Shortleaf Pines are dying! (NJ Pine Barrens)

I've been noticing a few Shortleaf Pines, here and there, that are dying, suddenly it seems. There's no evidence of a lightning strike or other damage.

If anyone knows of a pest that attacks Shortleaf Pine, I'd be interested in hearing about it. So far it's only a few scattered trees. But still it's very sad to see, especially when some of the larger ones are dying.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Pine Barrens
• New Jersey
• outdoors
• nature

[MillerMeteor74]

I hear you. All I know for sure is that in the Pine Barrens we are losing Pitch Pine and Shortleaf Pine (maybe even Virginia Pine, but I don't know) from Southern PIne Beetle, and we are losing oaks here and there from Gypsy Moth. Anything else, I haven't noticed. Thanks for the discussion.

[witsendnj]

Controlled fumigation experiments conducted at many international research stations have demonstrated that trees and plants damaged by exposure to ozone are far more vulnerable to attacks by insects, disease, fungus and drought.

Their immune systems are injured and so the insects are like sharks that smell blood in the water (as described by one scientist at UWisconsin FACE experimental station). Don't be fooled by foresters who want to blame insects, they are the result, not the cause.

[MillerMeteor74]

@witsendnj Well thanks again. But at the time I shot the video (over a year ago), I just wanted to know what was actually physically killing the trees, and we now know it's the Southern Pine Beetles. Why they are here is a whole different story. But they wouldn't be infecting the trees if we were having normal, cold winters.

Anyway, thanks.

[witsendnj]

deadtrees-dyingforest website or witsendnj blog.

Tropospheric ozone is killing trees all over the world. It's toxic, it gives people cancer and other fatal diseases. It damages plants and trees when they absorb it through their leaves or needles.

Annual crops yield and quality is also reduced. The government knows but they don't want people to panic. Check out those sites, lots of links to scientific research.

Also, pines overproduce cones and trees overproduce seed when they are dying.

[MillerMeteor74]

@witsendnj Thanks. Since this video was made pines have been found dying in many locations all over the entire NJ Pine Barrens. It has been determined to be Southern Pine Beetles. The foresters know for a fact that the beetles are here. Our winters have not been cold enough. It's very bad, and very sad!

[joe2trees]

At 2:46 on the trunck you can see beetle bore holes. Looks like quite alot. What do you guess ?

[MillerMeteor74]

@joe2trees I will drive up there and look carefully. Maybe it's that beetle I mentioned. That's bad.

[witsendnj]

Look around and you will undoubtedly see that trees other than shortleaf pines are dying, as are shrubs. This time of year you can see the yellow and brown on evergreens like cedars, hemlocks, rhododendrons, arborvitae, boxwood, yew etc.

Even on the deciduous trees, their branches are breaking, their bark is coarsened, corroded, splitting, peeling and oozing...they have cankers - twisted growths which are equivalent to cancerous tumors and holes.

It's a global problem for all plant species.

[joe2trees]

One way to determine the species of beetle is to remove the bark over a bore hole. Then you can see the pattern of larvel bore canals. Each type has a unique pattern.

[PinePowerLI]

This is another consequence of climate change. Warm winters and hot summers like the one we are in are creating a bumper crop of insects. This is throwing things out of balance and a tree can only handle so many insects feeding on it before it dies. There have been mass dieoffs of Firs in the Boreal Forest due to global warming, with the lack of any bitter cold in winter the insects survive. Pretty much the only way to get rid of them is fire. Another reason why its so important in the pines.

[PinePowerLI]

@joe2trees Pine Borer beetle perhaps?

[PinePowerLI]

Appears to be insect damage. This will become all the more common with global warming. I've noticed this becoming more common, with pitch pines too. The insects that normally get killed in winter dont because winters are warm now.