{"id":2684,"date":"2024-08-16T14:03:52","date_gmt":"2024-08-16T18:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.cals.ncsu.edu\/?p=2684"},"modified":"2024-08-16T14:03:52","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T18:03:52","slug":"urban-forests-steve-frank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.cals.ncsu.edu\/urban-forests-steve-frank\/","title":{"rendered":"Pinpointing Pests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Entomologist Steve Frank<\/a> can relate to undergraduates who are undecided about their career path \u2014 he was once one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI took a job in an entomology lab during my last semester in college and it sort of saved me because I had no plans,\u201d Frank says. \u201cEverything started to fit together. I realized I could work with plants and insects while also helping to solve problems as a scientist and professor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a professor in NC State\u2019s Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology<\/a>, Frank now helps assess the health of trees in urban jungles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The reality is that a lot of trees that provide the services and biodiversity that we interact with are not in forests, but in cities.\u201d
– Steve Frank<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

An active scientist, Frank has garnered more than $10 million in research funding to study why pests are pervasive in city trees, findings he shares with arborists and landscapers as an Extension agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy to say that trees and biodiversity are mostly in national parks or some big protected area,\u201d Frank says. \u201cBut, the reality is that a lot of trees that provide the services and biodiversity that we interact with are not in forests, but in cities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why City Trees are Popular for Pests<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A tree in the city has a tough life. On a summer day, city temperatures tend to run a few degrees warmer than in rural areas thanks to sidewalks and roads that store heat and radiate it back to the environment, known as the urban heat island effect. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Close-up
A close-up view of scale insects.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

But heat isn\u2019t the only factor these city trees endure. Frank\u2019s findings indicate heat attracts unwanted pests, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve found is that temperature is the primary factor driving pest populations on these trees \u2014 and so we\u2019ve then used that information to try and understand and predict the effects of climate change on forest trees,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of Frank\u2019s work has implications close to home. He\u2019s investigated gloomy scale insects on Raleigh\u2019s second most popular tree: the red maple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Scale insects are literal bumps on a log. They don\u2019t have legs. They don\u2019t have eyes. They just live under a little shell and they suck juices from the plant.\u201d
– Steve Frank<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cScale insects are literal bumps on a log,\u201d Frank says. \u201cThey don\u2019t have legs. They don\u2019t have eyes. They just live under a little shell and they suck juices from the plant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using satellite images and data loggers, Frank has compared red maple trees just a few blocks away from one another that differ by a few degrees in temperature. He discovered that an increase of just 2 degrees in temperature increases the gloomy scale population by 300 times.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Frank
Frank inspects a plant for pests.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThey cover the entire bark of the tree and they\u2019re sucking on the resources that the tree needs to grow and survive,\u201d Frank says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scaling Up Scientific Findings <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Frank\u2019s findings have long-term implications for climate change: city trees give scientists a glimpse into how future warmer temperatures could affect forests. At the same time, Frank has used his findings to make recommendations that can prevent unnecessary tree deaths now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve developed thresholds where if there\u2019s a certain amount of impervious surface around a site where you want to plant a tree \u2014 if it exceeds 30% \u2014 then you shouldn\u2019t plant the red maple because it will be too hot and dry,\u201d Frank says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After hearing his guidelines, the City of Raleigh reduced its planting of red maples and diversified to other tree species.<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

After hearing his guidelines, the City of Raleigh reduced its planting of red maples and diversified to other tree species. Frank enjoys working closely with arborists and landscapers across the state to make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Scale
Scale insects on an urban tree. Photo credit: Adam Dale, University of Florida.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re super jazzed to find anything that will help them maximize the number of trees they plant and the number that survive with the least maintenance,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s this collaboration and creative problem-solving that initially drew Frank to academia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a mentor, Frank often helps solve problems of a different kind \u2014 whether helping new faculty navigate unexpected aspects of their job or graduate students become independent scientists. He especially relishes the opportunity to foster undergraduates\u2019 courage to solve problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have got to just try it,\u201d Frank says. \u201cYou\u2019re going to fail sometimes \u2014 a lot of times \u2014 and that\u2019s okay. You try to tackle things as best you can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

All photos by Marc Hall, unless otherwise noted.
Graphics by Patty Mercer.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n