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Report a tree with SOD

Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus), and California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) are dying in large numbers in central coastal California due to a disease Sudden Oak Death (SOD) which is caused by a fungus-like pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. The pathogen affects many other tree and shrub species, including rhododendron species, California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica), huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum), and California buckeye (Aesculus californica). As of March 2006, SOD has been confirmed by laboratory isolation in fourteen counties, and reported in many others. The California Oak Mortality Task Force (COMTF) has developed a strategy for monitoring Sudden Oak Death that includes risk assessment and mapping, remote sensing, aerial survey, ground-based survey, and local sampling. As part of this monitoring strategy, the University of California’s Geospatial Imaging and Informatics Facility (GIIF) maintains the OakMapper webGIS application which allows users to learn about SOD distribution in California. The tool is useful for any stakeholder interested in Sudden Oak Death, including researchers, regulators, and the general public.

With the OakMapper, you can:

• View current distribution of SOD throughout California. Zoom, view, and search monitoring data for both confirmed and reported SOD in California. Enter your street address and find SOD near you.

• Perform geographic queries. Data can be viewed and spatially queried by address, county, zip code and congressional district. Seek out the location in which you are interested by using tools and interacting with the map.

• Create a custom map. Choose which layers you want to show, and then click 'Print!' You can export the map to save it on your computer or send it to your printer to have a paper copy of your custom map.

• Log, report, and record occurrences of trees with possible SOD. If you discover a tree with SOD symptoms, contact your County's Agricultural Commissioner's Office or the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Office. In addition, submit the symptomatic tree directly to the OakMapper database. The OakMapper uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to allow submission of the location and condition of trees with symptoms of SOD.

• Find education material on SOD. Download information sheets, pest alerts, and other educational material about SOD, including symptoms, host species, and monitoring updates. Also, find contact information for your County's Ag. Comm. Office and UCCE Office.

For more information:

• General information about SOD, including county contacts for SOD: http://www.suddenoakdeath.org/

• SOD monitoring committees updates, including up-to-date SOD maps and data: http://kellylab.berkeley.edu/SODmonitoring/

• OakMapper webGIS application: http://kellylab.berkeley.edu/OakMapper/