Forest Health and Biotechnology

217 Pages·2017·7.69 MB·English

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Forest Health and Biotechnology: Possibilities and
Considerations (2019)
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ISBN 978-0-309-48288-2 | DOI 10.17226/25221
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GET THIS BOOK Committee on the Potential for Biotechnology to Address Forest Health; Board on
Agriculture and Natural Resources; Division on Earth and Life Studies; National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Forest Health and Biotechnology: Possibilities and Considerations
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Forest Health and Biotechnology:
Possibilities and Considerations

Committee on the Potential for Biotechnology to Address Forest Health

Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources

Division on Earth and Life Studies

A Consensus Study Report of

Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Forest Health and Biotechnology: Possibilities and Considerations
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

This study was supported by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (Grant Agreement
E17-49); the Agricultural Research Service (Agreement No. 59-0790-7-0018); the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (Agreement No. 16-2000-0094-GR), the National Institute of Food and Agriculture
(Agreement No. 2017-38832-26613), and the U.S. Forest Service (Agreement No. 16-DG-11132650-299)
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Contract No.
EP-C-14-005). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do
not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-XXXXX-X
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-XXXXX-X
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25221

Additional copies of this publication are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street,
NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; [phone] or [phone]; http://www.nap.edu.

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Suggested Citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Forest Health and
Biotechnology: Possibilities and Considerations. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi:
https://doi.org/10.17226/25221.

Prepublication Copy
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Forest Health and Biotechnology: Possibilities and Considerations

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress,
signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the
nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers
for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the
National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the na-
tion. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering.
Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president.

The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established
in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on
medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contri-
butions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.

The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineer-
ing, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation
and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy deci-
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science, engineering, and medicine.

Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at
www.nationalacademies.org.

Prepublication Copy
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Forest Health and Biotechnology: Possibilities and Considerations

Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineer-
ing, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of
task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclu-
sions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the
committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independ-
ent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on
the statement of task.

Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medi-
cine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other
event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in
proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants,
the planning committee, or the National Academies.

For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please
visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.

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Forest Health and Biotechnology: Possibilities and Considerations
COMMITTEE ON THE POTENTIAL FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY
TO ADDRESS FOREST HEALTH

Chair

SUSAN E. OFFUTT, U.S. Government Accountability Office (retired), Oakland, MD

Members

VIKRAM E. CHHATRE, University of Wyoming, Laramie
JASON A. DELBORNE, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
STEPHEN DIFAZIO, West Virginia University, Morgantown
DORIA R. GORDON, Environmental Defense Fund, Washington, DC
INÉS IBÁÑEZ, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
GREGORY JAFFE, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington, DC
MARK D. NEEDHAM, Oregon State University, Corvallis
CLARE PALMER, Texas A&M University, College Station
JEANNE ROMERO-SEVERSON, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
RONALD R. SEDEROFF (NAS), North Carolina State University, Raleigh
DIANA L. SIX, University of Montana, Missoula
RICHARD A. SNIEZKO, U.S. Forest Service, Cottage Grove, OR

Staff

KARA N. LANEY, Study Director
JENNA BRISCOE, Research Assistant

Prepublication Copy v
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Forest Health and Biotechnology: Possibilities and Considerations
BOARD ON AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Chair

CHARLES W. RICE, Kansas State University, Manhattan

Members

SHANE C. BURGESS, University of Arizona, Tucson
SUSAN CAPALBO, Oregon State University, Corvallis
GAIL CZARNECKI-MAULDEN, Nestlé Purina PetCare, St. Louis, MO
GEBISA EJETA, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
JAMES S. FAMIGLIETTI, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
FRED GOULD (NAS), North Carolina State University, Raleigh
DOUGLAS B. JACKSON-SMITH, The Ohio State University, Wooster
JAMES W. JONES (NAE), University of Florida, Gainesville
STEPHEN S. KELLEY, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
JAN E. LEACH, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
JILL J. MCCLUSKEY, Washington State University, Richland
KAREN I. PLAUT, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
JIM E. RIVIERE (NAM), Kansas State University, Manhattan

Staff

ROBIN A. SCHOEN, Director
CAMILLA YANDOC ABLES, Senior Program Officer
JENNA BRISCOE, Research Assistant
KARA N. LANEY, Senior Program Officer
PEGGY TSAI YIH, Senior Program Officer

vi Prepublication Copy
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Forest Health and Biotechnology: Possibilities and Considerations
Preface

Nearly one-third of the United States is covered by forests, accounting for more than one million
square miles, an area exceeded only in Canada, Brazil, and Russia. These forest ecosystems play vital roles
in carbon storage, nutrient cycling, and air and water purification, as well as in supplying habitat for wild-
life. Forests hold historical, cultural, and social significance for Americans and are sources of both food
and fiber. Today, these valued resources are endangered as never before. Global commerce has hastened
the introduction of nonnative, invasive tree pests and diseases, and those native to the country are becoming
more virulent due to external drivers such as climate change. The loss of a tree species can have cascading
adverse effects on the forest ecosystem and on the range of services it provides and the values it represents
to human populations.
Against this backdrop, a consortium of federal agencies asked the National Academies of Science,
Engineering, and Medicine to consider the potential for the use of biotechnology to mitigate these threats
to the health of the nation’s forests. Accordingly, our committee took up the tasks of assessing the ecolog-
ical, economic, and social implications of deployment of a genetically modified tree and of identifying the
knowledge needed to evaluate the ways such a tree might affect the prospects for forest health. The circum-
stances of introduction of a long-lived biotech tree into a forest ecosystem would be novel compared with
the use of the technology in industrial plantations or, indeed, in annual agricultural crops. The release of a
tree developed to be resistant to a pest or disease would be intended to promote its survival and proliferation
in a natural forest setting.
The committee’s members represent an unusually wide range of disciplines, from genetics to ecology
and from the law to social science and philosophy. The group embraced the holistic view set out in its
charge and probed the biophysical and the cultural and social impacts that might arise from the introduction
of a biotech tree. Contemplating the rapidly evolving science and emerging public views relevant to the use
of biotechnology in forest trees, the committee found itself surveying a frontier of possibilities for different
kinds of trees and ecosystems. The release of a biotech tree has no direct precedent, and so the committee
listened to a range of voices in the scientific community and in civil society as they speculated on the likely
implications of an introduction. Unease about the advisability of the use of biotechnology in the environ-
ment will continue to be a factor in public dialogue as biotech trees are considered further. As might be
imagined, the committee’s discussions have been lively as we have tried to accommodate a diversity of
perspectives, anticipate key information needs, and chart the way forward for researchers, government sci-
entific and regulatory officials, and society at large.
None of the work the committee has done would have been possible without the stalwart support of
Kara Laney, study director, and Jenna Briscoe, research assistant, of the Board on Agriculture and Natural
Resources. Kara has been a gracious and steadying presence as we have tried to meld our disparate thoughts
into a cohesive narrative. In our meetings, Jenna was a wizard when it came to listening to our fragmented
discussion and transforming it instantly into text that we could see and use to move deliberations forward.
All of the members of our committee have invested significant time and energy in meeting the challenge of
our task, and I am grateful for their dedication. I have learned much from their expertise and their wisdom,
and I am the better for it. Finally, thanks go to those who reviewed our draft report and provided comments
and advice that have made it a better product for our sponsors and for the public concerned with the future
of America’s forests.

Susan E. Offutt, Chair
Committee on the Potential for Biotechnology
to Address Forest Health
Prepublication Copy vii
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Forest Health and Biotechnology: Possibilities and Considerations
Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Forest Health and Biotechnology: Possibilities and Considerations

Acknowledgments

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse per-
spectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical
comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each
published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality,
objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript
remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Sally N. Aitken, University of British Columbia
Ann M. Bartuska, Resources for the Future
Steven P. Bradbury, Iowa State University
Joseph P. Brewer II, University of Kansas
John E. Carlson, The Pennsylvania State University
Melissa M. Goldstein, The George Washington University
Shannon M. Hagerman, University of British Columbia
Lynn A. Maguire, Duke University
Louis Pitelka, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Ronald Sandler, Northeastern University
Roger R. Schmidt, IBM Corporation
Kathleen Segerson, University of Connecticut
Daniel Simberloff, University of Tennessee

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they
were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft
before its release. The review of this report was overseen by May R. Berenbaum, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign. She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report
was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments
were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee
and the National Academies.

Prepublication Copy ix
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