[CANUFNET] Sugar Maple Decline Bancroft Ontario near Algonquin park

Wed Jul 8 11:55:28 EDT 2020

Hello.

Sugar maples can be attacked by hundreds of pests in any given year.  A lot of species feed on them and there doesn’t seem to be a definite pattern to the attacks.  Some years almost nothing, some years the leaves look ragged.  They usually recover.

Usually when I see a stand of hardwoods in central Ontario with dieback at the tips of most trees it’s a stand that has been cut within the past 10 years.  You can see how spaced-out the trees are and the stumps and brush to confirm.  The trees that are left after partial cutting often decline in health and are replaced by new regeneration coming up.  I talked to a friend in the business there who said this is typical in stands where there has been rutting during the logging process, or there has been drought in the years immediately after cutting took place.  The sites I see it most on are those that have been diameter-limit cut and most of the good timber has been taken out.  In other words, hi-graded.  You can spot these stands even driving by on the highway.

Keep in mind that sugar maple is not especially well suited to the soils of the shield.  It prefers alkaline soil and the shield has acidic soils.  It causes them to have shorten lifespans than in the south where the soils are deeper and more alkaline and nearly all of the larger trees in a stand will have significant cracks and rot in them by middle age. A typical mature sugar maple dominated stand will have trees 125-150 years old and they will all have severe defects in the butt logs and many are falling over in storms.  In the south a tree of the same age can be in much better condition at that age and still have many good years left. 

I worked on the McLaughlin et al study cited below.  MOECP still monitored forest health in those plots as recently as 2019.  The contact there (in 2019) was Michele.Williamson at ontario.ca <mailto:Michele.Williamson at ontario.ca> . She might have some insights.

Stephen Smith

Urban Forest Associates

Urban Forestry & Ecological Restoration

www.ufora.ca

Office/fax 416-423-3387

Cell 416-707-2164

From: CANUFNET <canufnet-bounces at list.web.net> On Behalf Of C. Kavassalis via CANUFNET
Sent: July 8, 2020 10:32 AM
To: Canadian Urban Forest Network <canufnet at list.web.net>
Cc: C. Kavassalis <c.kavassalis at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] Sugar Maple Decline Bancroft Ontario near Algonquin park

Oliver,

I appreciate your comments. As a Master Gardener, sugar production is well outside my expertise.

What would you recommend as the best references for tapping guidelines?  Would these be appropriate to suggest?

*	Chapeskie, D., Richardson, M., Wheeler, A.,  Sajan, B., Neave, P., 2006 .  A Guide to Improving and Maintaining Sugar Bush Health and Productivity. Eastern Ontario Model Forest. https://www.eomf.on.ca/media/k2/attachments/A_Guide_to_Improve__Maintain_Sugar_Bush_Health_EOMF.pdf
*	Richardson, K. (2015). Sugar Bush Management in Ontario: Identification of Resilient Adaptation Strategies for a Changing Climate. MRP submitted to the Faculty of Geography, Wilfrid Laurier University.  https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/ <https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1002&context=ges_mrp> &httpsredir=1&article=1002&context=ges_mrp
*	Northeastern States Research Cooperative. 2010. Sustainable Tapping Guidelines for Modern Maple Syrup Production. https://nsrcforest.org/project/sustainable-tapping-guidelines-modern-maple-syrup-production

Thank you,

Catherine Kavassalis

MGOI.ca

On Wed, Jul 8, 2020 at 9:20 AM ConsultingArborist via CANUFNET <canufnet at list.web.net <mailto:canufnet at list.web.net> > wrote:

Hi.

Like Michael said, those trees need to be looked at in the field. You've listed a bunch of arthropod pests which are relatively minor (gall mites, leaf miners, erineum mites, leaf rollers, etc...) and I highly doubt would be the cause of any significant decline or dieback. When I hear of sugar maples declining in a "managed maple forest", my first question would be if there is any tapping history and, if so, whether or not the guidelines for # of taps per tree have been adhered to (i.e., is there a history of overtapping?).

Oliver K. Reichl, B.E.S.(Hons)
Principal / Consulting Arborist-Ecologist*

Arborsphere Arboriculture & Urban Forestry Consulting

18 Larue Mills Road

Mallorytown, ON, K0E 1R0

Tel: 613-213-6840 <tel:613-923-8833> 

Web: www.oliverkilian.com/treecare <http://www.oliverkilian.com/treecare> , Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oliver-K-Reichl-BESHons-Consulting-Arborist/192125024193992> 

  <https://drive.google.com/uc?id=0B7SSfng8pgSwVkRwR01jYWZhZ2M&export=download> 

* ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist #553

  ISA Certified Arborist #ON-1178A

  Ontario Butternut Health Assessor #039

  ISA Tree Risk Assessor Qualified

  OUFC Heritage Tree Inspector

On Mon, Jul 6, 2020 at 11:00 AM Michael Richardson via CANUFNET <canufnet at list.web.net <mailto:canufnet at list.web.net> > wrote:

This gentleman needs some in the field help.  There are any number of
Foresters and Arborists who should be able to help.

The problem needs to be identified before any treatment.

He needs to check for Cryptostroma corticale (sooty bark disease) as one
of the less obvious issues.

> I am a volunteer with  the Master Gardeners of Ontario and field
> questions from across Ontario. I received a desperate request from an
> individual in the Bancroft area regarding managed maple forest in
> decline. Canopy dieback, heavy insect damage including caterpillars,
> weevils, and aphids, along with mites and disease pressures seem to be
> occurring.
>
> In the one photo provided, I can observe two species of weevils (one
> appears to be Phyllobius oblongus - European Snout Beetle), a green
> aphid issue (with associated honeydew), some minor leaf miner
> activity, eriophyid mites with what may be erineum galls, minor leaf
> spots, a leaf roller, and webbing from unknown source (possibly mite).
> He reports additional caterpillar activity, which I presume are gypsy
> moths as they are widely reported in the region this year.
>
> He is unable to find anyone in the area to provide him support and advice.
>
> Based on my reading, I have advised soil testing with particular
> attention given to phosphorus levels and potential  imbalances in Ca,
> Al, Mg and Mn. If consistent with soil tests, I have recommended
> liming based on recent article by Moore (2020).
>
> If open land is adjacent to the maple stand, I have also recommended
> creating a meadow buffer to support natural predators like lacewings
> and parasitic wasps to help control the aphids and insect pest
> populations.
>
> Please let me know if this advice is sound and what other measures
> this individual might take. Could you recommend advisors or
> consultants in the Bancroft area that might assist this landowner?
>
> Thank you for your attention to this inquiry.
>
> Best Regards,
> Catherine Kavassalis
> Master Gardeners of Ontario
> MGOI.ca
> Admin. https://www.facebook.com/groups/MasterGardenersofOntario/
>
>
>
> A few of the articles I have reviewed:
>
> Bal, T. L., Storer, A.J., Jurgensen, M.F. et al. (2015). Nutrient
> stress predisoses and contributes to sugar maple dieback across its
> northern range: a review. Forestry 88: 64-83
>
> McLaughlin D.L., Linzon S.N., Dimma D.E., McIlveen W.D. (1987) Sugar
> Maple Decline in Ontario. In: Hutchinson T.C., Meema K.M. (eds)
> Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants on Forests, Wetlands and
> Agricultural Ecosystems. NATO ASI Series (Series G: Ecological
> Sciences), vol 16. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
> https://link.springer.com/cha.../10.1007/978-3-642-70874-9_7
>
> Moore, Jean-David & Duchesne, Louis & Ouimet, Rock & Deschênes,
> Marie-Lou. (2020). Liming improves sap characteristics of sugar maple
> over the long term. Forest Ecology and Management. 464. 118044.
> 10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118044.
>
> McKenney, Daniel & PEDLAR, JOHN & LAWRENCE, KEVIN & CAMPBELL, KATHY &
> Hutchinson, M.F.. (2007). Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the
> Distribution of North American Trees. BioScience. 57. 939-948.
> 10.1641/B571106.
>
> OMAFRA. Beneficial Insects in Tree Fruit Orchards in Southern Ontario
> www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/96-029.htm <http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/96-029.htm> 
>
> Tara L. Bal, Andrew J. Storer, Martin F. Jurgensen. Evidence of damage
> from exotic invasive earthworm activity was highly correlated to sugar
> maple dieback in the Upper Great Lakes region. Biological Invasions,
> 2017; DOI: 10.1007/s10530-017-1523-0
>
>

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