Pinus contorta susceptibility to Heterobasidion spp. : a study of stumps, roots and artificial spore infections of stumps

The Lodgepole pines susceptibility to Heterobasidion spp. was investigated in three parts of this study. In the first part, discs from freshly cut stumps were collected and analyzed to see if the fungi can spread and grow naturally in Lodgepole pine stands. In the second part, root samples were coll...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Svensson, Susanne
Formato: H1
Lenguaje:Inglés
sueco
Publicado: SLU/Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre 2011
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Descripción
Sumario:The Lodgepole pines susceptibility to Heterobasidion spp. was investigated in three parts of this study. In the first part, discs from freshly cut stumps were collected and analyzed to see if the fungi can spread and grow naturally in Lodgepole pine stands. In the second part, root samples were collected from Lodgepole pines planted in former infected Norway spruce stands to see if the fungi can spread through root contacts. For the third part, new stumps was created and artificially infected with spores of both the S‐type (H. parviporum) and the P‐type (H. annosum) of the fungi to find out if the Lodgepole pine is susceptible to them. None of the stumps from recently thinned stumps were infected and it was later discovered that these stands in fact were thinned one and two years ago which probably has had influence on the result. Infected roots were found on four out of 15 trees that were expected to be infected and totally 17 % of all sampled trees, with and without symptoms, were infected. On all stumps that were artificially infected with the P‐type and all but one stump that were artificially infected with the S‐type, infections were found 51 days after the time of infection. These results indicates that the Lodgepole pine is susceptible to both types of the fungi and that it can be infected through root contacts which means that Heterobasidion spp. may be a threat to the Lodgepole pines. Because of this, new management methods such as stump treatment during thinning, stump removal and a better habitat adaptation when re‐planting stands with Lodgepole pine might be necessary.