Comparison of stand dynamics after dieback caused by pine wilt disease among pine forests with different management regimes in western Japan

In pine forests damaged by pine wilt disease, in western Japan, the effect of protection regimes of pine trees on the stand dynamics were examined in the following four stands: (1) lightly damaged stand (age 30–40 years) with no procedure in operation for protecting pine trees; (2) severely damaged stand (age 30–40 years) with no procedure in place for protecting pine trees; (3) severely damaged stand (age 50 years) with a selective cutting of infected trees; (4) severely damaged stand (age 30–40 years) with a selective cutting of infected trees. All the stands had been abandoned before the pine wilt disease damage. The understory structure of the severely damaged stand with no protection procedure was similar to that of the lightly damaged stand. Frequent invasion by tree species and acceleration in the growth of understory trees occurred after the dieback in the selective cutting stand. These results suggest that a deficiency in the canopy layer caused by the dieback resulted in low disturbance intensity in the early stages after the dieback, but the selective cutting increased the intensity by the reduction in the understory as well as the canopy layer. The intensity of the disturbance in the selective cutting stands was larger in the younger stand because it had a higher density of selectively cut pine trees. The different stand structure of pine forests occurred after the dieback because the intensity of the disturbance varied as a result of the selective cutting operation and the stand age.     

杉木顶枯病的防治试验

<正>衫木顶枯病病原菌(pestalotiopsis apiculatus(Huang)Huang)的确定及病原生物学特性业经发表。几年来通过调查表明,该病害遍及全省各地,尤溪、沙县、南平、光泽、上杭等县更为严重,一些苗圃苗木顶枯病(尖枯病)发病率超过50％以上。苗木发病之后,高生长达不到出圃的要求,不可以上山造林,有营林地而没有苗木,导致造林计划不能完成,影响用材林基地建设的进展。为有效防治该病害,1982年以来对病害进行了较完整的防治试验。     

Rain forest recovery from dieback,Queensland, Australia

We present a detailed account of a dieback episode in tropical rain forest. The dieback episode took place from 1977 to 1989 within a 0.5 ha long-term demography plot monitored for stem growth and mortality from 1975 to 2005. In total 770 m² of rain forest was affected causing 13 trees >10 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) to die, and others to sicken. The dead trees came from four families, though 14 families were represented in the area. Trees of the family Elaeocarpaceae suffered significantly higher mortality. Larger trees were significantly more likely to die than small trees, but smaller trees were more likely to recover. Recruitment to >10 cm dbh size class after dieback was greater in areas that had been affected, and in 2005 stem density and basal area were higher than in 1977, before the dieback episode started. There were no significant trends in biodiversity change between affected and non-affected parts of the plot. Dieback may have dramatic effects at onset but over the medium term its impact appears to be less serious. Longer term monitoring will permit re-evaluation of this observation in the future.     

Major constraints on shisham (Dalbergia sissoo) plantations and pathological debate on dieback disease in Punjab,Pakistan

Today,shisham plantations in Punjab,Pakistan face major constraints,especially dieback disease.This article reviews the multidisciplinary team work by forest and plant pathologists and economists to resolve the confusions in the pathology of dieback disease.It is intended to be of practical use to the foresters and plant pathologists reporting on this issue.     

Ecological assessment of populations of Juniperus phoenicea L. in the Al-Akhdar mountainous landscape of Libya

The Phoenician juniper (Juniperus phoenicea L.) has long been common in the Al-Akhdar mountain range in NE Libya. Juniper trees in the region are showing signs of dieback, and minimal successful seedling recruitment has occurred. We investigate this effect at the level of individual trees, tree size classes, and populations. At ten sites, population size, growth and reproductive traits, and percentage dieback in different size classes were evaluated. Elevation, distance from the sea, and the interaction between these factors had a significant effect on tree volume, and number of branches, number of female cones per branch and number of female cones per tree. Two groups of populations were recognized: the first (Sites 2, 3, and 4) were near the coast. They appeared to be more recently established, with no individuals in the largest size class, and, at this point, less severe dieback. In contrast, in the rest of the sites there were no individuals (Sites 1, 5, 6, and 9) or very few individuals (Sites 7, 8, and 10) in the smallest size class, indicating widespread failure of recruitment in recent years. Mature female cones containing seeds were abundant at these sites (except for Site 8); therefore, this was not attributable to failure of sexual reproduction, but rather was associated with higher levels of intra- and inter-specific competition, combined with more variable rainfall in recent years. Smaller trees are particularly susceptible to dieback throughout the region. Conservation initiatives should include restrictions on clearing these natural forests for conversion to agriculture and, where harvesting is necessary, preferential harvesting of larger individuals.     

Impact of mistletoes (Amyema miquelii) on host (Eucalyptus blakelyi and Eucalyptus melliodora) survival and growth in temperate Australia

The damaging effects of mistletoes Amyema spp. on host eucalypts in rural Australia concern many landholders, but few data are available to evaluate mistletoe impacts or formulate management strategies. We used an experimental disinfection approach to determine the effects of a putative pest mistletoe, Amyema miquelii, on its two principal hosts, Blakely's red gum (Eucalyptus blakelyi) and yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora), on pastoral properties in northern New South Wales. For each host species, pairs of nearby trees were matched for heigth, diameter at breast height, level of mistletoe infestation and distance to neighbouring trees. One tree per pair was chosen at random and all the mistletoes pruned. After 33 months all treated trees were still alive, but among control trees seven of 29 red gums and one of 20 yellow box trees had died. The difference in survival between treated and control trees was significant for red gum. Among surviving pairs of trees, treated trees of both species had significantly greater diameter increments and significantly more foliage than untreated trees. After 33 months, the average increase in relative host foliage biomass attributable to removal of mistletoes was 22% in red gum and 24% in yellow box, compared with untreated controls. The average increase in radial growth attributable to mistletoe removal was 55% in red gum and 49% in yellow box. Diameter increment was negatively and linearly related to mistletoe infestation level in control trees of both species. The differences between infected and disinfected trees in this experiment may underestimate the impact of Amyema miquelii on host growth because small amounts of host biomass were unavoidably lost during disinfection. In a separate experiment, loss of host biomass had a significant negative impact on diameter increment. Although the results indicate that control of serious Amyema miquelii infestation of individual trees will be worthwhile in terms of immediate host survival and higher growth rate, prudent long-term management may well allow for the loss of small numbers of farm trees to mistletoes when planning tree recruitment and utilisation.     

Susceptibility of four conifer species to Gremmeniella abietina

G. abietina causes severe dieback in pole-stage stands of Scots pine in Britain. The susceptibility of ll provenances of Scots pine and of three other conifer species was tested by inoculations. Significant differences in susceptibility were found amongst Scots pine provenances, with those originating from a native Scottish pinewood at Loch Maree showing the highest levels of disease. Corsican pine was shown to be the most susceptible species tested although sporulation was greatest on Scots pine. Norway spruce was also shown to be susceptible when inoculated late in the growing season. Infection in lodgepole pine was negligible. High levels of β-phellandrene were tentatively linked with resistance among trees in a single stand of Scots pine.     

Urban London plane tree dieback linked to fungi in the Botryosphaeriaceae

Since the first report of the stain canker agent Ceratocystis platani in 2001 in Geneva, dieback of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) has focused greater attention and an epidemiological monitoring has been implemented, as part of a compelling state directive for stain canker management. Genetic identification was carried out in order to ascertain the presence or absence of C. platani. We report here observations recorded between 2011 and 2013, of samplings from a total of 6 plane trees in 4 locations. Identification of bacteria and fungi was performed by sequencing of the rDNA ITS region for fungi, and of the 16S rRNA gene for bacteria. Fungi belonging to the Botryosphaeriaceae species occurred in almost every sampling, whereas Ceratocystis platani was only isolated in 2 trees. The 4 botryosphaeriaceous species, Diplodia mutila, Dothiorella sp., Diplodia seratia and Neofusicoccum parvum, could be responsible for the observed plane cankers, while other fungi could participate in the dieback symptoms. Since these species have been reported as canker agents on other tree species in Europe, artificial infections were carried out with pure cultures of Dothiorella sp., Diplodia mutila and Neofusicoccum parvum on young plane trees. Only Neofusicoccum parvum managed to provoke cork canker symptoms after a few months, but D. mutila and N. parvum were found in internal necrotic tissues. This is the first report of Dothiorella sp., Diplodia mutila and Neofusicoccum parvum associated with plane tree dieback in Switzerland and the first report of pathogenicity of Neofusicoccum parvum in plane trees. This survey showed that most cases of plane tree dieback in the Geneva region were not caused by C. platani and that other fungi could be responsible for similar symptoms.     

The ash wilt disease: A preliminary investigation of wood anatomy

A macroscopical, microscopical and SEM examination of wood samples, taken from diseased ash trees, was undertaken to probe into the cause of an ash wilt disease considered to be identical with dieback. The symptoms, particularly the obstruction of the vessels by tyloses and the occurrence of fungal hyphae in one specimen, bear a strong resemblance to those found in Dutch elm disease.Samenvatting Houtmonsters van zieke essen werden macroscopisch, microscopisch en met de SEM onderzocht om de oorzaak van de esseverwelkingsziekte op te sporen. Deze ziekte, ook wel aangeduid met essensterven, vertoont grote overeenkomsten met de in de Verenigde Staten van Amerika en in Groot-Brittanië al langer bekende ash dieback. De gevonden verschijnselen, in het bijzonder de verstopping van vaten door thyllen en het vóórkomen van schimmeldraden in een van de monsters, vertonen veel overeenkomsten met karakteristieke symptomen van de iepeziekte en van de eikeverwelking.     

Occurrence of Diplodia corticola,including new oak host records,in Wisconsin,USA

In the United States, diseased oaks (Quercus species) exhibit tip blight, branch and stem cankers, and dieback often attributed to Diplodia species or related fungi. Emergence of Diplodia corticola as a pathogen of European oaks, and reports of this fungus in the eastern and western United States, prompted re‐examination of strains from Wisconsin. These had been obtained in the late 1990s and early 2000s and previously identified only as Diplodia species. Nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences were obtained from the Wisconsin strains and analysed with other sequences from GenBank. Wisconsin strains confirmed as D. corticola were from northern red oak (Q. rubra), black oak (Q. velutina), white oak (Q. alba) and bur oak (Q. macrocarpa). Other strains from oaks in Wisconsin were D. mutila and D. seriata. Wound inoculation of northern red, white and bur oak seedlings with D. corticola in a greenhouse resulted in shoot death and stem lesions, from which the pathogen was reisolated. We conclude that D. corticola has been present in the northcentral United States for at least two decades and report two previously unrecognized hosts of this pathogen: white oak and bur oak. The roles of D. corticola, related fungi and influences of other environmental factors in deterioration of oak health in North America merit additional investigation.