United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Southern Forest

Experiment Station

New Orleans,

Louisiana

l3e;;ur.x Bulletin1

January 1994

Incidence and Impact of

Damage to East Oklahoma’s

Timber, 1986

Stephen Clarke, Clair Redmond, Dennis May, Dale Starkey
SUMMARY

An average of 57.4 million cubic feet of timber was lost annually

to mortality and cull from 1976 to 1986 in east Oklahoma’s 4.75

million acres of commercial forest land, resulting in a monetary loss

of $7.2 million per year. Hardwoods generally had more damage

than softwoods, with upland hardwoods accounting for 63 percent

of cull volume loss. Of the ownership classes, nonindustrial private

forests sustained the most damage. Disease caused the greatest

damage to the forests, but weather, stem and shoot borers, and

inhibiting vegetation also contributed significantly to volume

losses.
Incidence and Impact of Damage to East Oklahoma’s Timber, 1986

Stephen Clarke, Clair Redmond, Dennis May, Dale Starkey

INTRODUCTION

The periodic inventory of eastern Oklahoma’s forests

was conducted by the Forest Inventory and Analysis

Unit (FIA) of the USDA Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station, Starkville, MS, in 1986. In this

survey, established forest plots measured during the

previous inventory in 1976 were remeasured.

One of the many functions of the inventory is to

provide information on the extent of tree damage and

mortality in the State and the factors contributing to

these losses in forest productivity. The authors utilized

inventory resuhs to summarize the percentage of and

the average annual number of damaged and dead trees

in eastern Oklahoma, and to estimate the associated

volume and economic losses.

PROCEDURES

Sampling

The inventory procedures followed are outlined in

“Forest Survey Inventory Work Plan, Texas/Oklahoma

1985” (USDA FS 1984). These sampling methods were

designed to provide reliable Statewide estimates of forest area and volume for large groups of counties and for

tree species with large total volumes. Consequently,

there should be fewer sampling errors for major species

such as loblolly pine than for minor species.

Before starting the inventory, field crews were

trained in damage assessment by Forest Pest Management personnel from the Southern Region. During the

inventory, the field crews recorded damaged (injured

but still living) and dead trees and, when possible,

identified the causal agents. Damaging agents and

associated symptoms are described in the appendix.

Cull volume loss associated with the damage was also

estimated for each tree. Only trees at least 1 inch in

diameter at breast height (d.b.h.) were tallied.

Because plot,s were visited only once, damaging

agents that produce recognizable signs and symptoms

year-round were more likely to be recorded than

ephemeral damage such as hardwood defoliation,

which cannot be detected in winter. Only the most

damaging agent in terms of volume loss was recorded.

Designation of causal agents was often hindered

because the damage produced by factors such as root

decay organisms is not easily identifiable, and because

some agents cause rapid tree mortality, making determination of cause of death difficult. Damage or mortality that could be attributed to a particular causal

group, but not to a specific agent, was placed in a more

general category (i.e., other insects, other diseases).

These limitations lead to an understatement of the

incidence and impact of damage to Oklahoma’s timber.

However, although tree deaths attributable to specific

agents are underestimated, the mortality estimates are

accurate, and the results should give forest managers

the relative incidence of certain damaging agents and

enable them to plan prevention and protection measures.

Data Analysis

Trees were grouped into the following size classes:

saplings, 1.0 to 4.9 inches in d.b.h.; poletimbersoftwoods, 5.0 to 8.9 inches in d.b.h. and hardwoods,

5.0 to 10.9 inches in d.b.h.; sawtimber-softwoods, 9.0

inches and larger in d.b.h. and hardwoods, 11.0 inches

and larger in d.b.h. The tree data were also analyzed by

management class: natural pine, planted pine,

hardwood-pine, upland hardwood, and bottomland

hardwood. Percentage of trees damaged was calculated

for the three tree size classes within each management

class, and the associated current cull volume was calculated for the poletimber and sawtimber classes. These

data were further subdivided by the damaging agent or

defect for the major species components in each management class. Only those agents causing at least 3

percent damage in one of the size classes in these

subgroups were tabulated. All cubic volumes were computed using volume prediction equations derived from

measurements of standing and felled trees in

Oklahoma.

Damage ascribed to suppression and stagnation,

form, and forking was omitted from our tables. These

categories consistently had the most damaged trees,

Stephen Clarke and Dale Starkey are entomologist and pathologist, respectively, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Pest

Management, Pineville, LA 71360. Clair Bedmond is economist, Planning & Budget, Southern Region, Atlanta, GA 30367. Dennis May is

research forester, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station, St. Paul, MN 55108; he was

employed at the Forestry Sciences Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station, Starkville,

MS, at the time that this bulletin was prepared for publication.

1
but the difficulty of drawing conclusions and planning

prevention procedures from these data precipitated

their exclusion in accordance with the stated purpose of

this bulletin.

Estimates of volume losses due to mortality and

removal were calculated using all survey trees, including those in the above three categories, regardless of

whether damage or death was attributed to a specific

cause. These voliume,losses were derived from the 1986

and 1976 inventory data and then converted to average

annual removal and mortality losses by dividing by the

timespan between surveys for each inventory plot. Volume loss from tree removal was included for comparison with mortality volume loss.

Unlike mortality, which is assumed to have occurred

between surveys, cull loss is often a cumulative volume,

and incremental loss between survey periods cannot be

estimated until two survey periods are compared. For

Oklahoma, the methods used for the current and previous survey periods did not permit direct comparisons

between the two surveys, so the results in this bulletin

are based upon annual averages.

Economic Losses

Present values for losses were calculated using the

average annual loss estimates for mortality and cull

described previously. Professional foresters in the State

were consulted to obtain estimates of the average age of

trees at harvest for each ownership-management class

combination. For trees in each age class, estimates of

mortality and cull loss in thousands of cubic feet were

converted to volume per acre and projected to a final

rotation age using growth factors described in “The

South’s Fourth Forest: Alternatives for the Future”

(USDA FS 1988). This process treated each age class as

a group of acres in that class. Mortality was incorporated into each of the specific factors employed for age

class, species, and ownership growth. Because these

estimates cover large areas, estimation of volume

growth may be quite variable. The authors assumed

that overestimates of volume due to slow growth of

trees in fully stocked stands were canceled out by

underestimates of volume in trees of a particular age

class in understocked stands.

If the age class for volume loss was grkater than the

estimated rotation age, no growth was calculated; the

authors assumed that the damaged trees would be harvested immediately. The resulting future volumes at

harvest were converted to thousand board feet (bf) and

cords using div:i‘sor factors of 200 fts/l,OOO bf and 90

fWcord.

Average Statewide stumpage prices for the species in

the year of the FIA survey were taken from Norris

(1986) and increased from that year to 2030 by the real

rates of increase for hardwood and softwood stumpage

estimated in USDA Forest Service (1988). Further real

increase in stumpage was assumed not to occur after

2030. The resulting future stumpage values were multiplied by the estimated harvest volumes at rotation

age.

All ownership categories except forest industry were

assumed to have a sawtimber product at rotation. For

forest industry, a proportion of the softwood volume

less than 25 years old was calculated as a cordwood

product. The future value of trees in each class was

discounted to the present (1986) at a 4 percent real rate

of interest and by a time factor that was equal to the

difference between the assumed rotation age and the

age class. The authors assumed that there would be a

market available for the lost timber, so the values of

loss were calculated under the assumption that there

would be no demand-supply adjustments in price.

Timber was considered to have value only in those

areas where logging was economically feasible, and the

analysis was restricted to exclude affected timber

where the cost of logging might be extreme or prohibitive. Thus, expected volume loss is understated in all

ownership categories because of the location

restriction. Furthermore, the possibilities that mortality would increase the growth rate of residual stems

or result in ingrowth were ignored.

RESULTS

Oklahoma had 4.75 million acres of commercial forest land in 1986 (table 1). Only 5 percent of this total

was planted pine, with loblolly pine being the preferred

species. Shortleaf pine was the predominant softwood

in natural stands. Upland hardwoods accounted for

over half the commercial forest area, and oaks were the

major species components. Oak-gum-cypress and

sugarberry-American elm-green ash were the primary

species components in the bottomlands. Classified by

stand size, 1.8 million acres were seedlings and saplings, with 1.66 and 1.29 million acres in poletimber

and sawtimber, respectively. No understocked stands

were reported.

Damage Losses

Percentage of trees damaged ranged from 31 to 85,

with saplings generally having the highest rates and

poletimber having the lowest (table 2). Hardwood volumes were higher than softwood volumes, and the percentage of trees damaged was generally higher for

hardwoods. Softwoods had very little associated cull

volume. Sawtimber had greater associated cull volumes

than poletimber, and 63 percent of the cull volume for

sawtimber was in the upland hardwoods.

Disease caused the greatest incidence of damage in

the forest, and large percentages of sawtimber-sized

trees were often affected (table 3). Most disease

2
damage could not be attributed to a specific agent,

although fusiform rust was occasionally identified on

loblolly pines. Feeding by shoot and stem borers was

prevalent on hickory saplings and shortleaf pine poles,

and damage from logging or other human activities

was evident in Ipine stands. One hundred percent of the

bottomland baldcypress poletimber and sawtimber was

damaged: the poletimber by weather and the sawtimber by some type of disease.

A large volume of shortleaf pine had been harvested

since the previous inventory ( table 4). Some hardwood

removal had occurred, particularly from the white oakred oak-hickory species component in the uplands. Mortality losses were higher for hardwood types than for

softwood types, and, in the bottomlands, mortality volumes exceeded removal volumes.

Economic Losses

From 1976 t’o 1986, the average annual loss to cull

and mortality was 57.4 million cubic feet of timber

(table 5). The estimated value of the loss was $7.2

million (in 1936 dollars) per year over the 9.8 year

remeasurement period. Averaged over the State’s 4.75

million acres of commercial timberland, the loss was

about $1.52 per acre per year. About 75 percent of the

volume and 50 percent of the present value loss

occurred in nonindustrial private forests (fig. 1). Forest

industry land sustained 10 percent of the volume loss

and 27 percent of the present value loss.

Among management classes, losses were greatest in

the upland hardwoods (fig. 2). These stands sustained

54 percent of the volume loss and 36 percent of the

present value 1.0s~. Bottomland hardwoods accounted

for about 29 percent of the volume loss and 21 percent

of the present value loss. Significant losses also

occurred for natural pines, representing 33 percent of

the present value loss, but only 9 percent of the volume

loss. Monetary losses due to cull were generally higher

than losses. caused by mortality for hardwoods,

whereas the reverse was true for softwoods (table 5).

Figures 3 through 6 illustrate losses by management

class within each ownership category. Upland hardwoods in the nonindustrial private forests sustained

the greatest percentage of volume loss across all ownership categories. Bottomland hardwoods on other public

‘IBble 1. -Area of commercial forest land in east Oklahoma in 1986 by

management class and species component

Management class and

species component Area

Planted pine Thousands of acres

Loblolly pine 218

Shortleaf pine 2 9

Total 247

Natural softwoods

Loblolly pine

Shortleaf pine

Eastern redcedar

Total

Hardwood-pine

Eastern redcedar-hardwood

Shortleaf pin+oak

Loblolly pine-hardwood

Total

Upland hardwoods

Oak-hickory

Post oak-black oak-bear oak

White oak-red oak-hickory

White oak

Southern scrub oak

Mixed hardwoods

Total

Bottomland hardwoods

Oak-gum-cypress

Sweetgum-nuttal oak-willow oak

Sugarberry-American elm-green ash

Overcup oak-water hickory

Cottonwood

Willow

Sycamore-pecan-American elm

Total

Grand total

3 9

664

6

709

3 9

539

167

745

355

744

1,433

12

4 7

19

2,610

142

18

160

3 9

17

11

5 0

437

4,747

lands had slightly less than 60 percent of the volume

loss in that ownership category. Natural pine had about

52 and 66 percent of the present value losses for the

forest industry and the national forest ownership,

respectively. Other significant present value losses

occurred in upland hardwoods on nonindustrial private

forests and in bottomland hardwoods on other public

lands.

3
‘&ble 2. - Numbsr and volume of live trees, percentage of trees damaged, and associated cull by management class,

species component, and tree size on all survey sites in east Oklahoma, 1986

Management class

and selected Percentage of trees damaged Associated cull damage

species components Population Volume Sapling Poletimber Sawtimber Poletimber Sawtimber

Planted pine 149,608

Loblolly 91,465

Shortleaf 16,433

All hardwoods 41,710

*

. . . . .

36,812

4,388

3,702

50 31 3 6 8 8 665

0 130

0 0

8 8 535

Natural pine 611,226 . . . . . 6 7 4 3 43 3,849 16,165

Lobldlly 13,122 58,797 0 65

Other softwoods 8,479 2,879 0 12

All hardwoods 262,163 122,590 2,891 9,286

Hardwood-pine 485,566 . . . .

RedOak 37,075 35,147

White oak 105,873 97,642

Hickory 50,436 22,538

Loblolly 16,579 14,385

Other softwoods 15,627 5,935

Other hardwoods 128,716 41,127

6 7 51 - 5 2 5,466 15,910

464 3,026

2,218 7,820

1,553 694

0 113

0 214

799 2,327

Upland hardwoods 1,435,759 . . . . . 71 61 79 26,429 98,113

RedOak 161,348 366,725 6,617 36,553

White oak 357,907 473,465 7,678 37,645

Hickory 216,848 181,139 5,705 8,341

All softwoods 77,685 85,410 173 1,218

Other hardwoods 621,949 301,130 6,256 14,357

Bottomland hardwoods 193,331 . . . . . 82 72 85 5,293 25,374

Bed o,ak 18,811 83,583 224 5,928

White oak 9,453 35,443 168 2,247

Ash 28,605 53,985 1,211 2,788

Sweetgum 2,190 7,831 0 805

Baldqpress 8 9 393 0 0

Cottonwood 10,093 41,663 34 994

Pecan 4,582 13,455 149

All other hardwoods

1,016

114,774 147,891 3,507 11,560

Total 2,874,989

*Not measured.

6 9 5 6 6 4 41,125 156,228

Thousands

Thousand

cubic feet - - Thousand cubic feet - -

4

c
‘Ihble 3. -Incidence of damage management class, host species, and tree size in

east Oklahoma, 1986

Management class,

host species, and,

damaging agent or defect

!lhes damaged

Sapling Poletimber Sawtimber

Planted pine

Loblolly

Pusiform rust

Inhibiting vegetation

Shortleaf

Terminal shoot and stem borers

Other diseases*

People

Logging damage

AI1 hardwoods

Other insects*

Other diseases

Inhibiting vegetation

People

Natural pine

Loblolly

Pusiform rust

Logging damage

All other softwoods

Other diseases

AI1 hardwoods

Other diseases

Hardwood-pine

Bed oak

Other diseases

White oak

Other diseases

Hickory

!RerminaI shoot and stem borers

Other diseases

Basal defects

Branch stubs

Loblolly

Terminal shoot and stem borers

Other diseases

Pusiform rust

All other softwoods

Other diseases

Logging damage

Ah other hardwoods

Other diseases

Upland hardwoods

IbdOlik

Other diseases

White oak

Other diseases

Hickory

Other diseases

Terminal shoot and stem borers

All softwoods

Other diseases

AI1 other hardwoods

Other diseases

___ _____ Percent - - - - - - - -

1

1

1

2

7

3

0 14 0

4 0 0

3 0 0

3 0 0

5 0 0

0 14 2 2

3 18 0

0 0 13

0 3 2

6 4 3

0 0 17

2 7 31

0

1

14

3

0

0

4

0

4

0

4

0

2

2

2

3

1

1

5 31

9 3 0

3 0

14 19

3 0

0 4

0 0

0 5

6 0

0 12

0 0

2 2 2

12 3 8

6 3 3

10 2 3

0 0

0 5

6 15
‘Iable 3. -Incidence of damage by management class, host species, and tree size in

east Oklahoma, 1986-Continued

Management class,

host species, and

damaging agent or defect

‘Ihes damaged

Sapling Poletimber Sawtimber

Bottomland hardwoods _ _ _ - - _ _ - Percent - - - - - - - -

REdOak

Other diseases

Other weather

White oak

Other diseases

Inhibiting vegetation

Ash

Other diseases

Fire

Beaver

Sweetgum

Other diseases

Beaver

Baldcypress

Other diseases

Other weather

Cottonwood

Other diseases

Pecan

Other diseases

AI1 other hardwoods

Other diseases

0 5 2 0

4 1 1 1

0 4 15

0 3 0

0 5 15

0 5 0

0 5 9

0 0 13

0 0 8

0 0 100

0 100 0

0 6 2

0 0 3 5

1 8 25

*Defined in appendix.

Table 4. -Annual removals and mortality of poletimber and sawtimber by management class and species component in east Oklahoma, 1986

Management class AnnuaI removals Annual mortality

and species component Poletimber Sawtimber Poletimber Sawtimber

Planted pine

Loblolly pine

Shortleaf pine

Total

Natural softwoods

Loblolly pine

Shortleaf pine

Eastern redcedar

Total

Hardwood-pine

Eastern redcedar-hardwood

Shortleaf pine-oak

Loblolly pine-hardwood

Total

Upland hardwoods

Oak-hickory

Post oak-black oakbear oak

White oak-red oak-hickory

White oak

Southern scrub oak

Mixed hardwoods

Total

.’ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - Thousand cubic feet - - - - - - - - -

0 0 0 0

0 0 55 0

0 0 55 0

781 1,467 149 217

12,931 29,121 1,423 1,489

0 0 0 0

13,712 30,588 1,572 1,706

0 0 0 0

5,604 13,076 1,000 1,810

0 0 0 0

5,604 13,076 1,000 1,810

499 449 566 241

4,505 4,512 4,221 3,984

5,819 11,702 4,369 6,383

515 643 3 7 105

252 133 498 177

0 0 0 0

11,590 17,439 9,691 10,890

6
Table 4. -Annual removals and mortality ofpoletimber and sawtimber by management class and species component in east Oklahoma, 1986-Continued

Management class Annual removals Annual mortality

and species component Poletimber Sawtimber Poletimber Sawtimber

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Thousand cubic feet - - - - - - - - -

Bottomland hardwoods

Oak-gum-cypress 505 1,843 501 1,252

Sweetgum-nuttal oak-willow

Oak 580 3,088 71 2 9

Sugarberry-American elmgreen ash 522 1,413 1,701 5,704

Overcup oak-water hickory 0 0 388 485

Cottonwood 0 0 308 472

Willow 638 784 0 0

Sycamore-pecan-American

elm 41 1,157 784 1,495

* Total 2,286 8,285 3,753 9,437

Table 5. -Average annual volume and value (in 1986 dollars) of timber damaged or killed on loggable

sites, by ownership and management class, in east Oklahoma, 1976-86

Ownership and

management class

Natural forest

Planted pine

Natural pine

Hardwood-pine

Upland hardwoods

Bottomland hardwoods

Total

Average annual

volume

Thousand cubic feet

51

802

421

1,230

123

2,627

Average annual value

Mortality Cull Total

- - - - - - - 1986 Dollars - - - - - - -

0 25,743 25,743

191,970 112,491 304,461

7,524 27,719 35,243

37,921 48,889 86,810

0 7,447 7,447

237,415 222,289 459,704

Other public

Planted pine

Natural pine

Hardwood-pine

Upland hardwoods

Bottomland hardwoods

Total

0 0 0 0

180 33,630 106,738 140,368

178 7,134 17,395 24,529

1,806 149,677 205,741 355,418

3,031 392,660 216,863 609,523

5,195 583,101 546,737 1,129,838

Nonindustrial private

Planted pine

Natural pine

Hardwood-pine

Upland hardwoods

Bottomland hardwoods

Total

6 8 14,237 4,016 18,253

1,841 408,617 434,075 842,692

2,662 74,591 112,996 187,587

25,780 718,962 1,064,899 1,783,861

11,984 486,690 257,163 743,853

42,335 1,703,097 1,873,149 3,576,246

Forest industry

Planted pine

Natural pine

Hardwood-pine

Upland hardwoods

Bottomland hardwoods

‘rotal

12 0 67,529 67,529

2,178 738,156 337,577 1,075,733

1,606 196,796 137,449 334,245

2,317 262,485 151,464 413,949

1,174 118,429 54,806 173,235

7,287 1,315,866 748,825 2,064,691

All1 ownerships

Planted pine

Natural pine

Hardwood-pine

Upland hardwoods

Bottomland hardwoods

Grand total

131 14,237 97,288 111,525

5,001 1,372,373 990,881 2,363,254

4,867 248,045 295,559 581,604

31,133 1,169,045 1,470,993 2,640,038

16,312 997,779 536,279 1,534,058

57,444 3,839,479 3,391,ooo 7,230,479
m VOLUME

6 C

pg@ PRESENT VALUE

TOTAL VOLUME --57.4 MILLION CUBIC FT. 1

TOTAL PRESENT VALUE-- $7.2 MILLION

NATIONAL OTHER PUBLIC NONINUSTRIAL FOREST

FOREST LAND PRIVATE FOREST INDUSTRY LAND

Figure -Percentage of total annual affected volume and present value of loss in 1986 abllars, by

ownership, in east Oklahoma, 1976-86.

6 C

5C

40

c,

f

Q 3c

2 c

IO

C

TOTAL VOLUME-- 57.4 MILLION CUBIC FT.

TOTAL PRESENT VALUE-- $7.2 MILLION

za VOLUME

gg PRESENT VALUE

d

PLANTED

PINE

NATURAL

PINE

HARDWOOD - UPLAND BOTTOM LAN C

PINE HARDWOODS HARDWOODS

Figure 2. -Percentage of total annual affected volume and present value of loss in 1986 dollars, by

management class, in east Oklahoma, 197686.
3-

D3-

l3-

I-

)-

TOTAL VOLUME -- 7.3 MILLION CUBIC FT

TOTAL PRESENT VALUE -- $ 2.1 MILLION

PLANTED NATURAL

PINE PINE

HARDWOOD - UPLAND BOTTOM LAND

PINE HARDWOODS HARDWOODS

of total annual affected volume and present value of loss in 1986 dollars on

forest industry lands by management class, in east Oklahoma, 1976-86.

6 0

TOTAL VOLUME-- 2.6 MILLION CUBIC FT.

TOTAL PRESENT VALUE -- $460 THOUSANI

PLANTED

PINE

NATURAL

PINE

HARDWOOD- UPLAND BOTTOM LAND

PINE HARDWOODS HARDWOODS

Figure 4. - Percentage of total annual uffzcted volume and present value of loss in 1986 dollars on

National Forests, by management class in east Oklahoma, 1976-86.

9
PRESENT VALUE

2 0

IO

TOTAL VOLUME

TOTAL PRESEN

--5.2 MILLION CUBIC FT.

T VALUE -- $ I.1 MILLION

PLANTED NATURAL

PINE PINE

HARDWOOD- UPLAND BOTTOM LAND

PINE HARDWOODS HARDWOODS

ohllars on other

public lands, by management class, in east Oklahoma, 1976-86.

7

6

5

$4

2

2

q

3 1

2(

I(

(

tm VOLUME

m PRESENT VALUE

TOTAL VOLUME -- 42.3 MILLION CUBIC FT.

TOTAL PRESENT VALUE-- $3.6 MILLION

PLANTED

PINE

NATURAL

PINE

HARDWOOD- UPLAND BOTTOM LAND

PINE HARDWOODS HARDWOODS

Figure 6.-Percentage of total annual affected volume and present value of loss in 1985 dollars on

nonindustrial private forests, by management class, in east Oklahoma, 1976-86.

10
LITE.RATURE CITED

Norris, F.W., ed. 1986. Timber Marts, Inc. Highlands,

NC: [not paged].

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1984.

Forest survey inventory work plan, Texas/Oklahoma

1985. Starkville, MS: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment

Station. 95 p.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1988.

The South’s fourth forest: alternatives for the

future. For. Besour. Rep. 24. Washington DC: U.S.

Department of Agriculture. 512 p.

Appendix: - Damaging Agents, Species Affected, and Indicator Symptoms

Animals

Animals-All tree species: branches clipped off or

broken, bark removed, holes in stems, tears and toothmarks in the wood.

Beaver-All tree species: toothmarks and bark

removed from bole. ‘Irees are flooded.

Sapsucker -AI1 tree species: horizontal rows of small

holes encircling tree bole. Bark below hole usually

streaked or stained by oozing sap.

Diseases

Fusiform rust-Slash, loblolly, pitch, pond, and

shortleaf pines: spindle-shaped galls on stems or

branches. Older galls appear as cankers with sunken

centers surrounded by a callus ridge. Witches-broom is

common at the galls. The fungi produce bright orange

spores in the spring. All stem cankers and only branch

cankers occurring within 12 inches of the bole are

reported.

Hardwood cankers -All hardwoods: dead sunken

areas on stem, frequently surrounded by callus ridges.

Littleleaf disease--Primarily shortleaf pine, some

loblolly pines: yellow needles, reduced shoot growth,

and large stress crops of undersized cones. Usually

occurs on heavy soils with poor internal drainage.

Affected trees exist in groups.

Pitch canker-Primarily slash, loblolly, and shortleaf

pines, but also Virginia, longleaf, eastern white,

Scotch, ‘Pable Mountain, and pitch pines: flagging at

branch ends, pitch flow from affected area, slight swelling of stems and twigs. Crooks in main stems and

wilting of new shoots are common. Slight bark depression may occur in early stages.

Root rots-All tree species: groups of dead or windthrown trees. Tufted, thin, yellowing crowns. Conks

(fruiting bodies) of fungi may be present at or near

base of diseased trees. Usually in stressed trees or

those with butt or root injury.

Other diseases -All tree species: all disease damage

not separately identified. Includes red heart of pine,

brown spot, and leaf diseases.

Growth Defects

Basal defects-All tree species: butt swelling, curls,

V-shaped stump sprouts, frost seams, and low stubs

below breast height. Conks of decay fungi often associated with defect.

Branch stubs -All tree species: branch holes or stubs

greater than 4 inches in diameter on stem (trees 5.0

inches in d.b.h. and larger). Branch holes or stubs

greater than 1 inch in diameter on stem (trees 1.0 to 4.9

inches in d.b.h.1.

Dieback-All hardwoods: tips of branches die initially, entire branches die in advanced stages.

Forking-All tree species: forks formed by natural

causes or by unknown agents. Applicable only if fork is

in butt log or potential log and no other serious damage

is present.

Form-All tree species: all trees with form damage

that could not be classified in one of the other categories.

Inhibiting vegetation -All tree species: vines causing

suppression or strangulation. Tree class affected.

Suppression and stagnation-All tree species: characterized by poor form. Suppressed trees with small

crowns are overtopped and receive indirect sunlight,

11
Stagnated trees have thin foliage and receive some

direct sun. Associated with overstocking or poor growing sites.

Human Activities

Logging damage- All tree species: logging scars on

stems, callus ridges appear 1 to 2 years after wounding.

Limb breakage and/or stem scar near crown caused by

felling of nearby trees. Skid trails, stumps, etc., in

general area.

People -All tree species: initials carved in bark, nails

in tree, lantern burns, ax marks, wires around stem,

stripped bark, callused roots, etc.

Zkpentining - Longleaf, slash, and loblolly pines:

exposed wood in V-shaped wounds with heavy pitch

flow.

Insects

Barb beetles --All pines: yellow, cream, or pink resin

globs resembling popcorn on bark surface. Tunnels or

egg galleries may be present on inner bark or the sapwood surface. Streaks caused by blue stain fungi often

present on sapwood. Foliage gradually yellows and then

reddens as infestation progresses.

Hardwood borers -All hardwoods: initially cause

dark sap spot on bark surface (often mixed with frass).

Eventually, coarse boring particles appear in bark

cracks and crevices beneath point of attack. Old

damage appears as knobby overgrowths or scars on

bark surface.

lkrminal shoot and stem borers-All tree species:

fresh attacks have boring dust and frass at entrance

holes, located most often at base of leaf petioles and

buds. White to pinkish globs of resin may appear at

attack points. Shoots turn yellow, then red, and finally

brown. Terminal or branch dieback may result.

Other insects -All tree species: all insect damage not

separately identified. Includes pine defoliators such as

the redheaded pine sawfly and hardwood defoliators.

Natural Phenomena

Fire :All tree species: fire scars at base of stem.

Signs of charring may be present on stem. Damage

usually on uphill side of trees.

Flooding- All tree species: high water and silt

marks on tree boles. Yellowing and/or curling downward of leaves, premature leaf fall, branch or top

dieback.

Lightning -All tree species: bark stripping or cracks

running spirally or straight from strike point to

ground. Tops faded from root damage or top breakage.

May subsequently be attacked by bark beetles.

Other weather-All tree species: windthrow, ice,

frost crack (above breast height), broken tops, broken

branches, marginal leaf burn, and winter burn.

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Clarke, Stephen; Redmond, Clair; May, Dennis; Starkey, Dale. 1994.

Incidence and impact of damage to east Oklahoma’s timber, 1986.

Resour. Bull. SO-186. New Orleans, LA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 12 p.

Data on timber damage detected during a 1986 survey of east

Oklahoma’s forests are presented and discussed.

Keywords: Economic timber losses, forest diseases, forest insects,

forest inventory analysis.

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disability, political belief, and marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases

apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means

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should contact the USDA Office of Communications at (202) 720-5881 (voice) or

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720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity employer.

*U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE:1994-565-016/80047