detect changes in population or distribution of known key pests

detect incursions of exotic pests of quarantine significance

detect outbreaks of indigenous species not previously known as pests

Early detection of a pest problem allows more scope for its management. 

Monitoring provides a ‘snapshot’ of the health of forests and includes both extensive surveys and fixed-plot monitoring. 

Regular FHS provides pest and diseases data for building a reference baseline.

Problems detected in broad-scale surveillance can be investigated by protection specialists to define extent, identify causes and recommend action.

The health or condition of forests must be known to effectively protect, manage and use forest resources. It is important to understand and assess the health risks to plantations being established in new areas to minimise the potential impact of high levels of damage.

Health surveillance allows the detection of unusual pest outbreaks early enough to allow management to limit further losses.

Access to markets for forest products is increasingly dependent upon sustainable forest management, including health checks, that meets certification criteria.

Many forests are vast, remote and infrequently visited so a serious problem could pass unnoticed for a long time without regular surveillance.

If you don’t look, you don’t know what you’ve got. A good example is finding the mahogany shoot borer through FHS in Vanuatu where previously it was not known to occur.

Health surveillance can be used to help management decisions that rely on understanding the condition of the forest. Health surveillance can be used to improve yield estimates and type of products likely to be harvested.