Ken Raffa: Inside the Tree's Natural Defense

Fire regimes help to describe the general characteristics of fires across spatial and temporal spans. Learn about the fire regimes of the Southeast, their needs and lifecycles from professor of forest and fire ecology, Dr. Heather Alexander.

Ever wondered what that orange dusty substance is growing on your pine? Chances are its fusiform rust, a fungal disease that can jump between host trees. Learn the intricacies and genetic impacts on fusiform rust and how to best protect your trees.

Many foresters focus on the health and makeup of their trees but neglect an important component of tree health that can be just as important for growth: soil. Learn about the importance of soil and how to make soil more productive from the research of Valentina Rollemberg Vaney.

A tree's biology can have a huge impact on its resilience to pathogens and pests, growth, reproduction, and profitability. But streamlining genetics to maximize capacity in one of these ideas is difficult as there is still much to learn in the intricacies of many tree's genetic codes. Join Dr. Andrew Sims, a research assistant professor in forest genetics and codirector for the Cooperative Forest Genetics Research Program (CFGRP) at UF, in the discussing the complicated practices of studying tree genetics.

Dr. Jiri Hulcr, forest entomologist and director of Proforest becomes the first guest to appear twice on Podforest! This time, Dr. Jiri Hulcr joins us for "Tales of Indonesia" a look into his international experience studying entomology.

Forest pathology, a long awaited topic of the podcast, finally makes its debut. Dr. Caterina Villari, associate professor of forest pathology at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia, discusses trees, fungi, insects, and diseases!

Learn why determining when a tree dies is so complex as Plant Ecophysiologist Dr. William Hammond joins the Podforest. It's not life or death, but the gray area and causes in-between that is inspiring much of modern research into the topic.

Which came first, the tree or the pest? Dr. Ken Raffa, emeritus professor of forest entomology at UW-Madision, join Podforest to discuss tree resistence to pests and what factors can impact a trees ability to defend itself.

Florida is the US State with the most prescribed burns. Find out why in this episode featuring Wildlife Mitigation Specialist Dr. Ludie Bond.

Artificial intelligence has hit a boom! Join doctoral student Christopher Marais and Dr. Tyler Carney in discussing the applications of new artificial intelligence in forestry. Where can AI make an impact and what should be left to the professionals?