Officials Fear Spread of Oak Disease

[Rain Man]

Excerpts from an AP article at
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050512/ap_on_sc/oak_disease

"Plant lovers in the South are being asked to watch their camellias, rhododendrons and other ornamentals for signs of Sudden Oak Death, a fungal disease that has already killed thousands of trees on the West Coast."

"The fear is that the fungus could have the same effect on oaks in Eastern states as the chestnut blight did in the early 1900s. Spread by a fungus from Asia, chestnut blight virtually wiped out one of the East's major tree species within 50 years."

"Twenty-three states, including Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, received some of the infected plants. Georgia alone received 59,000 of them and officials destroyed 10,000 after 53 plants tested positive. But by then, retailers and nurseries had already sold about 49,000."

And now a little kicker...

"It's a problem and it's recognized and we're taking care of it," said Rick Dominge, president of the Nursery Growers Association of California."

Makes me groan.

[Ramble~On]

Just Wonderful...
Chestnuts, Elms, Firs, Balsams, Hemlock and now the Oaks.

So in 50 years the eastern forests will be forests of dead tree trunks and briar.


Denali in Alaska is still intact without the introduction of non native species.
But since George W. is hellbent on turning it into an oil refinery I guess it will be gone too.

No shade on streams equals higher water temps and the loss of aquatic life in mountain streams.
Chestnuts are gone and the loss of acorns will mean a dramatic drop in wildlife.

So....I guess with the trees gone ideal conditions will arise for cattle grazing.
10 trillion methane spewing cows in place of the forests....WONDERFUL

When all the trees are dead and gone I won't be able to hang my hammock and will have to go back to the tent.......GREAT

Perhaps a human blight or Human Woolly Adelgid will come along and wipe us out so the earth has time to heal....that would make for very happy cockroaches.

[Drum Stick]

This is very bad news. I just started looking into the problem and came across a report that suggests that hikers and mountain bikers are spreading the fungus.
www.cemarin.ucdavis.edu/press.html
Drum Stick

[Drum Stick]

Sorry about the bad link. I can't resolve the problem in a jiffy but if you go to www.dogpile.com and use the key words "uc davis oak fungus" the site comes right up.
Drum Stick

[Teatime]

More of the typical liberal kneejerk reaction, wild exageration and hate, I see. Somehow, it always comes back to W, doesn't it? FYI, there are other trees in the forest besides Oaks. We have Poplars, Sweet Gum, Maple, Locust, etc. It is bad that our Oaks could all be destroyed but when the Chestnuts all died, other trees took their place. Who knows, with the work they are doing on the American Chestnut these days, maybe they will come up with a disease resistant strain and be able to reintroduce it.

[Drum Stick]

I agree with you whole heartedly Tea Time regarding the the typical liberal knee jerk reaction. Yup W is to blame for everything in the world, NOT. I am not saying that W is an angel to behold either, nope, nor do I have anything bad to say about him. I also am not beating up on democrats / liberals here either (in general). But when someone makes the connection between 'a fungus among us' and W, it just makes me sad that people are still eating lead paint.

However dead trees equals standing fuel in our forests waiting to combust and I am very concerned about it. Lets hope that scientists can figure this thing out, and quick.
Drum Stick

[bulldog49]

Just Wonderful...

Denali in Alaska is still intact without the introduction of non native species.
But since George W. is hellbent on turning it into an oil refinery I guess it will be gone too.




Get your facts straight if you want to be taken seriously. No one is proposing drilling in Denali, but in ANWR which is 300 miles away.

[neo]

i have noticed some thing has been killing a lot of dogwood trees in tenn
the last ten years,plus the southern pine beetles caused a lot of devastation
in 2001,:cool: neo

[Tha Wookie]

More of the typical liberal kneejerk reaction, wild exageration and hate, I see. Somehow, it always comes back to W, doesn't it? FYI, there are other trees in the forest besides Oaks. We have Poplars, Sweet Gum, Maple, Locust, etc. It is bad that our Oaks could all be destroyed but when the Chestnuts all died, other trees took their place. Who knows, with the work they are doing on the American Chestnut these days, maybe they will come up with a disease resistant strain and be able to reintroduce it.Typical kneejerk liberal-labeler reaction:

"We have Poplars, Sweet Gum, Maple, Locust, etc. It is bad that our Oaks could all be destroyed but when the Chestnuts all died, other trees took their place."

Plus the invetitible and comforting, "Who knows, with the work they are doing on the American Chestnut these days, maybe they will come up with a disease resistant strain and be able to reintroduce it."

Or, the paraphrased version:

Sure, what's so bad about losing nother species or two? We've still got kudzu and privet to take their place. Sooner or later the technology god will solve this problem, then we can buy the solution from him. We certainly don't need to look around and consider the consequences of our actions today.


It's not about Dubya. It's the way of thinking.

It is critically irresponsible.

[Rocks 'n Roots]

Harriman Park in New York where I maintained the AT is predominately oak. This includes the blaze-bearing trees near the trailbed. In my maintaining I noticed an increase in oak mortality in trees alongside the Trail. This starts with rot in patches and dead branches up in the canopy. This is terrible because many of the mature oaks from the beginning of the park are now reaching majestic size. The head ranger told me they'll be replaced by maples. Myself, I think acid rain stresses them to the point that they become more susceptible to blight. Building cairns is real drudge work and I myself don't know anyone who would do it. Pressure treated 4 by 4's come in handy for tree-less gaps...

[Ramble~On]

WONDERFUL.

I submit a post people take it seriously and start with labels.

This is about trees...thank you for the dendrology lesson.

SCUUUSE ME...300 miles away...not Denali...WONDERFUL. that is much better.



:bse

[hikerjenz]

We all still have to remember that God is in control. He made the trees He will take care of any thing that happens.

jenz

[Rocks 'n Roots]

"Everything religious right wingers do is all right and approved by God".

[Nightwalker]

Or, the paraphrased version:
(snip)
It's not about Dubya. It's the way of thinking.

It is critically irresponsible.
They're all politicians. They all say whatever it takes to get there and stay there. They all suck.

If anyone believes that either party gives a rat's @ss about much else, you haven't been watching the sleazeballs long enough.

[Nightwalker]

"Everything religious right wingers do is all right and approved by God".
That's stupid crap. We were given the earth to take care of. We're not doing a very good job.

[Ramble~On]

That's stupid crap. We were given the earth to take care of. We're not doing a very good job.

I could not agree more and that was the point I was making in the above post.
Yes, Bush wants to drill for oil in Alaska. I am not knocking Bush.
I am pointing out simply that the planet is in sorry shape.
Glaciers are melting. Trees are dying.
These wheels were in motion long before Bush was born.
It is my opinion that Alaska should not be tampered with. (period)

Back to the subject. The Oaks.
The Oaks provide a major source of food that filled in for the loss of the Chestnut. With both the Oak and Chestnut gone there will be a major decline in wildlife and as each drops others in turn will follow.
The Hemlock going will be more ecologically disruptive than the loss of the Chestnut. Hemlock do not resprout from roots as do the Chestnut.
When the chestnuts died they were replaced by similar hardwoods.
In the south there is no native replacement for the shade-tolerant hemlock.
Loss of the hemlock will result in higher water temperatures in mountain streams.....which will result in the loss of a vast amount of the aquatic life that lives in them. Add to that the loss of the oaks and the loss of acorns and the problem gets compounded.
A solution to the hemlock wooly adelgid exists in the Pseudoscymnus tsugae.
A tiny beetle that eats the adelgids that are killing the hemlock.
Many, many millions of these beetles would be needed to save the hemlock and at a cost of roughly $1.00 per beetle the cost is an obstacle.
Insecticidal soap can be sprayed on infested trees and stop the adelgid but the labor involved limits this to areas that are easily sprayed. Aerial spraying is not effective.
As for the oaks...I do not know enough about the problem or the solution to give much input.

[Funky Spruceter]

I recently saw a graduate student presentation on Sudden Oak Death. According to the study the disease is not likely to spread to the east coast. In regards to NEO's comment about fewer dogwoods. That is due to Dogwood anthracnose. A disease which has been ravenging through the Shennandoah Region.

[Ford Prefect]

I recently saw a graduate student presentation on Sudden Oak Death. According to the study the disease is not likely to spread to the east coast. In regards to NEO's comment about fewer dogwoods. That is due to Dogwood anthracnose. A disease which has been ravenging through the Shennandoah Region.Someone who (1) can post an intelligent reply and (2) not bring their own personal worldview into the post?

Rain, thanks for the info and Funky, thanks for the intelligent reply.

- FP

[walkin' wally]

[QUOTE=SpiritWind]Just Wonderful...
Chestnuts, Elms, Firs, Balsams, Hemlock and now the Oaks. [QUOTE]

And now the beech trees... Speaking only for Maine here but there is a tremendous amount of damage being done to beech trees with the beech bark fungus disease. Large ugly bumps appear on the bark and many of the trees are dying. It seems more common now to see a sick beech tree in Maine than a healthy one.
I wonder how severe this problem is going to become.

[JoeHiker]

We all still have to remember that God is in control. He made the trees He will take care of any thing that happens.

jenz
Unless, of course, we are atheists, in which case we cannot "remember" something we consider a myth.

Back to the trees. Is there any such thing as an "vaccine" for trees against diseases like this?

[Funky Spruceter]

There are treatments for some diseases. That said, most of the diseases previously mentioned have not been determined by plant pathologists. The best "cure" for most of the problems is the use of preventative measures as in Sudden oak death by reducing spread of the soil pathogen. Most diseases that can be treated are not economically effective to treat. The cost of treating a single tree can be very high. If you multiply that by a forest the cost is astounding. Also consider the fact that most forests start with as many as 3,000 trees per acre but decrease to as few as 25 or 50. Is it worth spending money on those other trees?

[Kerosene]

There is a fascinating article in the May 2005 issue of Discover Magazine about "invasive" species and diseases. Unfortunately the on-line article requires a log-in, so I can't link to the full text. Basically, the article notes that ecologies continue to change and evolve, with or without humans. It's not "good" or "bad", it just is, and humans are fighting an uphill battle trying to keep things the way they've been. Globalization, rapid travel, and overpopulation serves to accelerate these changes, which makes it very difficult for some environments to accommodate and adapt fast enough to avoid catastrophic impact.

My opinion is that we if we try to treat symptoms, like the spread of species and disease, we may serve to slow things down but we are rarely successful. Few people are willing to address the underlying root causes because the issues are so sensitive. Until that occurs, we will continue to wrestle with an increasing number and complexity of environment impacts.

[saimyoji]

A big issue is maintaining the biodiversity of specific ecosystems. When invasive species begin to take over an ecosystem, they systematically wipe out the native species, reducing the biodiversity. This has negative effects up and down the food web, and ultimately results in a changed ecosystem. Good? Bad? Depends on whether you enjoy the current environment or not. Many people like to look at lots of different species all at once, rather than a big group of similar species. EG, I prefer to see all the different songbirds in my backyard, rather than the flocks of pigeons or crows we find in urban areas.