12 research outputs found
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Biological and economic feasibility of pruning and excising white pines for blister rust control
White pine plantations which were established in 1968 on 88 acres of the Palouse Ranger District, Clearwater
National Forest, were treated by pruning and canker excision to remove lethal white pine blister rust cankers.
The success rate 15 months after treatment was 98 percent for pruning and 81 percent for excisions. Future
growth and development of the stands were projected using a stand growth model. Economic analysis based
upon these projections yielded positive benefit/cost ratios for both pruning alone and pruning with canker
excision
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Monitoring root disease mortality : establishment report
Two thousand and thirty-nine trees on 213 plots are being monitored yearly for
root disease infection and mortality. Three compartments on the Fernan Ranger
District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests are the site of the project.
Relationships between factors such as species, aspect, slope, elevation,
habitat type, stand appearance on aerial photography, plot root disease
severity ratings, and measured volume losses due to root disease mortality are
being evaluated. Effective means of judging past and future losses in root
disease-affected stands are sought
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An assessment of chloride-associated, and other roadside tree damage, on the Selway Road, Nez Perce National Forest
Tree damage following dust abatement/road
stabilization treatment was evaluated on 12.5
miles of the Selway River Road, Nez Perce
National Forest. Calcium chloride was applied in
June of 2000, mostly at a rate of 51b/yd2 (18,600
lb./acre) or 6.9 lb/yd 2 (25,700 lb/acre). 1,189
trees up to 30 feet from the road were examined
in June 2001 and again in December 2001.
Western redcedar and Douglas-fir were most
damaged by the chloride. Ponderosa pine was
the most tolerant of the tree species. Severity of
damage was associated with tree species,
proximity of trees to road, and CaCl2 application
rates. Cedar foliage samples collected in
November 2001 from symptomatic trees near
treated road averaged nearly seven times more
chloride ion concentration than the controls.
Treated Douglas-fir averaged 50 times more and
ponderosa pine average 30 times more than
their respective controls. As of December 2001,
12% of cedars were dead and another 18%
appear to be dying. Douglas-fir fared worse with
29% dead and 12% dying. Grand fir and
ponderosa pine had only 6% and 4%,
respectively, dead or dying
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Needlecasts of Scots pine Christmas trees in western Montana
Needlecast fungi were found on 95 percent of damage collections in a June survey of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) Christmas tree plantations in the Kalispell Basin western Montana. Western gall rust (Endocronartium harknessii) and pine bark aphids (Pineus sp.) were present on 6.6 and 2.5 percent of collections, respectively. Cylcaneusma minus was the most prevalent needlecast pathogen. Type 2 Leptostroma and Lophodermella concolor also were common. Mature apothecia of Lophodermium setitiosum were common in August collections. Control strategies for these needlecast diseases are discussed
Estimating decay in 40-to-90-year-old Grand fir stands in the Cleawater region of northern Idaho /
Estimating decay in 40-to-90-year-old Grand fir stands in the Cleawater region of northern Idaho /
no.42
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Succession functions of forest pathogens and insects : ecosections M332a and M333d in northern Idaho and western Montana : summary
We analyzed the effects of pathogens and insects on forest succession in the absence of
fire or management, addressing a number of related questions:
1. What is the rate of change in such forests?
2. How significant are the roles of pathogens and insects in the forest change?
3. How do pathogens and insects influence forest succession?
Vegetation change was measured using a geographic information system (GIS) analysis
method that overlaid 1935-era and 1975-era maps of sample subcompartments on national forest
land in two ecoregions in northern Idaho and western Montana. This 40-year period was,
coincidentally, the time in which white pine blister rust became epidemic and in which fire
suppression policies were implemented. Stand hazard ratings were used to classify stand
susceptibility to insects and most pathogens; root disease severity was rated from aerial
photographs. We considered an insect or pathogen to be a cause of successional change when
the following conditions were met: the insect or disease hazard or severity rating for a cover
type/structure stage class was high or moderate; a transition from one class to another was
consistent with the expected function of the agent; and the change was not explained by
advancing succession in the absence of pathogen or insect influence.
We found high rates of change from pathogens and insects in forests that had no evidence
of recent active management or fire. More than 90 percent of the sample stands changed to a
different cover type, structure stage, or both during the 40-year period. Insects and pathogens
were associated with 75 percent or more of that change. Root pathogens, white pine blister rust,
and bark beetles were the cause of most of the observed changes. The most significant pathogen
and insect influences on cover type were to accelerate succession of western white pine,
ponderosa pine, and lodgepole pine to later successional, more shade-tolerant species. The
effects on structure were to reduce stand density or prevent canopy closure. Grand fir, Douglasfir,
and subalpine fir were the predominant cover types at the end of the period, and were highly
susceptible to root diseases, bark beetles, fire, and drought. The trend toward mature, dense,
climax forest is projected to decrease substantially during the next 40 years, with greater
accumulations occurring in low-density mature and younger pole-sized stands that result from
root disease- and bark beetle-caused mortality.
Our results underscore the relevance of pathogens and insects to forest planning and
forest management. The introduction of white pine blister rust has drastically and perhaps
permanently altered succession in this once-significant type. In the absence of fire or
management, native pathogens, and insects continue to bring about change in forest composition
and structure. This change is different from that produced by fire, as early seral species are
usually not regenerated as a result of pathogen or insect activity.
The ecological outcomes of pathogen and insect activities are sometimes desirable and
sometimes not desirable. We should consider whether or not their effects create desired
conditions for the landscape in deciding whether or not to alter their influence through
management. This information on long-term effects of pathogens and insects on succession can
be used to address forest health in forest plans, to analyze alternative actions, and to more
accurately communicate outcomes of those alternatives to various stakeholders.
We found that pathogens and insects can have large effects on forest succession. The
economic impacts of pathogens and insects have been well documented; with this analysis, we
have begun to understand and quantify their successional effects
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Succession functions of forest pathogens and insects : ecosections M332a and M333d in northern Idaho and western Montana : volume 2 : results and conclusions
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