Impact of Austropuccinia psidii (myrtle rust) on Myrtaceae-rich wet sclerophyll forests in south east Queensland.

ABSTRACT: In April 2010, Austropuccinia psidii (formerly Puccinia psidii) was detected for the first time in Australia on the central coast of New South Wales. The fungus spread rapidly along the east coast and can now be found infecting vegetation in a range of native forest ecosystems with disease impacts ranging from minor leaf spots to severe shoot and stem blight and tree dieback. Localised extinction of some plant species has been recorded. In 2014, the impact of A. psidii was observed for the first time in a wet sclerophyll site with a rainforest understory, dominated by species of Myrtaceae, in Tallebudgera Valley, south east Queensland, Australia. This study aimed to determine the impact of A. psidii on individual species and species composition. Here we provide quantitative and qualitative

SUBMITTER: Pegg G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5697815 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature