As the southeastern United States continues to rely on its robust timber industry as a significant economic driver, new research from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is shedding light on a hidden threat exacerbated by extreme weather events: the spread of pitch canker.
A project titled “Gone with the wind: hidden forest health consequences of Hurricane Helene,” is one of four initiatives nationwide to receive funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Rapid Response to Extreme Weather Events Across Food and Agriculture Systems program.
Pitch canker, a devastating disease caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium circinatum, poses a severe risk to natural and commercial pine forests globally. The pathogen obstructs water movement within trees, leading to the death of branches or the entire tree.
READ: FWC “GatorWise” Campaign: Stay Safe As Florida Alligators Become More Active
“In some years, pitch canker outbreaks have been serious enough that entire plots of trees had to be removed, causing important losses to growers because the trees were not yet large enough for harvesting,” explained Tania Quesada, the project’s principal investigator and a research assistant scientist of forest genetics and pathology in the UF/IFAS School of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences. “So, instead of using the trees for lumber, which is more profitable, growers had to mulch them or use them for pulp, which lowers the return on their investment.”
While pitch canker outbreaks are episodic, there has been a noticeable increase in cases among loblolly and slash pines in recent years. Anecdotal evidence suggests a correlation between these outbreaks and severe storms or hurricanes, with strong winds believed to be a contributing factor.
Quesada elaborated on the role of wind in disease proliferation: “Wind can damage trees as airborne objects strike bark or limbs break, and the resulting wounds provide openings for Fusarium circinatum to enter tree tissue. Wind also helps fungal spores reach the wounds, and physical stress caused by wind can hinder trees’ defense response to the pathogen.”
READ: Florida Set To Execute Thomas Gudinas Today, Ending Decades-Long Case
To better understand this complex relationship, Quesada and her team will collaborate closely with growers, collecting and analyzing data from pine forests situated at varying distances from Hurricane Helene’s path. By meticulously measuring mortality and disease symptoms among trees exposed to different wind speeds over time, they aim to construct a timeline of post-storm effects. This crucial information will equip growers with the knowledge needed to anticipate and prepare for outbreaks following future storms.
The researchers hypothesize that both pitch canker disease and wind damage will be more severe closer to Hurricane Helene’s path, where higher wind speeds were recorded. Quantifying this damage is a key objective of their study.
The project will also leverage years of historical data and genetic information from field trials associated with the Forest Biology Research Cooperative (FBRC), a collaborative effort between UF and the timber industry. By examining how different genetic families of pines tolerate pitch canker exposure, the research team intends to establish breeding values for each, ultimately identifying and ranking the most resilient trees for future planting.
READ: Florida Man Caught Cooking, Preparing For Bath In Stranger’s Home
In addition to field work, controlled experiments will be conducted at the University of Florida’s Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel. Pine saplings and branches not exposed to Hurricane Helene will undergo replicated wind conditions, followed by exposure to pitch canker to observe and analyze dysfunction.
The project is expected to culminate in the publication of an open-access research article and guiding documents for the timber industry, complementing existing timber damage models.
“We are very excited to work on this project and learn more about how extreme weather affects forest health, and we are looking forward to disseminating our findings as we go along,” Quesada stated. “We think that the data generated will open the doors to the potential of developing new projects that will help us better understand the effects of extreme winds in tree physiology, plant-pathogen interactions and genetics.”
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Connect with us: Follow the Tampa Free Press on Facebook and Twitter for breaking news and updates.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
