SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report
Sections
Status: Approved
Basic Information
- Project No. and Title: NE1601 : Eastern White Pine Health and Responses to Environmental Changes
- Period Covered: 02/10/2018 to 06/06/2019
- Date of Report: 08/14/2019
- Annual Meeting Dates: 06/04/2019 to 06/06/2019
Participants
Eric Norland USDA NIFA Brittany Barnes University of Georgia Aaron Bergdahl Maine Forest Service Mark Hutton University of Maine Bill Livingston School of Forest Resources, University of Maine Nick Brazee UMass Cooperative Extension Monique Sakalidis Dept. Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University Heidi Asbjornsen Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire Jeff Garnas University of New Hampshire Kyle Lombard New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands, Forest Health Section Isabel Munck USDA Forest Service Durham, NH Kim Adams SUNY-ESF Environmental and Forest Biology Jessica Cancelliere Bureau of Invasive Species & Ecosystem Health, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Robert Cole New York State DEC Mark Faulkenberry Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry Sarah Johnson Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry Tim Tomon Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry Josh Halman Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation Jill Rose West Virginia Department of Agriculture Forest Health Protections Program Unit Kristen Carrington West Virginia Department of Agriculture Forest Health Protections Program Unit
After approval of 2018 minutes and election of officers, the primary goal for 2019 was discussed, a proposal for the USDA AFRI Sustainable Agricultural Systems program. Livingston went through program components, and Eric Norland emphasized important considerations for a successful proposal. The attendees were divided into two groups to work on setting priorities for research on eastern white pine health and on outreach. Reports from the two groups are found in the attached document. Also in the attached document are sampling protocals for fungal pathogens and pine bast scale. Text for the AFRI SAS Letter of Intent is also included.
Accomplishments
Short-term Outcomes
Forest managers have become involved in the planning of future white pine research. Managers for ten forests in 8 states (Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Virginia, and North Carolina) have agreed to learn more about eastern white pine health and consider options for improving eastern white pine health in their forests.
Outputs
A field manual was completed in June and will be printed by the end of August for distribution. A pdf version is available at: https://umaine.edu/mafes/publications/miscellaneous-publications/
Standardized procedures have been developed for fungal pathogens of eastern white pine and the pine bast scale. Copies are in the appended materials.
Vermont Eastern White Pine Monitoring Leaflet:
Nick Brazee wrote an article for Cornell's Branching Out Newsletter and an online fact sheet on eastern white pine health. He'll continue to update the fact sheet online with more references and information as more is learned.
http://ag.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/dieback-of-eastern-white-pine
Activities: Organized and specific functions or duties carried out by individuals or teams using scientific methods to reveal new knowledge and develop new understanding.
In Vermont (Josh Halman), white pine needles were affected once again this year by a complex of fungal species including Brown Spot Needle Blight (Lecanosticta acicola), and two needlecast fungi (Lophophacidium dooksii and Bifusella linearis). During aerial surveys, 40,745 acres were mapped, which is an increase from the 16,413 acres mapped in 2017. This likely underestimates the area affected since damage is mapped from above the trees, while much of the damage is observed within, and in lower portions of tree crowns when viewed from the ground. https://fpr.vermont.gov/sites/fpr/files/Forest_and_Forestry/Forest_Health/Library/2018%20Conditions%20report.pdf
In New York (Robert Cole and Jessica Cancelliere), five meetings were held across the state with NYSDEC foresters to go over WPND, white pine decline, and sites for demonstration/research forests to undertake management recommendations from the eastern white pine manual. An Urban and Community Forestry meeting attended by municipal land managers and private arborists included a presentation on WPND. One article was published in the NYSDEC’s Conservationist magazine regarding WPND and white pine decline in NY. Two field tours were organized in communities to look at WPND and other concerns with the white pine followed by a meeting to provide management recommendations. 30 WPND monitoring plots established in 2018 revisited in 2019. Responded to ca. 50 public emails in May/June regarding reports or questions of white pine decline.
In New Hampshire, a total of 24 sites were surveyed to better understand the pine pathogens and their associated effects on the health of white pine. Five different pathogens were detected in NH that cause foliage diseases. The most abundant, Lecanosticta acicola (formerly Mycosphaerella dearnessii) which causes brown spot needle blight, was present at 11 sites. Septorioides strobi, a new species recently detected in the U.S., was present at 8 sites, Lophodermium and Lophophacidium dooksii (formerly Canavirgella banfieldii) was present at 2 sites, and Bifusella linearis was detected at just 1 site. In 2018, the first pesticide treatments to control the pine bast scale, and the subsequent effect on the Caliciopsis population within the treated tree will be monitored.
William Livingston was an invited speaker at the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry Winter Meeting in January 2019 to present a featured presentation on white pine decline. During March, he also spoke about white pine health at the Northeast Forest Pest Council Meeting in West Chester, PA, and at the New England Society of American Foresters winter meeting in Burlington, VT.
The project on ‘Monitoring eastern white pine decline and its causes in New England and New York through enhanced survey methods’, funded by the US Forest Service, was completed in 2018. It is hoped that the data from this survey will shed light on the current state of white pine trees in the region with particular respect to the occurrence and severity of WPNDs. In Maine, Continued monitoring of this situation will be prioritized for early detection of any emerging insect or disease agents that could serve as further factors leading to white pine decline and mortality.
Isabel Munck (i) obtained permission to assess condition of white pine regeneration across different silvicultural treatments at the Massabesic Experimental Forest, (ii) organized and cleaned up data from multi-state EM (more than 60 white pine stands sampled), and (iii) coordinated monitoring of crown condition in 8 permanent plots in New England. She gave talks on white pine health at the Forest Pathology Field Trip: New England, American Phytopathological Society (APS) Annual Meeting, July, 28, Boston, MA; Northeast Silviculture Institute for Foresters-2018 Pine-Oak-Hemlock Session, May 16-17, Portsmouth. NH; White pine foliar diseases, gypsy moth, and oak wilt, Avangrid Utility Arborist Meeting, May 15, New Haven, CT; and Forest Health in New Hampshire, New Hampshire Arborist Association Spring Meeting. March 19, Concord, NH.
Milestones:
Milestone 1 Accomplishments: Development of a research proposal by project members will occur over a multi-year time frame.
A Letter of Intent outlining a multistate project was submitted June 3, 2019. A copy is provided in the Summary of Minutes attachment.
Milestone 2 Accomplishments: A white pine health management publication will be developed.
The field guide was completed in June 2019.
Livingston, W.H., I. Munck, K. Lombard, J. Weimer, A. Bergdahl, L.S. Kenefic, B. Schultz, and R.S. Seymour. 2019. Field Manual for Managing Eastern White Pine Health in New England. University of Maine, Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, Orono, ME. Miscellaneous Publication 764. 20 p.
Available for download at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_miscpubs/
For published copies, contact: William H. Livingston, williaml@maine.edu
Impacts
- Forest health specialists at the state and federal level are more familiar with factors involved in white pine health issues. Damage and causes can be recognized and properly identified. Twenty-four forest health specialists from 14 eastern states are on the mailing list for NE 1601. Nineteen of the specialists attended the June 4-6 NE1601 meeting in Hadley, MA. The Forest Health Specialists are receiving information and hands-on training to improve their ability to work with white pine health issues.
- Forest managers and lumber mill operators can make realistic estimates of losses due to white pine health issues and use the information for making decisions. The following paper has been published: Costanza, Kara K.L., Mindy S. Crandall, Robert W. Rice, William H. Livingston, Isabel A. Munck, and Kyle Lombard. Economic implications of a native tree disease, Caliciopsis canker, on the white pine (Pinus strobus) lumber industry in the northeastern United States. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2019, 49(5): 521-530.
- Forest managers can take preemptive and reactive actions to minimize damage due to white pine health issues. 900 copies of the following manual are being printed for distribution to forest managers: Livingston, W.H., I. Munck, K. Lombard, J. Weimer, A. Bergdahl, L.S. Kenefic, B. Schultz, and R.S. Seymour. 2019. Field Manual for Managing Eastern White Pine Health in New England. University of Maine, Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, Orono, ME. Miscellaneous Publication 764. 20 p. Available for download at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_miscpubs/ In addition, 7 forest managers are involved in the SAS proposal preparation and are directly involved in plans to use forest management to improve white pine health.
- Market models include data concerning white pine health issues to provide better output for decision-making. The letter of Intent describes initial ideas on how to address this outcome.
Publications
Asaro, Christopher, Lori A. Chamberlin, Jill A. Rose, Katlin Mooneyham, Anita K. Rose. 2018. Mortality of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) in association with a novel scale insect-pathogen complex in Virginia and West Virginia. Forest Ecology and Management 423:37-48.
Costanza, Kara K.L., Mindy S. Crandall, Robert W. Rice, William H. Livingston, Isabel A. Munck, and Kyle Lombard. Economic implications of a native tree disease, Caliciopsis canker, on the white pine (Pinus strobus) lumber industry in the northeastern United States. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2019, 49(5): 521-530.
Costanza, Kara K.L., Thomas D. Whitney, Cameron D. McIntire, William H. Livingston, and Kamal J.K. Gandhi. 2018. A synthesis of emerging health issues of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) in eastern North America. Forest Ecology and Management 423:3-17.
Gandhi, Kamal J.K., William H. Livingston, and Isabel A. Munck. Resilience and health of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) forests under novel and historical factors in eastern North America (editorial). 2018. Forest Ecology and Management 423:1-2.
Haines, Savannah L., Kara K.L. Costanza, and William H. Livingston. 2018. Compartmentalization process in eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) documented using a native fungal pathogen. Forest Ecology and Management 423:94-105.
Livingston, William H. and Laura S. Kenefic. 2018. Low densities in white pine stands reduce risk of drought-incited decline. Forest Ecology and Management 423:84-93.
McIntire, Cameron D., Isabel A. Munck, Mark J. Ducey, and Heidi Asbjornsen. 2018. Thinning treatments reduce severity of foliar pathogens in eastern white pine. Forest Ecology and Management 423:106-113.
McIntire, Cameron D., Isabel A. Munck, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, William H. Livingston, and Heidi Asbjornsen. 2018. Impacts of White Pine Needle Damage on seasonal litterfall dynamics and wood growth of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) in northern New England. Forest Ecology and Management 423:27-36.
Pike, Carolyn C., Paul Berrang, Scott Rogers, Andy David, Carrie Sweeney, Julie Hendrickson. 2018. Improving the resistance of eastern white pine to white pine blister rust disease. Forest Ecology and Management 423:114-119.
Schulz, Ashley N., Angela M. Mech, Michelle M. Cram, Christopher Asaro, David R. Coylea, Rima D. Lucardi, Sunny Lucas, Kamal J.K. Gandhi. 2018. Association of Caliciopsis pinea Peck and Matsucoccus macrocicatrices Richards with eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) seedling dieback. Forest Ecology and Management 423:70-83.
Schulz, Ashley N., Angela M. Mech, Christopher Asaro, David R. Coylea, Michelle M. Cram, Rima D. Lucardi, Kamal J.K. Gandhi. 2018. Assessment of abiotic and biotic factors associated with eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) dieback in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Forest Ecology and Management 423:59-69.
Whitney, Thomas D., Michelle M. Cram, Brittany F. Barnes, Jiangming Yao, Rima D. Lucardi, Kamal J.K. Gandhi. 2018. Tree-level distribution of a novel insect-pathogen complex and its potential contribution to eastern white pine dieback. Forest Ecology and Management 423:49-58.
Wyka, Stephen A., Isabel A. Munck, Nicholas J. Brazee, Kirk D. Broders. 2018. Response of eastern white pine and associated foliar, blister rust, canker and root rot pathogens to climate change. Forest Ecology and Management 423:18-26.