Virginia Department
of Forestry

What is Forest Health?

Forest health is involved in every aspect of forest management. This includes the establishment of appropriate, healthy trees on productive sites; proper forest management practices that favor vigorous growth of the best trees; reduction of losses to insect and diseases; and well planned, careful harvesting that protects standing trees from injury and protects streamside forests. Weather events, non-native plants, insects, and diseases also compromise the health of forests and can disrupt forest processes. The DOF Forest Health program focuses primarily on four actions:

• Monitoring and surveying Virginia for forest health disturbances
• Utilizing many pest control methods (integrated pest management)
• Technical assistance to landowners
• Resource assessment, Geographic Information Systems (maps), and data management

• Help with sick trees
• Insects and diseases
• Invasive plants in Virginia
• Quarantines in Virginia
• Financial assistance programs for forest health

Additional Resources

Learn more about many forest health disturbances in the Southeastern U.S. at the Southern Research Extension Forestry Forest Health Website.

Select CategoryForest Health  – Financial AssistanceSelect CategorySelect TagAgency Servicesash removalCallery PearCallery Pear ExchangeClimateCost-Share ProgramsDiminished SpeciesDiseasesEmerald Ash BorerEmerald Ash Borer Treatment ProgramFirewoodForest Health ImpactsForest PlanningForestry TopicsGrant ProgramsHemlock Woolly AdelgidHemlock Woolly Adelgid Treatment Cost-Share ProgramInsect and Disease IDInsectsInvasive SpeciesInvasive Species ControlInvasive Species IdentificationLand PlanningLandowner AssistanceLandowner ResourcesLaurel WiltLogger Pine First Commercial Thinning ProgramLongleaf PineLongleaf Pine Restoration ProgramOakOak DeclinePine ManagementPre-Commercial Thinning ProgramSeedling NurseriesSouthern Pine BeetleSpanishSpecies RestorationSpongy MothSpotted LanternflySupplementThrowing Shade VA ProgramTimber HarvestingTree HealthTree-of-HeavenWater Quality LawsWater Quality ProtectionSelect TagSelect Content TypeDocumentFormPublicationResourceStoryMapVideoSelect Content Type

Reset

Search:

Image	Title	ID	Description	Content Type	View
	A Management Guide for Invasive Plants in Southern Forests	SRS-131	Invasions of nonnative plants into forests of the Southern United States continue to spread and include new species, increasingly eroding forest productivity, hindering forest use and management activities, and degrading diversity and wildlife habitat. This book provides the latest information on how to organize and enact prevention programs, build strategies, implement integrated procedures for management, and proceed towards site rehabilitation and restoration. Effective control prescriptions are provided for 56 nonnative plants and groups currently invading the forests of the 13 Southern States. A companion book, “A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests,” (Miller and others 2010) includes information and images for accurate identification of these invasive plants.	Publication	View
	A Year in Forest Health – Calendar		One-page calendar identifies what forest health issues or occurrences are happening each month throughout the year. Learn what to look for each month.	Document	View
	Ailanthus Control Methods – Removing Tree-of-Heaven	FT0055	Forestry topic information sheet provides information about the invasive species Ailanthus and possible methods for removing or controlling Ailanthus, including manual as well as chemical methods such as foliar spray, stem injection or basal spray.	Publication	View
	Ash Removal and Replacement Cost-Share Program Application	17.06		Form	View
	Ash Removal and Replacement Cost-Share Program Application Optional Supplement	17.06-S		Form	View

Show 5102550100All5 per page

88 resource library

Previous12345…18Next

GIS Data Resources

DOF has made available various GIS data sets related to forest health (GIS software required.)

GIS Data Set

Contact Us

For more information or questions, e-mail us or use our contact form.