scholarly journals Interference to Hardwood Regeneration in Northeastern North America: Ecological Characteristics of American Beech, Striped Maple, and Hobblebush

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph D. Nyland ◽  
Amy L. Bashant ◽  
Kimberly K. Bohn ◽  
Jane M. Verostek

Abstract Several woody species may inhibit regeneration of desirable northern hardwoods. This includes a dense understory of American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) that commonly occurs in stands infected with beech bark disease. Root injuries during logging and by natural causes alsopromote new suckers that, along with some stump sprouts, often maintain or increase the abundance of beech saplings. Additionally, browsing deer primarily bypass beech in favor of more palatable species. Where any of these factors has resulted in a dense understory of small beech, overstorycutting will promote its development, increase ground-level shading, and lead to a site conversion to beech. Similarly, striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum L.) often interferes with hardwood regeneration after overstory cutting. This species persists in heavy shade, grows rapidly afterrelease, and produces abundant seed. When dense, striped maple may interfere with the regeneration of other species. Hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium Marsh.), a shrub, reproduces by rhizomes to form thickets when damaged during overstory cutting. Heavy shade by these thickets may preventregeneration of trees. This review summarizes characteristics of these three species with respect to their interference with desirable hardwoods in northeastern North America. It highlights the limited information about striped maple and hobblebush, and the abundance of sources that deal withAmerican beech.

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph D. Nyland ◽  
Amy L. Bashant ◽  
Kimberly K. Bohn ◽  
Jane M. Verostek

Abstract When American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum L.), and hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium Marsh.) become dense in the understory they interfere with regeneration of other species. This review identifies threshold levels that causeproblems in regenerating desirable hardwoods in northeastern North America, and summarizes methods for controlling the interference in conjunction with a reproduction method cutting. It also forwards some ideas about management based on information in published sources.


Plant Disease ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. MacKenzie ◽  
A. J. Iskra

Beech bark disease (BBD) is a two-part disease complex. It first requires the feeding of an initiating insect scale and is only fully developed when scale-altered bark becomes infected by one of two Neonectria species. In Ohio, there was a 19-year lag between discovery of the initiating scale insect and the development of BBD. In September 1984, the BBD-initiating scale (Cryptococcus fagisuga Lind) was discovered in the Holden Arboretum, Geauga County, OH (2). Nineteen years later (December 2003), A. Iskra discovered the exotic BBD-causing fungus, Neonectria coccinea (Pers.:Fr.) Rossman & Samuels var faginata Lohman, Watson & Ayers, on American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) in the Holden Arboretum. In 1934, Erlich (1) reported that there was normally a delay of at least 1 year between the appearance of the scale and the first appearance of the Neonectria spp. fungus. In the years immediately after the first report of the scale in Ohio (2), pathologists and arboretum staff made frequent visits to the site in an attempt to find Neonectria spp. fruiting. After a decade of searching, these visits became more infrequent. However, it was on one of these visits that A. Iskra found the fungus. He found it on only four trees, none of which had the extensive bark cankering common in chronic Neonectria spp. infections. In North America, the two species of Neonectria that have been involved in BBD mortality are the native N. galligena (Bres.) Rossman & Samuels, or the exotic N. coccinea var faginata. In the absence of beech scale infestations, reports of the native N. galligena infecting American beech are few. Yet, in West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, Michigan, and possibly North Carolina, the fungus first associated with the killing front has been the native N. galligena and not the exotic variety, N. coccinea var faginata. To our knowledge, this is the first report of BBD in Ohio and it is unique because the associated fungus is the exotic variety. References: (1) J. Erlich. Can. J. Res. 10:593, 1934. (2) M. E. Mielke et al. Plant Dis. 69:905, 1985.


2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodi A. Forrester ◽  
Kimberly K. Bohn

Abstract Forest management in northern hardwoods benefits from the use of site preparation treatments when the amount of American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) and fern species in the understory interferes with regeneration of more desirable species, e.g., sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marshall). We assessed the cover and diversity of herbaceous and woody species in the ground layer of three Adirondack northern hardwood stands before and 3 years after a mechanical site preparation that removed all trees less than 14 cm with a brush saw. The treatment significantly increased the cover of all species cumulatively, with herbaceous, shrub, and arborescent species increasing significantly more in treated plots than in untreated plots. Sugar maple cover increased more in treated plots than in untreated plots, although American beech did as well. Species richness increased significantly more in treated plots than in untreated plots, but differences in diversity and evenness were not significantly different because of treatment after 3 years. Multivariate analysis indicated only minor changes in the plant community composition. Results show that mechanical site preparation techniques are a viable option for promoting abundance and maintaining diversity of the ground-layer vegetation in northern hardwood forests.


2007 ◽  
Vol 56 (1-6) ◽  
pp. 163-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ramirez ◽  
J. Loo ◽  
M. J. Krasowski

Abstract Scions collected from diseased trees and from those without symptoms of beech bark disease (BBD) were cleft-grafted in 2003 and 2004 onto rootstock of unknown resistance to BBD. Grafting success varied among genotypes and year (30% in 2003 and 12% in 2004), and improved with increasing rootstock diameter. Successful grafts were used to test resistance to the beech scale insect, Cryptococcus fagisuga (the initiating agent of BBD) by introducing eggs onto the bark of scions and allowing time for the emergence of all developmental stages of the insects. Significantly fewer insects colonized scions collected from putatively resistant trees than those collected from diseased trees. In some cases, where egg placement overlapped a portion of the rootstock, insect colonies developed on the rootstock but not on the scion collected from resistant trees. Occasionally, scions from putatively resistant trees were colonized, whereas some of those from diseased trees were not. When scions from putatively resistant trees were heavily colonized, only adult insects were present and no eggs or other life stages of the insect were found. The findings indicate that the extent of resistance to the scale insect (hence to BBD) ranges from partial to total resistance.


Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihail R. Kantor ◽  
Zafar Ahmad Handoo ◽  
Lynn Carta ◽  
Shiguang Li

Beech leaf disease (BLD) was first reported in 2012 in Lake County, Ohio on American beech trees (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.). Since then, it spread across the Northeastern United States and has been reported from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, West Virginia, and Ontario, Canada (Carta et al. 2020; Mara and LaMondia 2020, Reid et al. 2020). The symptoms of BLD are characterized by dark interveinal banding of leaves appearing soon after spring flush that become chlorotic and necrotic through autumn, resulting in canopy thinning in advanced stages, followed in some young trees by death. Litylenchus crenatae mccannii has similar morphological characteristics with Litylenchus crenatae (Kanzaki et al. 2019) reported on Fagus crenata from Japan. However that beech species has not shown BLD symptoms or yielded any L. crenatae mccannii in North America. There are several morphological differences between the two. The North American subspecies have shorter post-uterine sac, narrower body width in mature females, shorter tail in immature females, longer tail in mature females, and longer stylet in males when compared to the Japanese subspecies (Carta et al. 2020). BLD symptoms were found on American beech trees in Prince William Forest Park, Prince William County, Virginia in June, 2021. The affected leaves contained females, males, and juveniles with morphometrics consistent with L. crenatae mccannii (Carta et al. 2020). The crude genomic DNA from a live single Litylenchus was prepared with freeze-thaw lysis (Carta and Li, 2019). The ITS PCR were performed by using the procedures and primer set, ITS-CL-F2 and 28S-CL-R described in the previous study (Carta and Li, 2020). The visualization, the cleanup and the direct DNA sequencing of the PCR products were performed by using the procedures described in the previous studies (Carta and Li, 2018 and 2019). Sequences were submitted to GenBank as accessions MZ611855 and MZ611856. This represents the first report of BLD in Virginia. It is also approximately 300 miles south of the 2020 detection of BLD from New Cumberland, WV, and represents the southernmost detection of the disease and nematode in North America. The author(s) declare no conflict of interest. References Carta, L.K., Li, S. 2018. Improved 18S small subunit rDNA primers for problematic nematode amplification. Journal of Nematology. 50, 533-542. Carta, L.K., Li, S. 2019. PCR amplification of a long rDNA segment with one primer pair in agriculturally important nematodes. Journal of Nematology. 51, e2019-26. Carta, L.K., Li, S. 2020. Improvement of long segment ribosomal PCR amplification for the molecular taxonomic identification of Litylenchus crenatae mccannii in beech trees with beech leaf disease. Journal of Nematology. 52, e2020-016. Kanzaki, N., Ichihara, Y., Aikawa, T., Ekino, T., Masuya, H. 2019. Litylenchus crenatae n. sp. (Tylenchomorpha: Anguinidae), a leaf gall nematode parasitising Fagus crenata Blume Nematology 21 (1), 5-22. http://www.brill.com/nematology doi: 10.1163/15685411-00003190 Marra, R.E., LaMondia, J. 2020. First report of beech leaf disease, caused by the foliar nematode, Litylenchus crenatae mccannii, on American beech (Fagus grandifolia) in Connecticut. Plant Disease (early view). https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-02-20-0442-PDN Reed, S. E., Greifenhagen, S., Yu, Q., Hoke A., Burke D. J., Carta L. K., Handoo Z.A., Kantor, M.R., Koch, J. 2020. Foliar nematode, Litylenchus crenatae ssp. mccannii, population dynamics in leaves and buds of beech leaf disease-affected trees in Canada and the US. Forest Pathology 50 (3), e12599.


2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 288-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo J. Donoso ◽  
Ralph D. Nyland

Abstract Rubus often becomes the most prominent vegetation within 2–3 years following heavy overstory disturbances at mesic sites within temperate forests of northeastern North America. This review draws together available literature about its dynamics and effects, focusing primarilyon raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) and blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis Porter). It covers some key ecologic functions of raspberries related to nutrient leaching, microclimate near the ground, and organic matter decomposition. It also summarizes published information about the potentialinterference with desirable tree regeneration at northern hardwood sites within the region. The review concentrates on raspberry (Rubus spp.) dynamics and effects following clearcutting, shelterwood method, and other heavy overstory disturbances. Findings indicate that raspberries commonlydevelop into a dense cover after cutting and other overstory disturbances reduce the stocking of northern hardwood stands by 40% or more. Ecologically, they shade the ground, intercept and transpire water, and reduce the rate of litter decomposition and nutrient cycling, all of whichreduce leaching from a site. On poorly drained, droughty, and shallow soils, raspberries have reportedly delayed the development of hardwood regeneration. However, by 5–7 years, rapidly developing hardwood species have normally grown through the Rubus at most other sites, andthe emerging tree community has formed a closed canopy by 10–15 years. The presence of abundant, well-developed, and well-distributed advance tree regeneration ensures prompt restocking of new hardwoods, seems to minimize the potential for interference by raspberries, and precludes anyneed to release the tree seedlings from a raspberry cover. North. J. Appl. For. 23(4):288 –296.


2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Koch ◽  
David W. Carey ◽  
Mary E. Mason ◽  
C. Dana Nelson

A beech bark disease infested American beech tree ( Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) and two uninfested trees were selected in a mature natural stand in Michigan, USA, and mated to form two full-sib families for evaluating the inheritance of resistance to beech scale ( Cryptococcus fagisuga Lind.), the insect element of beech bark disease. Four half-sib families from both infested and uninfested trees were also evaluated for resistance. Using an artificial infestation technique, adult and egg count data were collected over 2 years and analyzed with generalized linear mixed methods to account for nonnormal distributions of the response variables. A significant effect for family was found for each variable. Family least squares means were computed as a measure of resistance and repeatabilities were calculated to provide an upper limit estimate of broad-sense heritability. The two families that ranked highest for resistance were the full-sib family from two uninfested parents and the half-sib family from a stand where all diseased trees had been removed. Together, the results suggest that selection and breeding may be an effective means to improve populations for artificial regeneration, and silvicultural treatments may provide an effective management option for mitigating beech bark disease through managing the genetic composition of natural regeneration.


2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 173-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Wieferich ◽  
Deborah G. McCullough ◽  
Daniel B. Hayes ◽  
Nancy J. Schwalm

Abstract Beech scale (Cryptococcus fagisuga Lind.) (Hemiptera; Coccidae), an invasive insect associated with beech bark disease, was discovered in 2000 in a localized area of northwest Lower Michigan and one area in the eastern Upper Peninsula. From 2005 to 2009, we surveyed 809 sites in 73 Michigan counties to determine whether American beech (Fagus grandifolia) trees were present and, if so, whether trees had been colonized by beech scale. Beech trees were present in 696 sites in forest, recreation, and residential areas. By 2009, beech scale had infested beech trees in 8 of 15 counties in the Upper Peninsula, 14 of 68 counties in the Lower Peninsula, one of three islands in Lake Michigan, and all three sampled islands in Lake Huron. Colonization of islands more than 20 km from infestations on the mainland suggest that beech scale was likely introduced by humans or birds. Rates of expansion of 12 discrete beech scale populations varied from 3.3 to 14.3 km per year.


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