Northeastern Area Forest Health Report

68 Pages·1993·4.9 MB·English

Historic, Archive Document
Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

| 5b 163
ASN
]) vane Northeastern Area
Forest Service Forest Health Re port
Reresstor . “ igo a te Fig at:
: e ?
NA-TP-03-93
The policy of the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service prohibits
discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, or
disability. Persons believing they have been discriminated against in any Forest
Service related activity should write to: Chief, Forest Service, USDA, Washington,
DC 20250.
Northeastern Area
Forest Health Report
This report was a cooperative efiort of the following individuals who are
members of the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private
Forestry Staff:
William Burkman Manfred Mielke
Quinn Chavez Margaret Miller-Weeks
Robert Cooke Florence Peterson
Susan Cox Marc Roberts
Susan DeLost Paul Sever
Tom Luther Dan Twardus
Acknowledgements
The information included in this document was gathered from various agencies and pro-
grams including:
@@ §=State Forestry and Agricultural Agencies in:
Connecticut Maine Missouri Pennsylvania
Delaware Maryland New Hampshire Rhode Island
Illinois Massachusetts New Jersey Vermont
Indiana Michigan New York West Virginia
Iowa Minnesota Ohio Wisconsin
#® USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry,
Forest Health Protection
#@ USDA Forest Service, Northeastern and North Central Forest Experiment Stations,
Forest Inventory and Analysis
2® Cooperative Forest Health Program
¢@ National Forest Health Monitoring Program
e@ Stewardship and Urban/Community Forestry Programs
¢@ US-EPA Environmental Monitoring Assessment Program-Forests (especially
Karl Hermann, who provided some of the Geographic Information System digital
information)
¢® The Forest Cover Type map was produced from digitized information by S. H.
Azevedo, Forest Ozone Team, US-EPA Environmental Research Lab, Corvallis, OR
from "Forest Cover Types of the United States and Canada".
Table of Contents
Preface
Highlights
~]
Introduction
Historical Perspective
Defining Forest Condition 10
The Forest Resource 11
Forest Type Groups 12
White-Red-Jack Pine Forest .................scccccsessceees 12
RO STELTIRVY LLLEP EAL ILO te ta: aot eretons scoasses uessee 12
LOCAL Caen eee ae CRE ee Selected sais Shite sie ok 13
LOC RELLL e meee eet te tee aoe ee eeeeeten ec aeee caste is 14
HECESLCTI TIE LCTILLOCK ate Mec vasegesseaees fel oes ceed 14
SPrUCeW-I TsH Oeste tes. meneeet te renen cts ac sc asbecns diekcses sees 17
TAI NOMUOLeSta tere. ie satsec cc snstavtee ss deeietoconesscoesees 21
EPEC ELL CMe eee Ree eee ae ae hoes lanes Al
Ale RING OTEStMM ne ict aicoatcs sett iaysasosnen stances seeks 22
(Dalal lickOry sW OLES terete oc err eee rn ace ceees eens 22
QaksGGuy pmres stl O6OSLE:.cececc.tfeete.cncaso tetsss. osa c ne 26
Elm-Ash-Cottonwood Forest ...............0..ccs0sesseeeeeee 27
Maple-Beech-Birch Forest. © ..ci.c.cs.24...ssececcecn-eee e 29
EXS DCIUIT Clie OCES Lemmmeteann naam eet senceuisece ccs eteade ce 32
Urban Forests 33
General Stressors 30
Fire 35
Weather 36
Air Pollution 41
Conclusions 46
References 48
Appendix I O2
(Common and Scientific Names of Trees, Insects, and Disease Causal Agents)
Appendix II o6
(Land Area and Timberland Tables for the 20 States in the Northeastern Area)

Preface
The National Forest Health Monitoring Program is focusing on assessing the condition
of our nation’s forests in response to the interests and concerns of the American people.
As a part of the program, this report was produced in an effort to present information
about forest condition and forest stressors (insects, pathogens, weather, fire, and air
quality) with respect to major forest types. This document provides an historical
perspective on the influence of the various forest stressors and assesses recent impact,
through 1991, on the forests within the 20 States that comprise the Northeastern Area
of the USDA Forest Service. Through these annual reports, we hope to be able to
identify factors that may be affecting forest condition within this area.
Highlights
The Northeastern Area is comprised of 20 states covering 413.9 million acres, of which
40 percent is forested. About 93 percent of the forested acreage is land considered
available for production of wood products, with the remaining being in wilderness,
natural areas, urban forests, and parks.
The forests within the Northeastern Area have undergone considerable change over the
last three centuries. By the beginning of the 20th century, most all of the eastern
forests had been cut-over and many acres burned. Abandoned and protected areas were
often reclaimed by trees, and this reforestation resulted in a forest that frequently was
different from the original. A great variety of tree species now occupy the landscape.
North American forests have been affected by the introduction of forest pests from
Europe and Asia. Chestnut blight, Dutch elm disease, white pine blister rust, beech
bark disease, and gypsy moth have, in some cases, virtually eliminated significant
components of the original forest and have permanently changed the composition and
health of today’s forest.
Information has been collected concerning the impact of various forest stressors on the
nine major forest type groups which occur in the Northeastern Area:
white-red-jack pine spruce-fir hard pine
oak-pine oak-hickory oak-gum-cypress
elm-ash-cottonwood maple-beech-birch aspen-birch
In general, this report finds that pest activity is not uniformly threatening any forest in
the Northeastern Area. However, there are concerns over several pest problems, in both
natural and urban forested areas. These pests mostly affect individual tree species
within the forest. Nevertheless, their importance is magnified by their potential impact
upon these species. The more notable pest problems include:
¢ Gypsy moth defoliation, causing oak decline and mortality in the oak-hickory
forests and in forested residential communities.
e Beech bark disease, causing extensive mortality to American beech.
¢ Butternut canker, causing widespread loss of the butternut in oak-hickory and
maple-beech-birch forests.
¢ Dutch elm disease, continuing to cause mortality of American elms.
¢ Chestnut blight, which practically eliminated and continues to affect the
American Chestnut throughout its range.
¢ Dogwood anthracnose, causing serious losses throughout the range of this impor-
tant understory and ornamental tree species.