Which disease?

Question: The pictured tree was fine a couple of weeks ago, fully leafed out. Disease?
The top half of the foliage on a sassafras tree has died. A spice bush beneath it has unhealthy leaves. Laurel wilt?
We own 15 acres of hillside and stream valley woods of oaks, hickory's, tulip poplars, etc , a big old stand of mountain Laurel and masses of spice bushes.
Watched our ash trees die from the emerald ash beetle and prophylactic felling by Potomac Edison. 
Will we have any woods left in 5 years?

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied June 22, 2023, 1:53 PM EDT
response: A disease is possible, but more likely the dieback is a culmination of one or more overlapping stressors that pushed the tree over the limits of its tolerances. (It looks like an Elm, though we can't tell which species it is.) Environmental stress, like drought, saturated soil (2018 was a very wet year), root zone damage or soil compaction, can predispose plants to attack by opportunistic pests and diseases. While wood-boring insects or wood decay fungi may be present now given how much decline has already taken place (even if it only manifested very recently), they are likely not the primary issue. It's hard to determine what the original problem was once decline is this advanced. Still, you could work with a certified arborist to see if they can determine what happened, even though they cannot salvage a dying tree or treat every ailment.  Laurel Wilt has not been detected in Maryland thus far. Sassafras can contract other diseases causing wilt or dieback, and Spicebush can contract viral diseases (they won't necessarily kill the plant), so without images of the symptoms it's hard to make a guess as to what the issues there are. They are not necessarily a single disease that is being transmitted from one plant to the next. If you consult an arborist, they can assess those plants as well.  Miri

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 22, 2023, 4:45 PM EDT
response: Thanks for the response, Miri. We and our neighbor, who between us have a veritable understory forest of spice bushes, are much relieved by your response re LW. For now. LW has been reported in a county in VA that borders a TN county that has the disease. How long before it spreads north? The sight of dead ash trees everywhere in the area, particularly in our wetland, is truly depressing. To see everything in the Lauraceae family dying would be arrrrgh!!  We seem to be in a micro-climate (possibly a rain shadow from Sugarloaf Mtn?) that is in even more serious drought than the rest of MD. We are losing big trees on the local properties at an alarming rate. Some have no doubt reached their use-by date, but the changing climate has to be stressful to the big old guys. The tree pictured is inside a forest/field (reverting from farming for at least 8 years) boundary so unlikely that soil compaction or mechanical root damage is the culprit. That field, part of a 116 acre half-forested vacant property with stream valley, is cursed with the usual MD invasives but is also a critter/bird/insect refuge with masses of milkweeds and goldenrods, honey locusts, hawthornes, sycamores, broom sedge, native thistles, etc etc. I'd love to see it protected by the Legacy Open Space Program. Being 81 years old, I have no financial motivation for this for sure. Anyway, sorry to run on. Thanks again.Cheers - Carol

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied June 22, 2023, 5:24 PM EDT
response: We certainly understand and empathize with your concerns. Plant pathologists at UMD and in our area at large always keep an eye out for new and emerging diseases (as do the entomologists for insect pests), so while we might not be able to completely prevent the spread of a newly-introduced pest or pathogen, they can research its life cycle and learn how to try to prevent the worst impacts on our local ecosystem and home landscape plantings. Climate change certainly is complicating such phenomena as it can allow (or occasionally discourage) species from expanding their range based on temperature and precipitation trends, so perhaps Laurel Wilt will eventually make its way here, though of course we hope not.  We agree...it seems like sometimes there's a new invasive pest/disease for everything...Dutch Elm Disease for elms, Chestnut Blight for chestnuts, Emerald Ash Borer for ash, Beech Leaf Disease for beech, Oak Wilt (not really in MD thus far) for oaks, etc. To be fair, even among native pathogens and pests, every plant species has something it's vulnerable to, though often only more so when the plant is stressed by environmental conditions first. Here too, predictably, we see that climate change is having negative impacts on many locally-native species, but expanding the range of others that might wind-up being better-suited to our local conditions now despite being currently native to our south. It's a complex web of interactions and sometimes hard to predict.  Positive contributions by gardeners include planting a diverse array of species (the majority of which being locally-native where practical) to better support the ecosystem and make it more resilient to some of these pressures. Minimizing pesticide use is also critical, which we imagine is not an issue in your situation. It's also very important that gardeners and property owners continue to plant trees as space allows which can grow up to replace these dying mature specimens (even if dying from "natural" causes); the woodlands and the organisms dependent on those trees need a next generation to keep populating these habitats, just as the trees regenerate in the wild on their own. (Deer overpopulation browsing saplings being one major factor threatening that now, in addition to obvious land-clearing for development.)  Depending on how severe soil compaction was in the past life of that part of the property, it might take many years to be alleviated though natural means like leaf litter buildup (composting itself) and soil life gently "tilling" that organic matter into the soil. In either case, though, it's true that compaction might not be a factor in the demise of that particular tree.  We have limited information about land preservation grants and land conservation aid options, but you could inquire with your county Extension office or local government to ask about the ability to put land parcels under some form of habitat protection.  Miri

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 22, 2023, 8:58 PM EDT
response: Wow, Miri, you are one talented writer who knows her stuff. Thanks for the time to send that thoughtful response.At 80, I don't have much time or energy to clear every invasive species from our 15 aces of mostly dense woods, but I'm still giving it a try. It's tough work for me cuz a sunny very steep slope in front of the house was planted by a previous owner many many years ago with vinca, pachysandra and yellow archangel, all escaped into the woods;  the birds contributed wineberry. I had to lie flat on the slope to begin pulling and replacing those with milk weed, mountain mint, bergamot, flowering raspberry and native honeysuckles. An easier task is pulling, from the now mostly shady part of the "garden", masses of overgrown day lilies I naively planted 20 some years ago. I'm replacing those with geraniums, woodland sun flower, waterleaf, green and gold, ferns, Solomon's seal, polemonium reptans, etc., about 200 plants so far. I guess I should thank the birds for the spice bushes. I'm hoping lots of native thugs will overwhelm the invasives. Digging forsythia from the garden area and Autumn olive, Amur honeysuckle, barberry, etc from the woods and replacin with native understory shrubs. Nature is doing her best as in spring the wooded hillside above the wetland is covered with dog tooth lilies; blood root is expanding up and down the hillside; skunk cabbage and ferns cover the wetland which is becoming a bit overrun with multiflora roes. RRD may save me from having to dig those up but I have made a start. Sigh. Keeps me fit. Hope I live to see the natives triumph but, with that vacant property to support invaders, I fear I may be fighting a losing battle. DNR has an advisory, which I have taken to heart, re planting VA natives in MD, given the warming climate.Composing another nomination of the 116 acre Perlow property for purchase by the Legacy Open Space program is on my To Do Soon List. The property, especially given the regenerating field and forested stream valley area, is much more ecologically diverse and important than Bucklodge Conservation Park - which is overrun by invasives. Hopefully this time there will be funding available. I will encourage written support from the 5 or 6 surrounding property owners. Pesticides were, in fact, an issue in the field when it was planted with Round-up Ready corn and soy beans in alternate years. That ended about 8 years ago when the property allowing access changed hands. The Perlow property does have potential access from Peach Tree Road but that would require a road crossing the wetland then climbing a very steep hill, an expensive proposition. Once again, I run on. Sorry. Thanks again for your valuable time and information, Miri.Best - Carol  On Thursday, June 22, 2023, 05:24:38 PM EDT, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied June 23, 2023, 9:20 AM EDT
response: That's quite alright! Good luck, and you're welcome!  Miri