Sudden Oak Death

Utilization of Sudden Oak Death Diseased Wood

Phytophthora ramorum or Sudden Oak Death is a serious problem for California's coastal counties where over a million native oak and tanoak have been killed by the disease

The primary objective of this program is to evaluate the utilization potential of host tree species, identify the best and most appropriate uses, and develop protocols for handling Phytophthora ramorum infected materials.

Work included a project identifying the products that can be safely made from the wood of trees killed by sudden oak death (SOD).

Products produced included high quality flooring and firewood. Project reports and information are available below.

Sudden Oak Death Project Information

Documents from the SOD Utilization project

Title	Content	Type	Date Added
Tanoak Manufacturing Process	A slideshow of the process of tanoak production, shown at The Fifth Sudden Oak Death Science Symposium in Petaluma, CA from June 19-22.	PPSX	7/6/12
Tanoak Utilization Powerpoint	The powerpoint by John Shelly and Steve Quarles presented at The Fifth Sudden Oak Death Science Symposium, held in Petaluma, CA from June 19-22	PDF	7/6/12
Heat Treatment of SOD Infected Wood	"Preliminary observations of heat treatment to control Phytophthora ramorum in infected wood species" presented at Sudden Oak Death Science Symposium III. March 5-9, 2007, Santa Rosa, CA	PDF	7/17/08
Evaluating the survival of Phytophthora ramorum in Firewood	In this follow-up project we specifically analyzed the survival of Phytophthora ramorum in firewood as it was thoroughly air-dried (seasoning) to a final moisture content of 15% MC. The aim was to evaluate the risk of spreading SOD through the distribution of firewood and fuel wood.	PDF	7/17/08
Final Report	Removal and Utilization of High Risk Sudden Oak Death Host Material Final Report September 30, 2005	PDF	7/17/08

Tanoak

Tanoak logs

Milling tanoak on a Lucas Mill

More Information

California Oak mortality Task force: http://www.suddenoakdeath.org