Potential hazard rating system for fir stands infested with budworm using cambial electrical resistance

1980 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weston Davis ◽  
Walter Shortle ◽  
Alex Shigo

Cambial electrical resistance (CER) of more than 10 000 trees, predominantly balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea) and red spruce (Picearubens) was measured in 90 stands in northern Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, U.S.A. CER index values (mean CER, kiloohms per stand) ranged from 9 to 13 for fir in nonoutbreak situations, and 9 to 18 in outbreak situations with moderate to heavy budworm infestation, whereas values for red spruce remained essentially constant at 7 to 13 in both situations. Balsam fir trees in stands with an index value of 9 grew almost three times faster (diameter growth) than in stands with an index value of 13. An increase of index values from 13 to 18 in outbreak situations indicated no further reduction in growth, but may indicate impending mortality of trees with lower vitality. Such index values may be useful in developing a hazard rating system for fir stands infected with spruce budworm.

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 472-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert O. Blanchard ◽  
Walter C. Shortle ◽  
Weston Davis

Cambial electrical resistance (CER) and periodic growth rate (PGR) of canopy balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea L.) trees were determined on 26 sites in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, U.S.A., varying in level of spruce budworm defoliation. Determinations of water and potassium concentrations were made of the bark, wood, and vascular cambial zone (VCZ). Low CER was associated with high PGR and vice versa. A decline in PGR on all 26 sites was detected during early 1970's to late 1970's. It was not associated with, but may have been exacerbated by, spruce budworm defoliation. The most probable mechanism relating CER to PGR in balsam fir was variation in the thickness of VCZ and its correlation with potassium content. Thicker VCZ of faster growing trees released more potassium into the solution contacting electrodes than thinner VCZ of slower growing trees.


1972 ◽  
Vol 104 (7) ◽  
pp. 1051-1054
Author(s):  
J. F. Stewart ◽  
N. R. Brown

AbstractA series of low-volume spray treatments were conducted to study the contact and residual effect of two concentrations of the insecticide phosphamidon to fourth instar spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), on balsam fir, Abies balsamea (L.) Mill, and red spruce, Picea rubens Sarg. Treatment of sprayed larvae on sprayed trees, unsprayed larvae on sprayed trees, and sprayed larvae on unsprayed trees, resulted in two principal conclusions: (a) Higher concentrations of phosphamidon (1% versus 0.5% active) accelerated mortality in all instances and (b) no statistical difference (P = 0.1%) was found in the final mortalities between treatments in which only the foliage was treated and where both larvae and foliage were treated with phosphamidon.


2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1518-1522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Boyce

Decreases in soil exchangeable calcium (Ca) due to acid deposition have been linked with declines of forest species in the northeastern United States, particularly red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.). In 2005, chlorophyll fluorescence measurements were taken on red spruce and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) trees growing on two watersheds at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF) in New Hampshire. One watershed had been fertilized with CaSiO3 in 1999 to replace the soil Ca losses of the past 50 years, and the other was a reference watershed. In March, there were no differences in any chlorophyll fluorescence parameter between sites or species. In August, however, dark-adapted ratios of variable fluorescence to maximum fluorescence (Fv/Fm) were significantly greater (p = 0.05) in the Ca-treated watershed for both spruce and fir, and spruce values were significantly greater than fir. No differences were found in the light-adapted fluorescence parameters. These results suggest that both spruce and fir respond to increases in Ca availability, even though fir does not exhibit the decline symptoms seen in spruce. It is unclear what physiological effect is responsible for the observed differences in Fv/Fm. The Fv/Fm values appear to respond to differences in Ca availability in forest tree species; thus, the ratio has the potential to be used in these two watersheds at HBEF to determine if other forest species are also responding to Ca additions.


2005 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 791-800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Fortin

Diameter growth at breast height of 341 balsam fir and red spruce stems has been reproduced over a time lapse of 50 years following a diameter limit cutting. The available information has been analyzed with a statistical model in which the effects of time, species (two levels), ecological type (three levels) and diameter at harvesting have been tested. Results indicate that balsam fir saplings have higher diameter growths than red spruce saplings, but only in the case of better ecological types. The differences between both species are smaller for stems having a merchantable diameter (dbh > 9.0 cm) at harvesting time. On poor ecological station, red spruce diameter growth is more important than for balsam fir and this, whatever the diameter at harvesting time. On the other hand, as indicated by this analysis, stem diameter at the time of silvicultural treatment constitutes a significant variable in the prediction of diameter growth for red spruce stems, while the effect of this variable is less identifiable for balsam fir. Even if significant, the growth differences between the two species are small. The competition created by the balsam fir regeneration on red spruce saplings is definitely not the cause of the depletion of red spruce in second growth stands.. Key words: red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), diameter growth, partial cut, mixed stands, linear model, mixed model


1991 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Wagner ◽  
Donald R. Tobi ◽  
William E. Wallner ◽  
Bruce L. Parker

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.


1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 991-1001 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Rizzo ◽  
T. C. Harrington

Crown dieback and mortality of red spruce and balsam fir in the subalpine zone of the northern Appalachian Mountains have been attributed to wind-induced crown and root damage. Vertical root movements, damage to roots and crowns, and growth rate were measured on wind-exposed spruce and fir trees near canopy gaps at Kancamagus Pass (875 m elevation) and Wildcat Mountain (1160 m) in the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire. Root movements were significantly correlated with windspeed, crown exposure, and depth of soil to rock. Woody roots that had made movements in excess of 10 mm had fewer small (1–3 mm diameter) roots, more abrasion wounds, and a greater amount of nonconducting (dry or discolored) xylem than roots that had made smaller movements. Hydraulic conductivity was significantly reduced in roots with greater than 40% xylem cross-sectional area that was nonconducting. Spruce and fir trees at gap margins grew slower and had more root and crown damage than trees sheltered within the canopy. Decreases in growth rate of spruce and fir trees at both sites during the past 20 years were significantly correlated with wind exposure and some of the root and crown damage variables.


1991 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 1380-1389 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Peart ◽  
Matthew B. Jones ◽  
Peter A. Palmiotto

We report the severity and detailed spatial patterns of winter injury to red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) in the winter of 1988–1989 and assess support for the desiccation and freezing hypotheses. Foliar injury was quantified at three elevations (840, 990, and 1140 m) and on east- and west-facing slopes in the spruce-fir zone at Mount Moosilauke, New Hampshire. Overall, 29% of current-year foliage on red spruce trees was killed by winter injury. Injury increased with elevation. There was a weak tendency for winter injury to be higher on the sun-exposed south sides of crowns, but substantial injury also occurred on shaded foliage. Injury increased markedly with height in crown at high elevation, but decreased with height at low elevation. The results appear inconsistent with desiccation as the main cause of winter injury. Elevational trends in foliar injury are consistent with the freezing hypothesis, but the strong trends in foliar injury by height within trees cannot be fully explained without further data on spatial variation in microclimate and freezing tolerance. Failure to break bud was assessed on the same spatial scales as foliar injury. Bud break was least in trees and crown sections with severe foliar injury. No evidence for winter injury was found on balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.). The results support the hypothesis that winter injury may contribute to the current decline of red spruce in the northern Appalachians.


1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 494-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason D Demers ◽  
Thomas D Lee ◽  
James P Barrett

The relationships between tree species distribution and substrate characteristics were examined at the upper elevational limit of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) in the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire. Four tree species were studied: sugar maple, balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton). At 51 individual trees (>=2.5 cm diameter at breast height) of each species, "substrate type" was described based on the parent material, soil horizons, depth and texture of the B and C horizons, nature of surface boulders, and the depth to and type of impermeable layer. Substrate type was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with tree species. Sugar maple was relatively more frequent on deep fine and compact tills, less frequent on washed or shallow till, and absent on shallow, organic, or grus (weathered granite) substrates. Red spruce, balsam fir, and yellow birch were less sensitive to substrate type. Red spruce and yellow birch were most frequent on organic material or grus over rock. Balsam fir most frequently occurred on washed till. As the frequency of substrates favorable to sugar maple declined with elevation, it is possible that the upper elevational range limit of this species is influenced by substrate availability.


1976 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvan J. Hardy ◽  
Louis G. Dorais

A hazard rating map is obtained in Quebec by superimposing the map of the annual damage caused by the spruce budworm, Choristoneurafumiferana (Clem.), during the past 4 years on that forecast for the next year. The various levels of risk are based on the physiological value of each year of foliage production and the ability of balsam fir, Abiesbalsamea Mill., to resist repeated budworm attacks. Applied to the forest of Quebec, this hazard map can lead to a more rational use of pesticides against the budworm.


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