The New Disease That's Killing An Iconic Tree

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[naturalnashuan]

Thank you for encouraging people to look at the plants around them. Today I googled a native wildflower that I have growing in my yard, Rabbit Tobacco. I learned that it is Endangered here in New Hampshire. I contacted a plant science organization to give away seeds from my plants. I'll keep some for my own habitat and to sow in proper protected habitats.

[justanamerican]

In the year 1100AD, if you were to walk the Appalachian Trail, you would be walking through a mostly Beech forest. Through disease and climate change (little Ice age), White Pine and Eastern Hemlock took over and were the dominant trees when Europeans arrived. Where I was a logger and forester, the Beech bark disease destroyed all the mature Beech and in a matter of only one decade, entire forest were gone. It was one of the most devastating events in my career both personally and economically, but environmentally it was nuclear. It will take a century for the forest to return back to a balance the Beech brought to it. But as you pointed out, it will survive through its root system, much like the American Chestnut (a close relative) has as a forest under-canopy brush. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

[bluwtrgypsy]

Love what you said about all our "wants". Amen

[RobWCurrier]

Big fan, Adam. I am a practicing arborist in Newport RI. I also have 65 ac. forest in central Maine….where I prefer to live! I have subscribed to you mushroom talks…have yet to finish them. You are brilliant, engaging, forward-thinking, and practical. Knowing that there are those such as you who are so engaged is a bright ray of sunshine. Thanks for your positive energy in your mission. Rob Currier

[madamecampsalot]

The forested area behind my house in CT has great stands of beech. The really large ones (bigger than I can reach 1/2 way around) have toppled in the last 2 years, having bark issues. Now many smaller ones (huggable sized) can be seen with the striping affect on the leaves. It's so sad for me to see them go.

[SquirrelDarling]

I’ve noticed the change in the leaves of beech too. Now I know what’s going on with them and it’s sad. Using chemicals to control this worm doesn’t look like the answer. Hopefully the beech themselves will develop a way of controlling the worms without our help.

[bluwtrgypsy]

We have two very huge beautiful copper beech trees in our town park that look very sickly. They have not leafed much this year, very sparse with foliage. So sad. Thank you, Adam.

[lorriewatson]

Thank you for covering this! I have a 25 acre wood lot in NWPA, with a lot of beech trees. They are sick, I'm concerned.

[maxguldin]

Here in Ellsworth, Maine there are many beech trees with the diseased leaves. I have not confirmed the older trees as being affected but will take note of it from here on out. Thank you for the information. As for mushrooms it has been a banner year. Lots of black trumpets, Cow, Hen, hedgehogs, lions mane and chanterelles have been pickled, dried and frozen fresh and there still could be another month or two of foraging to go.

[ArchimedesPie]

We bought land in East Tennessee a few years ago, and I swear every majestic tree species is in decline. Hemlock, Ash, Beech, Elm, and even Oaks. And, it took me over a year to realize their aren't hardly any birds in these woods. The place we left on the Gulf coast was a constant cacophony of birds, but trees there are dying from excessive heat, drought, snap freezes, hurricanes, and OUT-OF-CONTROL development. I wanted to retire to a place of beauty and rest to be a catetaker of forests, streams, and prairies. But the constant barrage of bad news is really starting to get to me...

[torontocitizen]

This is honestly one of the very best channels on YouTube!!

[Stolensouls]

Thanks Adam, I agree with folks wanting everything at their finger tips. And chemicals could be used, but we have so many chemicals in our everyday lives, in our foods, ect. And those you mentioned sound like more problems than they're worth. As always, love your work and can't wait for your next topic. South Central Pennsylvania here. Thanks for all you do...

[AmakEno]

This is a big issue in southern Connecticut. We've seen old beech trees that are rotting and spreading black rot to the smaller beech trees leaves, likely after the nemotodes have run their course and weakened the trees. It's concerning that people may be experimenting with these dangerous pesticides that could kill the local fauna off due to toxicity. Especially if they are used as a soil treatment, then I would worry that the mycorrhizal system that connects all the living tress and fungal bodies will be affected. I've also heard just recently that something is starting to affect local maples as well. We noticed that alot of young trees, Bushes, and grasses on the trainlines were dying off, possibly because of the use of pesticides to kill off invasive species growing on the edges of the trainlines. And that borders a tidal marsh /nature preserve. So it could even be getting into the ocean and the marshes... Very well put that this is all cause and effect of our taking the land we use for granted for the sake of productivity.

[daveinthewildOG]

I appreciate your constant reminders to be observational. And you show how observational you are in collecting your information. I wander some woods nearby me and you've given me a lot more to observe. Also your production value is good, and it gives me inspiration for things I'm working on in the world of YouTube. Your brand is well done.

[JerryMraz.]

This is a must subscribe channel, should almost be mandatory. So much value here, thanks for what you do

[andrewhorwood]

Beech leaf blight is ruining our forests in western Nova Scotia too, as well as ash leaf rust fungus, hemlock woolly adelgid, numerous other new diseases, pests and invasive species. I'm seeing massive changes in our forests in recent decades, mostly for the worse.

[sammylacks]

This is the first I've heard of this problem. This will be tough to counter because diagnosis of infected trees will be difficult untill later stages. Beech trees are such beautiful and beneficial species. I hope they don't go the route of Chestnut trees.
NC has a prob with Fraser fir and Eastern as well as Carolina hemlock.
Thanks for sharing.
I believe the first step toward eliminating invasives is educating everyone on what they are, their effects towards Indigenous life and how to help eliminate them from getting a foothold as well as proper removal.

[skehleben]

I actually spend a lot of time in the woods and "communing with the trees". I say that with a wink but truly I'm very serious. Watching the bark rain down from the ash trees, they are almost all gone. There was an ash near where I live that was easily 200 yrs old, it would take 3 adults reaching fingertip to fingertip to surround the tree. Watching it die broke my heart. The woods don't look healthy and I get a dark sinking feeling when I walk through the woods.💀

[mercuryjg]

I can't keep track of all the invasive things killing trees in Ohio. Asian longhorned beetle, woolly hemlock adelgid, emerald ash borer, sudden oak death, butternut canker, spotted lanternfly, chestnut blight... seems like there is a new one every month

[chrisgilbert]

Adams, Thanks for this information. I live in the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan which has a significant number of beech trees in our hardwood forests. I was previously unaware of this disease, but will now be able to watch for it during my treks in the woods. Thank you.