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- Title
THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOUNDATION'S SCIENTIFIC APPROACH: ALABAMA SCIENTISTS AND ACTIVISTS HELPING TO REHABILITATE.
- Authors
Heckert, Betsy
- Abstract
Before a fungal blight ((Cryphonectria parasitica)) effectively wiped out the American chestnut tree population in the eastern United States, there once were nutrient-rich American chestnut (Castanea dentata) trees supporting communities through food and industry, blanketing the landscape with all the prominence of large trees with broad crowns. After 1904, however, the forestry economy and landscape were severely altered, towns and communities were devastated, and we were left with the only stumps growing at the base of long dead American chestnut trees. The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) and its state chapters are seeking to restore this once lost species. Utilizing breeding methods per region and engaging a grassroots volunteer base directed by professional scientists, TACF is rehabilitating the American chestnut population one generation, one orchard, and one tree at a time. Alabama's own state chapter scientists and volunteers have successfully developed and managed area-specific breeding orchards for more than two decades, and recently implemented a strategic community engagement campaign, focused on advancing TACF's goals through its own resources.
- Subjects
BLIGHT diseases (Botany); CRYPHONECTRIA parasitica; AMERICAN chestnut; CHESTNUT blight; CHESTNUT diseases &; pests; AMERICAN Chestnut Foundation (Organization); DISEASES
- Publication
Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, 2015, Vol 86, Issue 3/4, p222
- ISSN
0002-4112
- Publication type
Article