Forest health monitoring in New England : 1990 annual report

122 Pages·1992·5.1 MB·English

by  Brooks, Robert T

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United States Forest Health Monitoring
Department of
^•^^I Agriculture New England: 1990
in
Forest Service Annual Report
Northeastern Forest
Experiment Station
Resource Bulletin NE-125 Robert T. Brooks
David R. Dickson
William G. Burkman
Imants Millers
Margaret Miller-Weeks
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Ellen Cooter
Luther Smitln
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Abstract
Reportsthefindingsofthe 1990 (first) Forest Health Monitoringfield season. The objectives wereto establish
baseline conditions of New England forests for assessing attribiAes of forest health. Field visits were made
to 263 sample plots across the six New England states, and measurements were taken on 206 plots
determined to be forested. Results are detailed in 46 tables and summarized in text, and charts. The
representativeness of the sample, findings from tree-crown ratings, damage signs and symptoms, and
bioindicator plants are discussed.
Information in this document has beenfundedwholly or in part bythe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
It has been subjected toAgency review and approved for publication. Mention oftrade names or commercial
products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
The Authors
ROBERT T. BROOKS is a research wildlife biologist with the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Forest
Experiment Station at Amherst, Massachusetts.
DAVID R. DICKSON is a forester with the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station at
Radnor, Pennsylvania.
WILLIAM G. BURKMAN is a forester with the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area, State and Private
Forestry at Radnor, Pennsylvania
IMANTS MILLERS isasupervisory entolmologistwith the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area, State and
Private Forestry at Durham, New Hampshire.
MARGARET MILLER-WEEKS is a supervisory plant pathologist with the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern
Area, State and Private Forestry at Durham, New Hampshire.
ELLEN COOTER is a meterologist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Atmospheric Exposure
Assessment Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. She is currently on assignment from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Air Resources Laboratory.
LUTHERSMITH isaprojectscientistwith ManTech EnvironmentalTechnology Inc. at ResearchTriangle Park,
North Carolina
Manuscript received for publication 7 October 1991.
Northeastern Forest Experiment Station
5 Radnor Corporate Center
100 Matsonford Road, Suite 200
P.O. Box 6775
Radnor, Pennsylvania 19087-4585
October 1992
Contents
Introduction
1
New England Forest Resource
1
Forest Health Monitoring In New England 2
Methods 3
FHM Sample Plot Network 3
Data Analysis 6
Quality Assurance/Quality Control 6
Results and Discussion 7
Comparison of Sample with New England Resource 7
Tree Crown Ratings 8
Damage Signs and Symptoms 14
Bioindicator Plants 15
Forest Stressors 17
Major Forest Pests in New England 1990 17
Atmospheric Deposition and Pollution 24
Climate and Weather 27
Summary 37
Acknowledgements 37
Literature Cited 38
Appendix 39
Definition of Terms 39
Common and Scientific Names of Tree Species in New England 43
Estimation of Sampling Errors 45
Quality Assurance Report 46
Index to Forest Health Monitoring Tables 56
USDA,
National Agricultural Ubr
NAL
BIdg
10301 Baltimore Blvd
MD
Beitsville, 20705-2351

Highlights
* Forest Health Monitoring (FHM), a national program, was implemented in New England in 1990.
* An extensive network of 263 FHM plots was established and measured.
* On 206 FHM plots classified asforested, 13,283seedlings and saplings and 6,481 treeswere sampled
and marked for remeasurement.
* The proportion of FHM plots by land use andforest-type group andthe distribution oftrees by species
were as expected from extensive forest surveys conducted in the early 1980's.
* Over all species, only 4 percent of upper canopy trees had moderate to severe crown dieback;
American beech had the largest proportion (13 percent) of trees with moderate to severe dieback.
* Slightly more than 4 percent of upper canopy trees had moderate to severe foliage transparency;
American beech had the largest proportion of trees with moderate to severe foliage transparency.
* Results of measurements offoliage discoloration, needle retention, and damage signs and symptoms
suggest no unexplainable forest health concerns.

Introduction
New England's Forest Resource
Brooks et al. (1992) reviewed the status of New England's forest resources
as ofthe last extensiveforest surveys in the early 1980's. On the basis of data
collected from 124,001 aerial photographic points and 4,731 forest survey
plots, thesix-state regionwas estimatedto be morethan 80 percent forested.
With a total land area of over 40 million acres, this amounts to more than 32
million acres of forest land.
Forest land predominates throughout New England, with Maine most exten-
sively forested and forest land in southern New England exceeding 60 per-
cent of total land area. The dominance of forest land has been observed in
each of the three regional forest surveys conducted since the early 1950's.
More than 85 percent of New England's forests are classified as one of four
major forest-type groups: white pine, spruce-fir, oak-hickory, or northern
hardwoods. Across New England, 82 tree species or species groups have
been recorded on forest survey plots. The most common softwood species
are balsam fir and red spruce; red maple is the most common hardwood
species.
New England'sforest resource has have been maturing: 46 percent isclassi-
fied as sawtimber-size stands, which have the largest and presumably the
oldesttrees. The area of sawtimber-size stands has increased by 36 percent
since the surveys of the 1970's. Concurrently, smaller poletimber- and
seedling/sapling-size stands have decreased in area by 8 and 51 percent,
respectively.
The predominance offorests in New England underscores their importance
as a source of both commodity and amenity resources. Yet, these forests
have been and continue to be exposed to a broad range of stressors, both
natural and human caused. Natural stressors include weather extremes
(e.g., wind, early snowfall, late freeze) and insects and pathogens. Land use
change remains the human-caused stress of greatest impact.
The forests of New England are second and third regrowth subsequent to
the original clearing at the time of the European settlement. Of recent con-
cern is the subdivision of large forest tracts for residential use (Brooks and
Birch 1988). Indirect human-caused stresses on New England forests are
atmospheric pollution (e.g., ozone) and deposition (e.g., 'acid rain", dry
deposition). A major but not fully substantiated concern is global climate
change caused by the generation of "greenhouse" gases.
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Forest Health Monitoring in New England
The increased awareness of these stressors on the forest ecosystem has
resulted in acorresponding increase in public concern aboutthe "health and
productivity of forests in certain regions of the United States' and in federal
legislation mandating 'such surveys as are necessary to monitor long-term
trends in the health and productivity of domestic forest ecosystems' (Public
Law 100-521). This mandatewas implemented in the six New England states
in 1990.
Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) in New England is a cooperative venture
involving the USDA Forest Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), and the state forestry agencies of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. FHM was administered by
an Executive Steering Committee composed of three senior USDA Forest
Service personnel, two state foresters, a senior EPA employee, and an
employee of Forestry Canada. This Committee appointed aTechnical Com-
mittee of USDA Forest Service, state, and EPA personnel to design and
implement FHM.
FHM is intended to be a long-term effort with major emphasis on detecting
unexpected deviations from established baseline forest conditions. Specific
objectives of FHM in New England are to:
1. Characterize the following forest conditions:
a. Tree-growth rates.
b. Tree vigor.
c. Soil and site.
d. Stand composition.
e. Landscape characteristics.
2. Characterize the following potential forest stressors:
a. Insects and pathogens.
b. Climate (long term) and weather (short term).
c. Atmospheric deposition and pollution.
d. Other direct human activities.
3. Quantify changes in forest conditions and potential forest stressors.
4. Correlate changes in forest conditions with potential forest stressors.
Forest conditions are to be described by the measurement and reporting of
data from several "health' indicators. Data elements have been divided into
five indicator groups: growth, tree symptomatology, soil chemistry, foliar
chemistry, and landscape characterization. Individual measurements sup-
port one or more indicators. Measurements will be made and indicators
characterized on a periodic basis, annually for those that change most
rapidly (e.g., foliar symptomatology) and on a four-year or longer cycle for
those that change less rapidly (e.g., soil chemistry).
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