为什么买本地柴火很重要

为什么买本地柴火很重要

As you stock up on firewood for chilly winter days, do you pay much attention to where the wood comes from?

当你为寒冷的冬天储备柴火时，你是否注意过柴火的来源?

Before you buy firewood, ask where it came from. (Photo: PurpleHousePhotos/Shutterstock)

Firewood can be a pathway for invasive insects and diseases. So if it's transported far away from where the original tree once grew, it can spread those pests and pathogens to new locations.

柴火可以成为昆虫和疾病入侵的途径。因此，如果它被转移到远离原来树木生长的地方，就会把这些害虫和病原体传播到新的地方。

Native forest ecosystems have complex checks and balances that combat native insect populations and plant diseases. Imported bugs are often resistant to these natural controls, causing greater harm than native pests. And the destructive insects and diseases often hitch a ride on firewood, speeding the spread of the devastation.

原生森林生态系统具有复杂的制衡机制，可以对抗原生昆虫种群和植物病害。进口昆虫通常对这些自然控制措施有抵抗力，造成的危害比本土害虫更大。毁灭性的昆虫和疾病经常搭上柴火，加速了灾难的蔓延。

The emerald ash borer flies further on its own that most beetles, says Greenwood, but still moves just two or three miles a year.

Greenwood说，与大多数甲虫相比，祖母绿灰螟飞得更远，但每年仍然只能移动两三英里。

The importance of staying local

保持本地化的重要性

Look for firewood that has state or USDA certification. (Photo: Don't Move Firewood)

If you're camping and are allowed to collect wood locally, that's an ideal situation since you know your source. If you're buying wood for home use, ask the seller if he's the one who collected it and where it came from, Greenwood suggests.

如果你在露营，并且被允许在当地收集木材，这是一个理想的情况，因为你知道你的来源。格林伍德建议，如果你买的是供家庭使用的木材，问问卖家他是不是收集这些木材的人，这些木材来自哪里。

If a tree falls on your own property, it's great to use it in your own fire pit or fireplace or give it to the neighbor down the street.

如果一棵树倒在你自己的土地上，把它用在你自己的火坑或壁炉里，或者把它送给街上的邻居都是很好的。

"The key is to keep it local," Greenwood says. "Don't haul it with you on vacation. Don't give it to somebody who is going to bring it to them to their cabin two states away."

“关键是要保持本地化，”Greenwood说。“不要带着它去度假。不要把它给那些要把它带到两个州外的小屋去的人。”

Looking for issues

寻找问题

Lanternfly egg masses are not always this obvious. (Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture [public domain]/Flickr)

Don't assume you'll be able to spot problems in firewood.

不要以为你能发现柴火的问题。

"A tree killed three years ago may look dead on the outside, but it's teeming with life on the inside," writes David Coyle, assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation at Clemson University.

克莱姆森大学(Clemson University)林业与环境保护系助理教授戴维•科伊尔(David Coyle)写道:“一棵三年前被砍倒的树，表面上看起来可能已经死了，但里面却充满了生机。”

Even an expert might not be able to see a few tiny insect eggs or microscopic fungus spores hidden in a stack of wood.

即使是专家也可能看不到藏在一堆木头里的一些微小的虫卵或微小的真菌孢子。

"Some of these things are literally too small to see and others are just incredibly clever," says Greenwood, pointing out how spotted lanternflies are well camouflaged as they climb aboard lumber to hitchhike their way into other states. "There's no realistic way to visually inspect or know that your firewood is safe to move."

格林伍德说:“有些东西实在太小了，根本看不见，而有些东西却非常聪明。”“没有一种现实的方法可以直观地检查或知道你的柴禾是否可以安全移动。”

And don't think burning all the wood in the campfire will prevent the spread of insects or fungi.

不要认为在营火中燃烧所有的木材可以防止昆虫或真菌的传播。

"Even a small chip of bark containing invasive insect larvae can fall unnoticed to the ground," says James Johnson of the Georgia Forestry Commission. "A sudden rainstorm can wash fungus spores off wood or out of your pickup, so the danger is very real."

乔治亚州林业委员会的詹姆斯·约翰逊说:“即使是一小片含有入侵性昆虫幼虫的树皮也会不知不觉地掉到地上。”“一场突如其来的暴雨可能会把真菌孢子从木头上或卡车上冲走，所以危险是非常真实的。”