Publication Details
Sugar maple decline and lessons learned about Allegheny Plateau soils and landscapes
Publication Toolbox
- Download PDF (820.0 KB)
- This publication is available only online.
Year Published
2019
Publication
In: Stout, Susan L., ed. SILVAH: 50 years of science-management cooperation. Proceedings of the Allegheny Society of American Foresters training session; 2017 Sept. 20-22; Clarion, PA. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-186. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 80-97.
Abstract
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) decline was a major forest health challenge in northern Pennsylvania starting in the mid- to late 1980s and continued through the mid-1990s. During this time sugar maple suffered extensive crown dieback and rapid mortality, primarily on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau in northwestern and north-central Pennsylvania (Drohan et al. 2002, Horsley et al. 2000). Declining trees exhibited a slow loss of vigor and increased fine twig dieback, which was followed by large branch mortality. This frequently ended in tree death (Kolb and McCormick 1993). Surveys conducted as part of the North American Maple Project found sugar maple healthy in most parts of its range, though declines in Quebec were noted in the mid- and late 1980s (Allen et al. 1992, 1995, 1999). In northern Pennsylvania a series of stressors, which included insect defoliators and extreme drought, played a significant role in accelerating crown dieback and mortality.
Note: This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document
Citation
Long, Robert P.; Horsley, Stephen B.; Bailey, Scott W.; Hallett, Richard A.; Hall, Thomas J. 2019. Sugar maple decline and lessons learned about Allegheny Plateau soils and landscapes. In: Stout, Susan L., ed. SILVAH: 50 years of science-management cooperation. Proceedings of the Allegheny Society of American Foresters training session; 2017 Sept. 20-22; Clarion, PA. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-186. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 80-97. https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-P-186-Paper8.