Progress 10/01/03 to 09/30/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: White Pine Decline - Twenty-four locations were found to have rooting restrictions within 50 cm of the surface, but only four locations had restrictions that were less than 30 cm deep, an indication of sites at high risk to white pine decline. About 55% of the white pine stands in York County grow on soils capable of having rooting restrictions. Therefore, about 5.5% of the stands in York County are at high risk to decline and 33% are on sites where rooting is restricted to less than 50 cm. Multivariate analysis indicates that tree height is unaffected by rooting depth, but diameters are reduced by about 13%. Monhegan Island - Mortality of white spruce covered 34% of the island's forested area and occurred mostly in the most recently (since 1922) abandoned fields. Three-quarters of the trees on continually forested sites was red spruce that had 7% mortality. An all sites, 76% of the living white spruce (61/80) were infected by dwarf mistletoe, and the crown rating averaged
4.3 (out of 6) indicating about 2/3 of crown was affected on average. Only 5% of the red spruce were infected (29/532), and these trees had lower crown ratings of 2.6. Most of the infected red spruce occurred in dense stands where many brooms die due to shading. White spruce is more commonly found in more open stands where presumably brooms can survive longer. Japanese barberry dominates the understory on over 4 ha of forest. Seedlings of barberry were detected on approximately 60 ha of the 145 ha of forest on the island. Spread of the plant has probably been favored by deer browsing other plants and by birds dispersing the seeds. The thick understory of barberry prevents regeneration of any other species and restricts access to the forest. Balsam Wooly Adelgid - Three-year growth trends of the more affected fir were compared with the less affected fir and the nonhost. Beginning in 1998 and continuing through 2001 growth trends of the more affected fir were significantly less than
nonhost trends region-wide. A chronology of rotholz occurrence suggests a buildup of adelgid populations from the late 1980's continuing through 2003. Lethal temperatures for BWA in the study area have been less frequent since the 1940's, and it appears there has not been sufficient cold to appreciably slow the increase of adelgid populations since this time. An additional stress, the drought of 2001, coincided with a spike in fir mortality. Beech Dieback - A high amount of beech mortality was observed, ranging from 21-72% on high mortality sites with an average of 43% mortality and 68% average crown dieback in surviving trees. Both Nectria ditissma and Nectria faginata were isolated from dying trees. Incidence of N. ditissima and N. faginata was related to BBD severity, beech mortality, and hardwood species composition. Nectria faginata dominates the BBD complex as suggested by various other studies. However, stands did contain high levels (>30%) of N. ditissima if other highly
susceptible tree species were present (R2=0.717) regardless of disease progression. Results were part of 28 presentations to user-groups and professional meetings. Four M.S. Theses were written.
PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Richard Dyer, Graduate Research Assistant. Collected data for Monhegan Island study on spruce and dwarf mistletoe. Gregory Granger, Graduate Research Assistant. Collected data and wrote M.S. Thesis on white pine decline study. Allison Kanoti, Graduate Research Assistant. Collected data and wrote M.S. Thesis on balsam woolly adelgid project. Jennifer D'Appollonio, Graduate Research Assistant. Collected data and wrote M.S. Thesis on Japenese Barberry project. Matthew Kasson, Graduate Research Assistant. Collected data and wrote M.S. Thesis on Japenese Barberry project. Collaborators: Alan S. White, University of Maine. Served on three M.S. advisory committees and primary conultant for dencrochronology work. Seanna Annis, University of Maine. Served on one M.S. advisory committee and provided lab facilities for completing studies on Nectia. Amy Rossman, APHIS. Confirmed identification of Nectria species. Partner Organizations: Maine Forest Service (Dave
Struble)for all projects. U.S. Forest Service, Forest Health Monitoring (James Steinman)for white pine, fir, and beech projects. Monhegan Associates for Monhegan projects. Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve for Japanese barberry project. Natural Resource Conservation Service for soil maps used in white pine studies. Hancock Lumber Company for white pine study. Baskahegan Co for fir project. J.D. Irving Woodlands for Beech project. Huber Resources for beech project. 7-Island Land Management for beech project. Katahdin Paper Co. for beech project. Nature Conservancy for beech project.
TARGET AUDIENCES: Small Woodland Owners and professional foresters: Provide information on white pine decline and strategies for maintaining healthy trees. Livingston, W.H. White Pine Decline Risk Assessment. Small Woodland Owners of Maine Annual Meeting, Brewer, ME, May 22, 2004. Granger, Gregory, and William H. Livingston. Relationships Between Potential Rooting Depth, Tree Growth, And White Pine (Pinus Strobus L.) Decline In Southern Maine. Eastern CANUSA Forest Science Conference, Fredericton, N.B., October 15-16, 2004 (poster). Livingston, W.H. White Pine Decline. Workshop on Forest Health Issues, Cooperative Extension Service, University of New Hampshire. Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Thornton, NH. December 2, 2005 (presentation). Industrial/large land owners and professional foresters: Provide information and strategies for improving health of fir and beech forests. Kanoti, Allison M., and William H. Livingston. Investigating the Onset of Radial Growth Reduction Caused by
Balsam Woolly Adelgid Damage on Balsam Fir in Relation to Climate Using Dendroecological Methods. New England Society of American Foresters 85th Winter Meeting, Portland, ME, March 16-18, 2005 (presentation and poster). Kanoti, Allison, and William H. Livingston. Proposed Studies for Investigating The Onset of Radial Growth Reduction Caused by Balsam Woolly Adelgid (Adelges piceae) Damage on Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) In Relation to Climate Using Dendroecological Methods. Eastern CANUSA Forest Science Conference, Fredericton, N.B., October 15-16, 2004 (poster). Kanoti, Allison M., and William H. Livingston. 2006. Relationships Among Balsam Woolly Adelgid Damage, Radial Growth, Climate and Stand Characteristics in Eastern Maine. New England Society of American Foresters 86th Winter Meeting, Nashua, NH, April 4-6, 2006 (invited presentation). Kasson, Matthew and William H. Livingston. Beech Mortality and Drought. Eastern CANUSA Forest Science Conference, Quebec City, P.Q., October
19-21, 2006 (poster). Kasson, Matthew and William H. Livingston. Beech Mortality and Drought. New England Society of American Foresters 87th Winter Meeting, Fairlee, VT, March 20-22, 2007 (poster). Monhegan Island community, small woodland owners, and professional foresters: Provide information on island forest ecology and Japanese barberry. Dyer, Richard W., and William H. Livingston. 2003. Land Use History and Vegetation Composition of Monhegan Island. Monhegan Associates Annual Meeting, Monhegan Island, August 14, 2004. D'Appollonio, Jennifer, William H. Livingston, and Robert G. Wagner. Regeneration Strategies Of Japanese Barberry (Berberis Thunbergii Dc) In Coastal Forests Of Maine. Eastern CANUSA Forest Science Conference, Fredericton, N.B., October 15-16, 2004 (poster). D'Appollonio, Jennifer, William H. Livingston, and Robert G. Wagner. Regeneration Strategies Of Japanese Barberry (Berberis Thunbergii Dc) In Coastal Forests Of Maine. New England Society of American Foresters
85th Winter Meeting, Portland, ME, March 16-18, 2005 (presentation and poster).
Impacts
White Pine Decline -White pine can be grown on soils with rooting restrictions, but densities should be kept low to reduce competition for water and to increase diameter growth. Monhegan Island - We expect dwarf mistletoe to kill much of the remaining white spruce. However, the parasite's impact on the future forest should be greatly reduced because white spruce numbers are decreasing and developing stands are a mixture of red spruce and hardwoods. These new stands will be much less vulnerable to a buildup of dwarf mistletoe as indicated by low infection rates in current stands of red spruce. The future regeneration of spruce forests on the island will depend on the ability to control and reduce the infestation of Japanese barberry. Balsam Wooly Adelgid - Overall the analyses do not indicate good guidelines for managing risk from BWA. No difference in damage severity was seen between sites or climate zones. This may indicate that given time, lack of competition for fir
from other agents (e.g. spruce budworm) and a continuation of current climate conditions, adelgid populations will build up in the stands in which they currently occur regardless of site and stand characteristics. Beech Dieback - There are two types of stands in northern Maine. The first type involves stands affected in the 1930's by beech bark disease, where a scale insect (Cryptococcus fagisuga) weakens trees so that a Nectria fungus can kill the mature stems. Subsequent "aftermath" forests of beech sprouts are almost completely affected by beech bark disease which doesn't kill the smaller trees. However, these stands are now reaching a size and age at which beech bark disease probably contributes to the observed increase in mortality, especially after the drought of 2001. The second type of stand involves those in northern Maine that show significant mortality but no previous symptoms of beech bark disease, i.e., no pocket cankers. These stands occur primarily along the Quebec
border. The drought in 2001 and/or an outbreak of beech scale associated with warmer winters may have predisposed these trees to infection and mortality by a Nectria fungus. Once established, N. faginata dominates the BBD complex. However, in Maine, N. ditissima remains an important pathogen in BBD where susceptible, non-beech hosts are present. Impacts: 1. White pine decline: Stakeholders (landowners, forest managers) had put pressure on the Maine Forest Service through their government contacts to find a reason the dying of white pine from 1997-2000. These stakeholders are satisfied that an adequate explanation has been given. 2. Management of Monhegan Forests: Based on the results of the study, the Monhegan Associates had a consulting forester develop a management plan for their forests and have begun a control program for Japanese barberry. 3. Balsam woolly adelgid: Forest land owners have salvaged severely affected stands and are no longer managing for balsam fir on these sites.
4. Beech dieback: Forest land owners have salvaged severely affected stands. There is increased interest, as indicated by funding to support research, in finding strategies to decrease the amount of beech in stands.
Publications
- Kasson, Matthew. 2007. Relationships Between Climate, Disease, Radial Growth Response, and Mortality of American Beech in Northern Maine. M.S. Thesis, University of Maine, Orono. 204 p.
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Progress 10/01/05 to 09/30/06
Outputs
White Pine Decline - Nothing new to report. Monhegan Island - This study found that Japanese barberry seedlings were the most abundant plant group to regenerate under a Japanese barberry overstory. Japanese barberry suppressed regeneration of all other plant groups (herbs, shrubs, and trees). However, results from forest soil incubated in a greenhouse and a seedling emergence test indicate that Japanese barberry generally germinates the growing season following seed maturation and most likely does not have a viable seed bank beyond that time. Therefore, local eradication is possible if an invasion is removed from a site and sprouts and seedlings are controlled for a few subsequent years. Balsam Wooly Adelgid - Three-year growth trends of the more affected fir were compared with the less affected fir and the nonhost. For the period of record there was no time when the more affected fir had reduced growth in comparison to the less affected fir on a region-wide basis
(P>0.10). However, beginning in 1998 and continuing through 2001 growth trends of the more affected fir were significantly less than nonhost trends region-wide. A chronology of rotholz occurrence suggests a buildup of adelgid populations from the late 1980's continuing through 2003. Lethal temperatures for BWA in the study area have been less frequent since the 1940's, and it appears there has not been sufficient cold to appreciably slow the increase of adelgid populations since this time. An additional stress, the drought of 2001, coincided with a spike in fir mortality. Overall the analyses do not indicate good guidelines for managing risk from BWA. No difference in damage severity was seen between sites or climate zones. This may indicate that given time, lack of competition for fir from other agents (e.g. spruce budworm) and a continuation of current climate conditions, adelgid populations will build up in the stands in which they currently occur regardless of site and stand
characteristics. Beech Dieback -A high amount of beech mortality was observed, ranging from 21-72% on high mortality sites with an average of 43% mortality and 68% average crown dieback in surviving trees. Low mortality sites ranged from 0-41% mortality with an average of 16% mortality and 43% dieback. Both Nectria galligena and Nectria coccinea var. faginata were isolated from dying trees, and identification was confirmed by Dr. Amy Rossman at APHIS. Over 1200 cores collected during two summer's of sampling will be processed this fall and winter. Bark samples from another subset of 5 plots will be sampled and cultured for Nectria to provide an estimate as to the relative presence of Nectria species in dieing beech across the region. Quantitative analyses between tree chronologies, climate variables, and site variables will be completed in spring 2007. All method descriptions, data analyses, and results will be included in a M.S. Thesis to be complete during the summer of 2007.
Impacts
1. Our ability to manage white pine has been improved. Sites with rooting restrictions will need to be kept at low densities. 2. We will know if increased damage to balsam fir due to woolly adelgid infestations is likely to continue to increase or will be heavily dependent on winter temperatures. 3. If sprouting, not seeds, is the primary means of Japanese barberry regeneration after removal, then strategies which kill the root system will have long term benefits in controlling this invasive plant. 4. American beech in Maine has been regenerating and surviving in the presence of beech bark disease for over 60 years. However, the recent mortality indicates that the damage from the disease could have entered a new phase in which the affected beech are now dying. Understanding the causes for the recent mortality will help forest managers better understand the risk of allowing beech to regenerate or continue to grow in many forest stands.
Publications
- Kanoti, Allison M. 2006. Relationships Between Balsam Woolly Adelgid Damage, Radial Growth, Climate and Stand Characteristics in Eastern Maine. M.S. Thesis, University of Maine, Orono. 101 p.
- D'Appollonio, Jennifer. 2006. Regeneration Strategies of Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii DC.) in Coastal Forests of Maine. M.S. Thesis, University of Maine, Orono. 93 p.
- Rowland, E.L., A.S. White, and W.H. Livingston. 2005. A literature review of the effects of intensive forestry on forest structure and plant community composition at the stand and landscape levels. Maine Agric. For. Exp. Stn. Misc. Public 754. 28 p.
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Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/05
Outputs
WHITE PINE DECLINE: No new information on this topic. FOREST HEALTH ON MONHEGAN ISLAND: Earlier studies indicated the introduction of Japanese barberry (Berberis Thunbergii) is becoming a major threat to the regeneration of native forests along coastal Maine. Relatively little has been published about the basic biology or ecology of the species, and Monhegan Island, ME, and Wells Research Reserve in Wells, ME, were chosen for study sites due to high levels of barberry invasion. Preliminary results indicate that Japanese barberry seed lasts only 1 growing season in the soil, and the bush regenerates poorly by seed under established barberry plants. Apparently, killing established plants and their roots to prevent sprouting will be an effective strategy for controlling infestations of this invasive plant. BALSAM WOOLLY ADELGID (Adelges piceae) (BWA) presence is indicated in tree ring chronologies because of the development of rotholz during the trunk phase of the
insect's life cycle. Based on the presence of rotholz in the tree ring chronologies of balsam fir (Abies balsamea) on 29 plots located throughout southereast Maine, BWA population remained low until after the end of the spruce budworm outbreak in the early 1980's. Population rose rapidly in the 1990's and began affecting radial growth by the middle of the decade. The drought of 2001 coincides with the maximum presence of rotholz after which the occurrence drops to 7% of 514 fir sampled. Occurrence of minimum temperatures to -30C appears to be associated with occurrence of damage by the insect. BEECH MORTALITY: The FIA plots in Maine have shown an increase in beech (Fagus grandifolia) mortality from 0.9% between 1982-95 to 3.3% between 1995-2002. As a result of the recent surge in mortality, the net or residual growth of beech showed a decrease from +2.1% to -0.37%. This project will assess the cause of these developments. We hypothesize that drought is inciting the dieback and
mortality. In addition, field observations indicate extensive colonization of dying beech by the Nectria fungus, but the scale (Cryptococcus fagisuga) populations associated with beech bark disease were low this past year. However, we will also examine the relationship between the onset of mortality and warm winters, a condition that would favor high populations of the scale. Twenty locations from throughout the northern region will be sampled by selecting townships at random. Stands with high mortality of beech (>20% of basal area) will be located closest to a random starting point. The nearest stand with similar structure but low mortality (<10% of basal area) will be selected. Fifth acre plots will be established in the approximate centers of the stands. Measurements will include tree measurements (species, diameter, bark surface affected by disease, crown condition), soil drainage classification, and depth of soil. Increment cores will be taken from at least 12 beech and 12 other
trees that are co-dominant in the overstory. Dendrochronology will be used to evaluate the relationship between drought, warm winters, onset of tree dieback and mortality, and site factors.
Impacts
1. Our ability to manage white pine has been improved. Sites with rooting restrictions will need to be kept at low densities. 2. We will know if increased damage to balsam fir due to woolly adelgid infestations is likely to continue to increase or will be heavily dependent on winter temperatures. 3. If sprouting, not seeds, is the primary means of Japanese barberry regeneration after removal, then strategies which kill the root system will have long term benefits in controlling this invasive plant. 4. American beech in Maine has been regenerating and surviving in the presence of beech bark disease for over 60 years. However, the recent mortality indicates that the damage from the disease could have entered a new phase in which the affected beech are now dying. Understanding the causes for the recent mortality will help forest managers better understand the risk of allowing beech to regenerate or continue to grow in many forest stands.
Publications
- Day, M.E., J.L. Schedlbauer, W.H. Livingston, M.S. Greenwood, A.S. White, and J.C. Brissette. 2005. Influence of seedbed, light environment, and elevated night temperature on growth and carbon allocation in pitch pine (Pinus rigida) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana) seedlings. Forest Ecology and Management 205:59-71.
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