Latest Pine Stories

The genome of the fungus that helps mountain pine beetles infect and kill lodgepole pines has been decoded in a University of British Columbia study.Also known as blue stain fungus for the stain it leaves in the wood of infected trees, Grosmannia clavigera is carried to the host trees by pine beetles and weakens the trees' natural defense system, allowing pine beetles to feed and reproduce in the tree bark. A successful beetle-fungus attack ultimately causes tree death.Now, researchers from...

By studying similarities in the genes of Scots Pine trees, scientists have shown that the iconic pine forests of Highland Scotland still carry the traces of the ancestors that colonized Britain after the end of the last Ice Age, harboring genetic variation that could help regenerate future populations, according to new results published in the journal Heredity.The research was carried out by an international team from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the Polish Academy of Sciences, the...

If your summer travels have taken you across the Rocky Mountains, you've probably seen large swaths of reddish trees dotting otherwise green forests. While it may look like autumn has come early to the mountains, evergreen trees don't change color with the seasons. The red trees are dying, the result of attacks by mountain pine beetles.Mountain pine beetles are native to western forests, and they have evolved with the trees they infest, such as lodgepole pine and whitebark pine trees....

"My job was to locate the previously marked study trees. . .and record data on the activity of treated blister rust cankers," wrote Charles "Terry " Shaw. "The work took [me] in rickety four-wheel drive vehicles to remote locations scattered across the white pine forests of northern Idaho." Shaw, now editor of a recently published special issue of Forest Pathology, described how 44 years ago, he and other young forestry students collected data about a destructive...

Native grass fares well as alternative growing mediumLoblolly pine bark is the primary component of nursery container substrates in the eastern United States, but a shortage of the widely used organic material is prompting researchers to investigate new materials as potential alternatives. A recent study by James E. Altland and Charles Krause of the USDA Agricultural Research Service at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center was designed to determine if ground switchgrass can...

Long-lived pine pollen makes it difficult to contain transgenic treesWhen forest biologist Claire Williams boards ferries bound for North Carolina's Outer Banks, the barrier islands that line the NC coast, ferry captains call her the "Pollen Lady."Each spring from 2006 to 2009, Williams traveled back and forth from the islands to the mainland, collecting pine pollen blown far offshore. She wanted to find out if pollen from the loblolly pine "” the most commonly planted tree in the...

Ancient high-altitude trees grow faster as temperatures rise Increasing temperatures at high altitudes are fueling the post-1950 growth spurt seen in bristlecone pines, the world's oldest trees, according to new research. Pines close to treeline have wider annual growth rings for the period from 1951 to 2000 than for the previous 3,700 years, reports a University of Arizona-led research team. Regional temperatures have increased, particularly at high elevations, during the same 50-year...

DALEVILLE, Ind., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a recent national survey more than 80 percent of families are finding it difficult to escape everyday responsibilities and spend more time together.* In fact, women say that if daily responsibilities were alleviated, nearly 60 percent would choose spending time with their families at home instead of going on a remote vacation.* Lifestyle balancing expert and best-selling author Mary LoVerde understands the importance of taking time to...

 Pine trees grown for 12 years in air one-and-a-half times richer in carbon dioxide than today's levels produced twice as many seeds of at least as good a quality as those growing under normal conditions, a Duke University-led research team reported Monday (Aug. 3) at a national ecology conference.Carbon dioxide readings that high are expected everywhere by mid-century. The findings suggest some woody tree species could, in the future, out-compete grasses and other herbaceous plants that...

Thread-like fungi that grow in soils at high elevations may play an important role in restoring whitebark and limber pine forests in Canada. Montana State University professor Cathy Cripps is looking for ways to use fungi to help pine seedlings get a strong start.Cripps' is working with resource managers and visitor relations staff from Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP). She is part of a project that aims to restore fire to the national park, reduce the impact of noxious weeds and restore...