Laminated Root Rot On Bremerton Island Tree FarmPowerPoint PresentationSlide 3Laminated Root Rot Life History/CycleLaminated Root Rot Life History/Cycle ContinuedSlide 6Slide 7Slide 8Slide 9Defining Area ObjectivesDifferences in ManagementCurrent 5 Acre Laminated Root Rot PocketRestoration ManagementRestoration Management ContinuedRecommendationsSlide 16Recall some facts on Laminated Root Root... Phellinus weiriiSlide 18Suggested Solutions Pro’s and Con’sSlide 20Commercial vs. Aesthetic & RecreationCommercial OperationsSlide 23Slide 24Slide 25Slide 26For now…..Slide 28Slide 29Laminated Root Rot On Bremerton Island Tree Farm• 168 acres• It was clear cut in 1928, only a few old growth Douglas firs were left•The second growth forest that now stands is about 75 years old mainly composed of: Douglas firs, hemlock and alder, there is also some red cedar and white pine.•Mr. Harry E Case obtained the property in 1946 with the purpose of having a tree farm.•The property has been commercially thinned twice, using a thinning method designed to keep the integrity and health of the forest •In 1956, in the south east part of the property a big Douglas fir died. It caused some concern because it was suspected that laminated root rot was the cause of the trees decline.•In 1960 there was a windstorm and some of the Douglas fir in the same area blew down. At this point it became evident that laminated root rot was to blame. By 1985 the infected area had grown to three acres, but in the last eighteen years it has grown an additional two acres. -It is suspected that the trees got the fungus from stumps left behind from the initial clear cut.Aerial Photo - 1972 Aerial Photo - 2002Laminated Root Rot Life History/Cycle•Laminated root rot (Phellinus weirii) is a fungal disease that attacks Douglas-fir, Mountain Hemlock and Grand Fir. •It is first visible through pockets of fallen trees.Laminated Root Rot Life History/Cycle Continued•The disease has lost its life cycle over time, it now lives primarily by moving from an infected hosts’ root system to a healthy tree’s root system. Although fruiting fungal bodies do occur their windblown spore is thought to have a relatively unimportant role in the spread of the disease. The diseased area is referred to as a “pocket,” which is estimated to grow at a rate of 30 cm a yearLaminated Root Rot Life History/Cycle Continued• The disease attaches itself to a new host. When that host’s roots come in contact with a infected root system. P. weirii then uses ectotrophic mycelium that grow across the root contact and invade a healthy tree system • As the fungus moves along the trees roots, the roots distal to the fungus are killed, this denies the tree nutrient and water uptake. This also make trees more assessable to wind blowLaminated Root Rot Life History/Cycle Continued•As the roots are killed, wood- decay in the heartwood and sapwood occurs, resulting in a weakened structure of the tree. •Once the fungus enters the tree, it will persist their for many years. The larger the tree the longer potential life span of the fungus. Some references mention that the disease has the potential to live up to 50 years saprophytically in the root system, other sources say 8 years.Laminated Root Rot Life History/Cycle Continued•The Fungus will wall itself in the infected wood in hyphal sheaths which appear as dark zone lines. With advanced decay reddish brown setal hyphae occurs between the laminae•While the disease does not affect hardwood trees, it has the potential to spread to the muffin family, this can cause huge economic loss for companies such as Starbucks. The best course of action is to remove the infected trees. Replant with resistant species and eat the infected muffinLaminated Root Rot Life History/Cycle ContinuedDefining Area Objectives•The objectives of the infected land must be determined before a management strategy can be adoptedPrivate Commercial Tree Farm Public Recreational ParkHigh Productivity No Productivity GoalsLow Species Diversity High Species DiversityEven Age Stand Multiple Age StandEconomic Value Aesthetic ValueDisease Elimination Disease ResistanceLarge Budget Limited BudgetDifferences in ManagementPrivate Commercial Tree Farm•Intensive Removal of Stumps, branches and roots•50 foot Buffers around root rot pocket •Salvage wind thrown trees•Switch crop speciesPublic Recreational Park•Replace with resistant plant species•Let the pocket grow and be replaced with natives •Leave wind thrown trees as nurse logs and snags•Remove Hazard TreesCurrent 5 Acre Laminated Root Rot PocketObjectives: Timber Production Management•Salvage wind thrown, dead and declining DF and Hemlock (about 15 per yr.)•Planted tolerant or resistant plant speciesMostly western red cedar- Thuja plicata 900–1,000 Scotch Pine- Pinus sp. 100-200Western White Pine- Pinus monticola 100-200•Planted Douglas Fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii along the edge of root rot pocket•Few Noble Fir, Abies procera for Christmas trees •Assist natural seed source like Hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla, Red Alder Alnus rubra, and some Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii •Economically favoring red alder for the market European demand = furnitureRestoration Management•Installation of wire fencing around newly planted trees to control deer damage•Deer repellant is used especially on cedar trees•Brush clearing to reduce plant competition- clear around favored species•ID and protect new natural seedlingsRestoration Management ContinuedAccording to Donald Goheen and Susan Frankel (USDA Forest Service) “Most disease management involves vegetation management through altering species composition.” Three factors based on choice of species to plant and favor include:1) What plant species will not be damaged by a particular diseases and what is the relative degree of tolerance or resistance?2) What ecological amplitudes of candidate plant species? What species are adapted to the site?3) What is the management objectives? - What plants attain objectives Short and long term? - What are the time constraints? social and political pressures considered.Recommendations (1) Remove all susceptible hosts from the disease center (2) Construct a fifty foot buffer zone and regeneration openings around root rot center with intermediately