Trees in America

[Toots_mcgee]

Trees across the U.S. face dire threats, new report shows

A new report out this week warns that at least 1 in 9 tree species in the U.S. is at risk of extinction. Trees face a host of threats including invasive species, deadly disease and climate change. The data comes as part of the most comprehensive threat assessment ever collected on U.S. forests.

www.pbs.org

 

[3Rfan]

Trees across the U.S. face dire threats, new report shows

A new report out this week warns that at least 1 in 9 tree species in the U.S. is at risk of extinction. Trees face a host of threats including invasive species, deadly disease and climate change. The data comes as part of the most comprehensive threat assessment ever collected on U.S. forests.

www.pbs.org

If they don't find a way to stop Borer Beetles we won't have any Oak trees one of these days. They're killing LOTs of them around my part of the country and I'd bet others too. You can drive up 67 north and see brown leaves on them all over the woods any time of year you take a look.

 

[kaskaskiakid]

 

[3Rfan]

Borers on our oak trees are just one variable in our oak tree decline. Many of our oak borers (unlike EAB) are native and part of our ecosystem. Part of my job is to collect boring beetles and separate out suspected invasives for ID.

There was a bad drought several years back…the ramifications are just now being seen. This didn’t kill oaks outright, but weakened their immunity to a host of opportunistic pests and infections.

This fall, keep an out out for honey mushrooms, genus Armillaria. Unlike most mushrooms, their mycelium is parasitic as opposed to being saprophytic (decomposing). Some believe they are a major cause for our oak tree decline. Research is in the works.

We’ve lost most of our ash trees to emerald ash borers, although 0.1 % are showing resistance to them…which is encouraging. Selective breeding programs are underway to bring them back with this immunity trait.

Asian longhorn beetle will make an appearance sooner or later. They’re hell on maples and box elders.

Spotted lantern fly has recently been spotted around St. Joseph. Spongy moths are constantly being surveyed for.. Laurel wilt disease, a fungus carried by an ambrosia beetle that infects sassafras is on our SE border.

Lots going on!

I'm seeing several maples around here with leaves dying and limbs rotting off and some have a big spot at the base starting to hollow out.

 

[3Rfan]

See any boring activity on them?

None that I have seen but they are failing fast. I'll take a closer look. One I know of has a wedge shaped hole at the base and one limb about halfway up has dead leaves while the others look normal.

 

[3Rfan]

See any boring activity on them?

I looked at the 2 trees I was talking about. They both have spots at the bottom of the trunk that are hollowed out some, one much more than the other. I picked up a stick and I could poke it way inside these trees. One has saw dust falling out the bottom all the time. I did see some of the borer looking holes in them where the bark has peeled off couldn't see any where the bark is still on. I also see on big old Oak tree in another yard that the bark is falling off from way up high on the tree so much it looks like it's making it's own mulch on the ground around it.