Science in plant quarantine policy
The safety of movement of plants and their pathogens is a central theme in international trade policy, biological control of invasive weeds, and in avoiding the development of new weed problems. The basic procedures for evaluating the risks of introducing plants or pathogens are decades old, but their application has become increasingly important - and considerably modified - due to increased global trade and international trade agreements. In a new research direction I am working to understanding where advances in our understanding of plant disease epidemiology, the phylogenetic structure of host ranges, and methods in risk analysis have been, or could be best applied in quarantine policy to reduce ecological risks from plant disease epidemics.

Related publications

• Gilbert, G.S. and C.O. Webb. 2007. Phylogenetic signal in plant pathogen-host range. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) 104: 4979-4983.
• Mitchell, C., Agrawal, A., Bever, J., Gilbert, G., Hufbauer, R., Klironomos, J., Maron, J., Morris, W., Parker, I., Power, A., Seabloom, E., Torchin, M., Vázquez, D. 2006. Biotic interactions and plant invasions. Ecology Letters 9:726-740
• Parker, I.M. and G.S. Gilbert. 2004. The evolutionary ecology of novel plant-pathogen interactions. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. 35: 675-700.
• Goodell, K., I.M. Parker, and G.S. Gilbert.2000. Biological impacts of species invasions: Implications for policy makers. Pages 87-117 in Caswell, J. (ed.), Incorporating Biological, Natural, and Social Sciences in Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards in International Trade. Washington DC: Nation Academy Press.