Pine/spruce decline

[Gary Prentice]

Bit stuck on the reason for the decline of this Pine(?) I saw today.

 

Most of the lower limbs are dead, it's an edge tree with no over-shading of the lower crown . Currently all the foliage is to the top of the tree, but what's remaining is browning off. What's odd is the discoloured patches on the stem where the cambium is dead or dying. It's noticeable that the cambium death continues from the large lower lateral limbs into the stem below. 

 

I'm not that up on forest conifer species pathogens but would have thought a needle pathogen would affect the needles, lead to branch death which the tree would compartmentalise at the collar etc. This seems to be extending further.

 

There's no FFB's or any evident of root issues present.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2019 by Gary Prentice
rotated photos

[Paul Cleaver]

Hi Gary - so you think the problem has started from the branches and not from the roots.

I would be tempted to peel back some dead cambium on the trunk

[Dan Maynard]

If it's an edge tree did it dry out more last year?

[Gary Prentice]

13 hours ago, Paul Cleaver said:

Hi Gary - so you think the problem has started from the branches and not from the roots.

I would be tempted to peel back some dead cambium on the trunk

To what ends? The discoloured bark in the photos is contiguous and not lifting and browning beneath when scraped. I couldn't see any insect entry/exit holes in those areas.

 

10 hours ago, Dan Maynard said:

If it's an edge tree did it dry out more last year?

The owner couldn't provide any history. The tree is visible, at distance, from the road and I have an idea that I noticed the group that it is in becoming sparse and/or browning off last summer. I don't think that it is drought related as it's situated at the bottom of a slope (with a solid retaining wall below), well shaded and moist.

[Khriss]

Bit baffling really, from description. I can only add, look for a pollutant- underground services or some contaminant ? K

[Gary Prentice]

45 minutes ago, Khriss said:

Bit baffling really, from description. I can only add, look for a pollutant- underground services or some contaminant ? K

That's something I hadn't considered. The site is a large old Mill owners garden and the trees are at the furthest corner. Externally the ground is lower to both sides by @1.5m, a cobbled path and another neighbours asphalt drive. The drive looks old and the cobbles are undisturbed. There's no evidence of any groundworks within the garden or tree work where felled timber may have disturbed anything beneath. The only underground services I can imagine anywhere near would be land drains, but I didn't notice any u naturally wet areas. I'm not discounting it (I've no idea atm) and if I can get back there I'll see what I can discover. Thanks.Sorry about the species idS 

34 minutes ago, EdwardC said:

Hi Gary

 

The photos don't show a great deal and the description isn't clear. But, I've seen trees that look a bit like the bottom photo before, not pine.

 

It looks like it has been partially ring-barked part way up the stem a few years ago. This occured on some young trees near me a while back one winter when there had been a heavy snowfall. The local bunnies ate the bark off the trees above the snow to as far up as they could reach.  Result, after the snow melted a couple of feet of ring-barking up the stem starting a couple of feet above ground level.

Sorry about the species I.D, I was rushed and any foliage was over several metres above me. 

 

Appreciate your, and others, ideas. What is odd is that this tree was in a group of other similar looking trees, but significantly more mature. The site is situated towards the edge of an urban area and I didn't notice any indication of rabbits, although it's a big enough, overgrown, habitat to support a warren. I don't know! I'll have to try to get back there. 

 

Thanks, Gary

15 hours ago, Paul Cleaver said:

so you think the problem has started from the branches and not from the roots.

That was my impression. The lowest large lateral (dead) was discoloured like the stem and this continued through the branch collar down the stem. I should have got a photo of that.

[Khriss]

Am thinking gas service pipe leak more than anything. Rather than root flooding from sewer. But what do I know k

[Gary Prentice]

5 minutes ago, Khriss said:

Am thinking gas service pipe leak more than anything. Rather than root flooding from sewer. But what do I know k

The house is 30+m from the road so the shortest gas connection would be assumed to be that way, whereas the tree is another 80-90m further at the end of the 'back' garden. There's some terraced cottages beyond that boundary with a cobbled track between - services to these 'probably' run along the track. 

 

But yes, possible except that the tree is 10m from the boundary and the other conifers (pine/spruce) seem largely unaffected and there's no symptoms to the broad-leaved trees nearer the boundary or the mixed evergreen hedging along the boundary.  

 

I still think that the cause is biotic.

[Paul Cleaver]

I was thinking possibly wind scorch from that really cold spell 15 months ago, but you would expect other edge trees to have similar damage