ongoing efforts within and outside the Forest Service and builds on a wealth of existing information. Our scientists collaborate with an extensive national and international research community and focus on research that is relevant to rural and urban forest threat issues. More...

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Featured Forest Threat

Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)

Japanese honeysuckle is native to Japan and Korea. It was introduced into the U.S. in the early to mid-1800s and has been planted for use as an ornamental, erosion control, and a wildlife food source.

What is Japanese honeysuckle? Japanese honeysuckle is a semi-evergreen to evergreen woody perennial vine. It climbs and trails to 80 ft. long, branching and often forming arbors in forest canopies. Short-stalked leaves are opposite, oblong to oval, sometimes lobed, and occur in pairs along the stem. Leaves and stems are sometimes covered with fine hairs. Fragrant flowers appearing from April to August are tubular with 5 fused petals, white to pink, turning yellow with age, and occur in pairs along the stem at leaf junctures. Small glossy fruits, nearly spherical and green ripening to black, are produced in autumn. Each contains 2-3 seeds.

How does it spread? Japanese honeysuckle reproduces both by seed and vegetatively. It is shade tolerant and thrives in a wide variety of habitats including fields, forests, wetlands, barrens, and all types of disturbed lands. Vigorous root competition helps it spread and displace neighboring native vegetation.

Why is Japanese honeysuckle a concern? Shrubs and young trees can be killed by girdling when Japanese honeysuckle vines twist tightly around stems and trunks, cutting off the flow of water through the plant. Dense growths of honeysuckle covering vegetation can gradually kill plants by preventing sunlight from reaching leaves.

Source: U.S. Forest Service Northeastern Area Forest Health Protection

Photo by James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

Visit the Forest Threat Summary Viewer for more information about this and other forest threats.