Forest Insect and Disease Conditions in Vermont 2013
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
FOREST INSECT AND DISEASE CONDITIONS IN VERMONT 2013 AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT OF FORESTS, PARKS & RECREATION MONTPELIER - VERMONT 05620-3801 STATE OF VERMONT PETER SHUMLIN, GOVERNOR AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES DEBORAH L. MARKOWITZ, SECRETARY DEPARTMENT OF FORESTS, PARKS & RECREATION Michael C. Snyder, Commissioner Steven J. Sinclair, Director of Forests http://www.vtfpr.org/ We gratefully acknowledge the financial and technical support provided by the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry that enables us to conduct the surveys and publish the results in this report. This report serves as the final report for fulfillment of the Cooperative Lands – Survey and Technical Assistance and Forest Health Monitoring programs. In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. This document is available upon request in large print, Braille or audio cassette. FOREST INSECT AND DISEASE CONDITIONS IN VERMONT CALENDAR YEAR 2013 PREPARED BY: Barbara Schultz, Trish Hanson, Sandra Wilmot, Tom Simmons, Kathy Decker, Tess Greaves AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT OF FORESTS, PARKS & RECREATION TABLE OF CONTENTS Vermont 2013 Forest Health Highlights ......................................................................... 1 Forest Resource Protection Personnel .......................................................................... 10 Introduction ..................................................................................................................11 Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................................11 Weather and Phenology ................................................................................................ 13 Forest Insects ............................................................................................................... 36 Hardwood Defoliators........................................................................................ 36 Birch Defoliation ............................................................................................................................... 36 Forest Tent Caterpillar .................................................................................................................... 36 Gypsy Moth ........................................................................................................................................37 Saddled Prominent ........................................................................................................................... 38 Other Hardwood Defoliators............................................................................................................ 40 Softwood Defoliators ......................................................................................... 43 Spruce Budworm ............................................................................................................................. 43 Other Softwood Defoliators .............................................................................................................. 45 Sapsucking Insects, Midges and Mites ...............................................................46 Hemlock Woolly Adelgid .................................................................................................................. 46 Pear Thrips ........................................................................................................................................ 49 Other Sapsucking Insects, Midges and Mites .................................................................................. 51 Bud and Shoot Insects ........................................................................................ 54 Root Insects ........................................................................................................ 55 Bark and Wood Insects ..................................................................................... 56 Asian Longhorned Beetle ................................................................................................................. 56 Emerald Ash Borer ........................................................................................................................... 59 Firewood ............................................................................................................................................ 65 Exotic Wood Borer/Bark Beetle National Survey ........................................................................... 65 Wind-Disturbed Site Beetle Surveys ............................................................................................... 66 Other Bark and Wood Insects ........................................................................................................... 71 Fruit, Nut and Flower Insects ............................................................................. 74 Forest Diseases ............................................................................................................. 75 Stem Diseases ..................................................................................................... 75 Beech Bark Disease ............................................................................................................................ 75 Butternut Canker ............................................................................................................................... 77 Other Stem Diseases ......................................................................................................................... 78 Foliage Diseases ................................................................................................ 80 Anthracnose ...................................................................................................................................... 80 Needle Diseases of White Pine ......................................................................................................... 83 Poplar Leaf Blight ............................................................................................................................. 84 Septoria Leafspot on Birch ............................................................................................................. 84 Other Foliage Diseases ................................................................................................................... 86 i Root Diseases .................................................................................................... 88 Diebacks, Declines, and Environmental Diseases ............................................. 89 Frost Damage .................................................................................................................................... 89 Larch Decline .................................................................................................................................... 89 Logging-Related Decline .................................................................................................................. 90 Ozone Injury ..................................................................................................................................... 90 Spruce-Fir Dieback and Mortality .................................................................................................... 91 Extreme Weather Events .................................................................................................................. 93 Wet or Flooded Sites ......................................................................................................................... 94 Wind Damage .................................................................................................................................... 96 Other Diebacks, Declines, and Environmental Diseases ................................................................ 97 Animal Damage ............................................................................................................99 Invasive Plants ............................................................................................................ 100 Trends in Forest Health .............................................................................................. 101 Sugar Maple Health in 2013............................................................................................................ 101 Trends in Forest Health at Mount Mansfield in 2013 .................................................................. 104 ii FIGURES Figure 1. Monthly average temperature and total monthly precipitation in 2013, compared to normal for Burlington, Vermont. ....................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 2. Monthly rainfall amounts (in inches) at Vermont fire weather observation stations through fire season, March – October, 2013. ...................................................................................................... 18 Figure 3. Monthly rainfall amounts (in inches) at the Nulhegan fire weather observation station in Brunswick, Vermont compared to normal through fire season, April-October, 2013. ......................... 18 Figure 4. Monthly rainfall amounts (in inches) at the fire weather observation station in Elmore, Vermont compared to normal through fire