Dead Oaks in Plymouth and Cape Cod, MA ???

forest keeper · January 11, 2009, 11:44:36 AM

Has Anybody from the Eastern MA area noticed all of the dead and dying Oak trees on Cape Cod and around Plymouth in the past cuople of years? :'( :'(I know that Winter moth defoliation has been problem for a while but I'm not sure that this is the only factor in this epidemic. Have you heard anything?

sprucebunny · January 13, 2009, 01:11:40 PM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, forest keeper !

The oaks on and around Cape Cod seem to go thru problems every few years. Without seeing the trees we really can't tell you.
Gypsy moth defoliation is possible but damage by salt filled cold winds might be the cause, also. Ice storms tend to damage hardwoods more than softwoods.

A local Forester would have more information .

muckamuck · January 13, 2009, 05:16:23 PM

That was the 17 year locust invasion. The larva apparently kill the branch before dropping to the ground to feed on the roots for 17 years. See article below.
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080722/NEWS/807220318/-1/SPECIAL17

forest keeper · January 13, 2009, 08:35:48 PM

Yes I saw the 17 year Cicada's this year. They were flying around everywhere, bouncing off of your windsheild, climbing all over any sctructure around. It was quite impresive. Cicadas don't tend to kill whole trees. The damage they cause is confined mainly to the very ends of the branches. After the swarming was over you could see many trees loaded with red "flagging". I'm sure that the Cicadas further weekened already declining trees, but even befor their emergance, many of the Oaks were standing firewood.

LeeB · January 13, 2009, 11:27:48 PM

Are they mainly red oaks? Sounds like oak wilt.

forest keeper · January 14, 2009, 09:10:08 AM

Well, from what I can tell, they seem to be mainly Red Oak, but it is hard for me to say because they don't have much bark left on them. Now that I think of it though, I did remove one White Oak recently in the affected area. Even though the tree looked dry, when I cut into it the trunk it was so wet that the sawdust came out like mud and my chain actualy got bound up from it.

LeeB · January 14, 2009, 10:56:22 PM

Sounds even more like oak wilt. Did the trees have a grey, dried out look to them?

forest keeper · January 15, 2009, 05:55:11 AM

Yep, grey and dried out sounds about right.

Jeff · January 15, 2009, 08:05:53 AM

Oak wilt trees don't go through a period of decline, they just suddenly die. If the trees you mention are not suddenly dieing over a couple week period, then it may sound more like what we have had here in the past. Die off due to stresses brought about by defoliation from Gypsy Moths and compounded by dry conditions.

Dodgy Loner · January 15, 2009, 11:36:49 AM

Did the bark of the oaks slake off to reveal, large, gray patches? We see hypoxylon canker quite frequently in our area. It usually affects red oaks, but often white oaks and occasionally even beech.