Decline of Red Spruce in High-Elevation Forests of New York and New England

1989 ◽  
pp. 85-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Johnson ◽  
T. G. Siccama ◽  
W. L. Silver ◽  
J. J. Battles
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New England ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
High Elevation Forests

Element distribution in red spruce (Picearubens) fine roots; evidence for aluminium toxicity at Whiteface Mountain

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1132-1138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hedda Schlegel ◽  
Robert G. Amundson ◽  
Aloys Hüttermann
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Fine Roots ◽  
Aluminium Toxicity ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Element Distribution ◽  
Solution Chemistry ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Ion Distribution ◽  
Root Cortex ◽  
Whiteface Mountain

To determine the element distribution in fine roots of red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) at a high-elevation decline site on Whiteface Mountain, New York, fine-root samples were collected and analysed by X-ray microanalysis. Aluminium was found in very high concentrations in the root cortex, but could not be detected in stelar tissues. In contrast, magnesium was found only in the central cylinder in low amounts. The calcium concentration in the cortex was low, but was higher in the stele. Aluminium has been shown to interfere with cation uptake by blocking exchange sites in the cortical apoplast. Thus these results strongly suggest that the low foliar magnesium and calcium contents of the declining red spruce trees are driven by aluminium-induced inhibition of magnesium and calcium uptake. Soil solution chemistry, ion distribution in fine roots, and foliar ion contents at Whiteface Mountain were compared with equivalent data from other forest sites as well as with data from controlled studies on spruce seedlings. These data suggest that aluminium toxicity contributes to red spruce decline at Whiteface Mountain.

Expected decrease in diameter growth of even-aged red spruce

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Anthony Federer ◽  
James W. Hornbeck
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New England ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Diameter Growth ◽  
Radial Increment ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Second Growth ◽  
Stand Basal Area

Weibull functions provide close least square fits to tables for stand basal area and density versus age in even-aged, second-growth red spruce as reported by W. H. Meyer (USDA Tech. Bull. No. 142. 1929). The annual mean radial and basal area increments of the trees can be calculated from the two Weibull functions. For a stand following Meyer's tables and reaching breast height in 1915, mean tree basal area increment increases steadily to a maximum in the early 1960's and then declines; mean radial increment is constant from 1925 to 1955 and then declines rapidly. This behavior matches very closely the results from 3001 red spruce increment cores in New England and New York, which suggests that forest aging is an important cause of decreasing red spruce diameter growth.

KORSCHELTELLUS GRACILIS (GROTE): A PEST OF RED SPRUCE AND BALSAM FIR ROOTS (LEPIDOPTERA: HEPIALIDAE)

1991 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Wagner ◽  
Donald R. Tobi ◽  
William E. Wallner ◽  
Bruce L. Parker
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New England ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Woody Plant ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Plant Tissues ◽  
Larval Feeding ◽  
Mature Trees ◽  
Below Ground

AbstractKorscheltellus gracilis (Grote) is a pest of red spruce and balsam fir roots in the forests of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. The larvae feed below ground on woody and non-woody plant tissues for 2 years before maturing. It was found at 18 localities across New England and Nova Scotia during the summers of 1987 and 1988. On Whiteface Mt., New York, and Mt. Moosilauke, New Hampshire, larvae were absent to uncommon at low (500 m) and high (1300 m) altitudes, but common to abundant in red spruce – balsam fir associations at 700, 900, and 1100 m. During September 1987, larval populations were estimated at 56 000 and 312 000 per hectare in soils at 900 m on Whiteface and Moosilauke, respectively. Dense populations occurred locally, e.g. 27 larvae were recovered from a single 0.25-m2 soil pit at 900 m on Moosilauke. By June 1988, larval numbers on Whiteface and Moosilauke had declined by 51% and 72%, respectively. Seedlings and mature trees of both spruce and fir were damaged by larval feeding on bark and cambium. Seedlings were girdled; mature trees had wounds paralleling the root axes.

Assessment of weather-associated causes of red spruce winter injury and consequences to aboveground carbon sequestration

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. Schaberg ◽  
Brynne E. Lazarus ◽  
Gary J. Hawley ◽  
Joshua M. Halman ◽  
Catherine H. Borer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New England ◽  
C Sequestration ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Event Analysis ◽  
Severe Winter ◽  
Injury Event ◽  
Northern New England ◽  
Using Data

Despite considerable study, it remains uncertain what environmental factors contribute to red spruce ( Picea rubens Sarg.) foliar winter injury and how much this injury influences tree C stores. We used a long-term record of winter injury in a plantation in New Hampshire and conducted stepwise linear regression analyses with local weather and regional pollution data to determine which parameters helped account for observed injury. Two types of weather phenomena were consistently associated with elevated injury: (i) measures of low-temperature stress that incite injury and (ii) factors that reduced the length of the growing season and predisposed trees to injury. At this plantation, there was a significant linear relationship between winter injury and growth reductions for 2 years after a severe winter injury event. Analysis using data from three New England states indicated that plantation data reflected a regional response. Using regional data, we estimated a reduction of 394 000 metric tons of C sequestered in living red spruce stems ≥20 cm in diameter growing in New York and northern New England during the 2 years following a severe winter injury event. This is a conservative estimate of reduced C sequestration because injury-induced mortality and other factors were not evaluated.

Effects of winter injury on basal area and height growth of 30-year-old red spruce from 12 provenances growing in northern New Hampshire

1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 1616-1622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald C. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New England ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Introgressive Hybridization ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Basal Area Increment ◽  
Repeated Injury

Basal-area increment and height growth of 30-year-old red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) from 12 rangewide provenances growing in a plantation in northern New Hampshire were measured for a 3-year period (1986 through 1988) in which severe and (or) frequent winter damage to needles occurred. Growth of uninjured trees and injured trees were compared. Basal-area increments were successively smaller for groups of trees arranged in increasing order of average needle damage as a portion of the upper crown and number of years that the trees were injured. A similar pattern was observed for height growth, but the effect of winter damage was not as great on height growth as on basal-area increment. Growth losses following winter injury, especially height growth, were much greater for trees in provenances classed as pure red spruce than for trees in provenances where introgressive hybridization with black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) has been demonstrated. For pure red spruce populations, repeated injury in 3 successive years or a sustained average of 30% or more needle damage resulted in losses in basal-area increment and height growth of up to 59 and 30%, respectively. Basal-area growth of the most severely injured trees in New England - New York provenances was 63% less than that of uninjured trees. These results support the contention of others that winter injury could be an initiating or perpetuating factor in red spruce decline.

Effect of pH, aluminum, and sulfate on a high-elevation Armillaria isolate cultured in vitro

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 260-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Entry ◽  
Kermit Cromack Jr.
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Acid Deposition ◽  
Fungal Growth ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Biological Species ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Ph Values

An Armillaria (Ft.) isolate compatible with Armillaria biological species II according to haploid tester challenge, was taken from a dying high-elevation red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) tree in New York and cultured in unbuffered Melin–Norkrans medium containing 0, 50, 100, or 200 mg/L of Al3+ as Al2(SO4)3 at pH 3, 4, or 5. Total fungal weight and hyphal extension increased significantly as pH rose yet increased only slightly when aluminum was added to the medium. The pH of the medium decreased as fungal weight increased. Weight was linearly correlated with hyphal extension (r2 = 0.87) at all aluminum concentrations and pH values tested. Fungal weight and hyphal extension significantly decreased when Armillaria II was cultured in a duplicate experiment with 0, 395, 790, or 1580 mg/L of [Formula: see text] as MgSO4, indicating that increasing [Formula: see text] concentrations were harmful to fungal growth. Field studies demonstrating predisturbance distribution of Armillaria functioning as a stress pathogen of P. rubens are needed to help determine whether soil conditions created by acid deposition are inhibiting Armillaria growth.

Winter desiccation and solar radiation in relation to red spruce decline in the northern Appalachians

1991 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian L. Hadley ◽  
Andrew J. Friedland ◽  
Graham T. Herrick ◽  
Robert G. Amundson
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
New England ◽  
Cold Hardiness ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Light Period ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Freezing Injury ◽  
Radiation Load ◽  
Northern New England ◽  
Spruce Needles

Exposure to direct solar radiation was correlated with needle death within individual high-elevation red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) shoots following winter injury episodes at six sites in 1980 and 1989. We observed extensive visible needle damage to red spruce in northern New England between March and May of 1989 and determined that it was preceded by desiccation. In an independent growth chamber experiment, red spruce needles were heated to above freezing when exposed to strong illumination in calm subfreezing air. Rapid needle cooling occurred when the radiation load was suddenly reduced at the end of each light period, and needles desiccated severely within 10 days. These separate observations are consistent with three hypotheses: injury results from (i) desiccation, (ii) rapid needle cooling, (iii) freezing injury caused by a reduction in cold hardiness due to solar heating. These three mechanisms are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Invasive and Non-native Species in a Small New England Watershed (New York)

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-15
Author(s):  
M.-Y. Wu ◽  
D. Kalma
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New England ◽  
Native Species
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