© Alvin ReinerAmy Ivy examines a white pine branch that has dropped most of its older needles. Weather is thought to be the cause. The current year's needles seem fine.
Pines typically drop about 20 percent of their needles in the fall as the plants prepare for the long, dormant winter. However, white pines across the tri-county area seem to have shed up to 100 percent of their needles this spring.
Other Trees
"We've had a couple of incidents that seem to be weather related," said Department of Environmental Conservation Forester Bruce Barnard.
"It first showed up in sugar maples and cherry trees when there was a freeze following the warm weather we had earlier this spring.
"That froze the leaves as they were coming out, and the leaves shriveled and dropped off."
Those species seem to have rebounded as the leaves are now returning, he added.
Weather Hits
"The white pine is a little different," Barnard said. "That could be a combination of two weather-related responses along with trees that were weakened by a fungal disease."
With such an early warm spell in April, the white-pine needles could have begun to transpire, or give off water. But if the plant's roots were still frozen, then the tree could not collect water to replace what was being lost in the needles.
Then, the needles could have been dealt a second blow by the same frost that impacted the sugar maples and cherry trees, Barnard suggested.
"The problem showed up a little later than the maples and cherries, which we first heard about in mid-May. The white-pine problem has just started in the last couple of weeks."
Scientists believe that white pines have been battling a problem with fungus following a series of wet summers. They believe the fungus may have weakened the pines going into this spring's odd weather.
In fact, researchers have identified two specific problems with fungus, brown-spot needle blight and white-pine needlecast, both of which may have combined with the odd weather patterns to disrupt vast stands of white pines.
© Alvin ReinerAffected white pines are dropping all of their older needles. Only needles formed in this growing season remain and so far those needles seem healthy.
Barnard first heard reports of the abnormal needle drop in Washington County two weeks ago. The next week, he received new reports from Lake Placid, Keene and Paradox.
It also seems to be widespread in New Hampshire and Vermont.
"From what I've seen, the new growth hasn't been affected," Barnard said. "We may end up with a lot of white pines with tufts of green growing at the ends of the branches."
Researchers believe the pines should begin to look more normal as the summer progresses. Also, a dryer summer will help reduce the potential for a repeat of the condition in 2011.
'Really Mangy'
Amy Ivy, executive director for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Clinton County, has large stands of white pine near her home that have been uniformly impacted by the needle drop.
"These are big, mature trees that have dropped every needle except for this year's growth. Every single white pine around the meadow has been affected."
"They look really mangy, really strange," she said of the trees.
"But the new growth looks healthy. I'm encouraged that we don't have to worry about a major problem. Right now, we have to wait and see."
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