SUMMER 2024 SERIES: DIMINISHED TREE SPECIES AMERICAN CHESTNUT & AMERICAN BEECH RESEARCH & RESTORATION
Summer 2024 Volume LXXX, Number 3 Magazine Editorial Committee Anne Beals (Chairman), Spotsylvania Justin Barnes, Shipman Carolyn Copenheaver, Blacksburg Matt Dowdy, Louisa Glenda Parrish, Edenton, NC Fred Schatzki, Troy Luke Shenk, Powhatan Corydon Swift-Turner, Charlottesville Anitra Webster, Lynchburg Lesha L. Berkel Editor Advertising and Design John Constantino Advertising Sales Hope Sudol Design & Layout For advertising opportunities contact Big Red M or [email protected]. A unifying voice for Virginia’s forestry community. 3808 AUGUSTA AVENUE RICHMOND, VA 23230 (804) 278-8733 [email protected] VISIT US ONLINE www.vaforestry.org Virginia Forests Virginia Forests magazine is published quarterly by the Virginia Forestry Association, 3808 Augusta Avenue, Richmond, VA 23230-3910. Subscription is by membership in the Association with annual dues ranging upward from a minimum of $65 for individuals. Extra copies at $3.00. Advertising rates upon request. The sole criterion for publication in Virginia Forests is that material be sound and informative. All opinions expressed are those of the individual authors and not necessarily those of Virginia Forests or the Virginia Forestry Association. The Association does not pay for materials used. A cumulative index of Virginia Forests is maintained at VFA headquarters. Copyright © 2024 by the Virginia Forestry Association. ISSN 0740-011X. 6 Making the American Chesnut Reappear by Zoe Bergman 10 Citizen Science Powers the Restoration of the American Chesnut Tree by Vasiliy Lakoba and Lauren Kerwien 14 Emerging and Established Threats Impacting American Beech by Carrie J. Fearer CONTENTS ON THE COVER: Chestnut catkins at prime pollination time. (PHOTO COURTESY OF VIRGINIA DEPT. OF FORESTRY) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S UPDATE My Gratitude to You, by Corey Connors................ 3 PRESIDENT’S COLUMN I’m not Complaining, by Chris Harris.................. 5 VIRGINIA CHAPTER, ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING FORESTERS Diminished.................... 21 VIRGINIA FORESTRY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION UPDATE The Diminishing Workforce in Forestry, by Glen Worrell ................22 THE LOGROLL Changes Over Time: Telling the Story of Loggers in Virginia, by Scott Barrett, Ph.D. .......... 24 BOOK REVIEW The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization, Written by Roland Ennos Reviewed by Anitra Webster ......27 DEPARTMENTS One of the strongest characteristics of American chestnut was (and is) its amazing ability to send up hundreds of sprouts from a stump. In this image from 1904 (Fig. 2 – Sprouts from Stumps Cut the Previous Fall), numerous sprouts grow from a single stump, foreshadowing how this trait would allow American chestnut to remain on the landscape as a part of our forests 100 years after the chestnut blight. From Chestnut in Southern Maryland by Raphael Zon, Bureau of Forestry. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry Bulletin No. 53 (1904). 17 Action Required: Enhancing Virginia’s Hardwood Forests by Joe Rossetti
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Summer 2024 3 Over the past few years, I have utilized this space to share anecdotes from my experience representing you before the General Assembly in Richmond. As I sat down to pen this column, I was reminded of another that I would like to share. The 2024 session of the Virginia General Assembly saw a record 45 freshman joining either the House of Delegates or the Senate. Most committee meetings, at which introduced legislation is considered, follow a pattern familiar to seasoned lobbyists. Legislators not serving on the Committee will sign up to present their bills beforehand and will sit patiently in the front row for their number to be called at the discretion of the chair. Amidst the chaos of a 45- or 60-day session, and because most members are pulling double duty on multiple committees that meet simultaneously, it is common for those with more seniority to go first so that they can run off to chair another meeting. Later in the session, in a rush to meet deadlines, this often means that the orderly sign-up queue gets thrown out the window. No matter the circumstance, freshman legislators often find themselves at the end of the line. On one evening this past February, I attended a committee meeting that had started two hours late due to significant floor action earlier that day as the annual crossover deadline approached. The agenda was long. Since everyone’s day had started well before sunrise, and had now lasted well past sunset, the usual discourse became understandably brief and dispassionate. Every bill received a fair hearing, but there was urgency to complete the committee’s business promptly. After a couple of hours, with only a handful of bills remaining on the docket, folks in the audience (myself included) were paying more attention to their phones than the dais. Just then, a bill number was called and up from the front row bounded a young, enthusiastic new Delegate to present her bill. She began: “Gratitude, Mr. Chairman!” Over the next two minutes, she presented a bill on behalf of one of her constituents with an energy and passion that would have stood out during the most heated of debates. Everyone in the room perked up and took notice. The subject matter had nothing to do with forestry, but I was transfixed. After waiting for hours, she eschewed boring platitudes and talking points to speak from her heart about something that was important to her and those she served. It was refreshingly different. The bill was unanimously advanced by the committee. What struck me most was that her successful efforts started with a genuine expression of gratitude. This is my final column for Virginia Forests magazine. In September, after nearly five years at the helm, I will be leaving VFA for another professional opportunity. As I reflect on my tenure, I am overcome with feelings that transcend a mere “thanks.” Virginia’s forestry community is, and will remain, special to me. I depart knowing that both I and the organization are in a better place than we were five years ago. And I am filled with the utmost gratitude for this wonderful organization and the people who make it so. I am grateful for VFA’s amazing staff. Day in and day out, the professionalism that both Sonnia Montemayor and Chris Frost bring to the organization is without peer. Stakeholders have found increasing value in our events, programs, and services during my tenure. But that has only been made possible through countless hours of diligent work by staff behind the scenes to make it happen. I am grateful for the incomparable Lesha Berkel. Working with her third VFA executive, Lesha has been the organization’s constant throughline and continues to do a masterful job of telling this community’s story in these pages. Her recognition as VFA’s 2024 Member of the Year was a true highlight of my tenure. I am grateful for the leadership of the esteemed VFA Presidents with whom I have had the privilege of working. John Magruder, John Gee, Scott Shallenberger, Stephanie Grubb, Dan Hockenberry, and Chris Harris have all epitomized what it means to be a servant leader. I have been truly blessed to serve alongside these individuals and all of VFA’s dedicated Volunteer Leaders on the VFA Board, its Segment Councils, and its committees. Finally, I am grateful for you. Time and again during my time at VFA, you amazed me with your steadfast support of this organization. The vision and mission of VFA predates me and will continue to endure long after I am gone. Together, I am certain that a bright future for this community remains in your most capable hands. My Gratitude to You FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE Corey Connors
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Summertime is officially here in mid-July as I write this, and the complainers are out in full force. You know what I’m talking about: those discontents that cry about it being too cold in February turn right around and whine that it’s too hot in July. We hear moaning about it being so wet in April, and then we hear groaning about the drought in June two months later. We certainly hear a lot of complaining and negativity these days, not just about the weather, but also as we find ourselves caught up in the midst of any When it comes to material things and technology, we have it so much better than any generation that preceded us, yet complaining is Chris Harris B PRESIDENT’S COLUMN 3808 Augusta Avenue Richmond, VA 23230-3910 Phone: 804-278-8733 • Fax: 804-278-8774 [email protected] • www.vaforestry.org OFFICERS (2024–2025) President Chris Harris Pinecrest Timber Co. Prince George Vice President and President Elect Jay Phaup Greif Packaging LLC Amherst Treasurer Christina Hager Dominion Energy Richmond Past President Dan Hockenberger Virginia Forest Resources, LLC West Point Executive Director Corey Connors Richmond EX-OFFICIO OFFICERS Paul Winistorfer Virginia Tech—CNRE Blacksburg Rob Farrell Va. Dept. of Forestry Charlottesville DIRECTORS Term Expiring 2025 Ben Cole Cole Timberland Management LLC Appomattox Laurie Wright Wright Forestry LLC Blackridge Term Expiring 2026 Scott Barrett Virginia Tech Blacksburg Eric Goodman WestRock Clarksville Brian Irvine Roseburg Roanoke Rapids, NC John Reid Forest Resources Mgmt. Aylett Term Expiring 2027 Jason Critzer Gaines & Critzer, Ltd. N. Chesterfield Michael Harold Speyside Bourbon Cooperage, Inc. Harrisonburg John E. Jones, III Central VA Land & Timber Montpelior Steven Peter South Paw Forest Products Inc St Stephens Church Doug Pond Nutrien Solutions S. Chesterfield STAFF Corey Connors, Executive Director Sonnia Montemayor, Deputy Executive Director Chris Frost, Operations Assistant The Virginia Forestry Association, chartered in 1943, is a notfor-profit, non-governmental, privately-supported association of forest landowners, wood product industries and businesses, loggers, foresters, forest use groups, and conservation-minded citizens. New board members are elected annually by mail ballot to all VFA members. Any VFA member may be a candidate for the board. Summer 2024 5 —continued on page 28 I’m Not Complaining so commonplace today. Unfortunately, the world today is teeming with negativity and entitlement, and we seem to appreciate these incredible gifts less than any time in history. In my little neighborhood of about 10 homes, we have had a fair amount of neighbor turnover in the past several years. These new neighbors are nice people who moved here largely to escape more regulated lifestyles elsewhere and were seeking less urban, lower cost-of-living environments. They came here to own a house on five acres of land, to pay less taxes and make their dollar go further, and to be around the wonderful, friendly people of southern Virginia. However, they bring with them some expectations of the very life that they ran from. For example: “What do you mean we have to take our own trash to the dump? You can’t be serious!” “We need to hire more firefighters and EMT’s around here. You do realize that we live 10 minutes away from the nearest firehouse don’t you, Chris?” “Our road is in horrible condition. There isn’t even a protective shoulder if one of those reckless drivers runs us off the road and into the ditch. We need to stand up and make our voices heard to the Board of Supervisors and VDOT and get these dangerous roads fixed!” Well guess what friends? I have no problem tossing my trash in the pickup; I don’t have an expectation of immediate help to be there at my beck and call; and I love driving the country backroads just like they are! All of those “complaints” are part of my normal way of life and products of the environment in which I choose to live. We, too, might find ourselves guilty of complaining as it relates to our individual forestry interests. I don’t remember the last time I heard us all rave about how great things are in the forestry world. Let’s remind ourselves though: If prices aren’t where we’d like them to be, we should still be thankful to have a market. If we think our timber should be worth more, we should still be thankful we can afford to own or manage a little piece of God’s green earth. If we feel like we’re overtaxed, we should still be grateful that we have the means to somehow pay them. If we don’t have markets for our products … well … maybe some things actually are worthy of complaints! We can still count on things to change one day, so hang in there and persevere! My point is this: understand the consequences of complaining and be careful how you try to force change on others. We have a responsibility to be open minded because change can certainly be positive and is sometimes necessary. We must also remember that everything has a cost, and every action has conversation related to politics or the economy.
6 VIRGINIA FORESTS Making the American Chestnut Reappear Scientists Work Their Magic By Zoe Bergman Chestnut tree at Lesesne State Forest that has been ”bagged“ for controlled pollinations (2024).
Summer 2024 7 In 1904, a small inquiry about American chestnut health at the New York City Zoological Garden indicated the start of a devastating blow to forests of the eastern United States. A parasitic fungus, now known as “Chestnut Blight” (Cryphonectria parasitica), had arrived on our shores. The blight originated in Asia where it naturally occurs within Chinese and Japanese chestnut trees, although these Asiatic trees exhibit co-evolved resistance. Over the course of 50 years, this blight spread across the native range of American chestnuts with devastating effects resulting in an estimated loss of four billion trees. This blight reduced our towering chestnut trees, which often reached more than four feet in diameter, to shrubby stump sprouts that could only survive for about five years before resprouting or succumbing to blight. The loss of this foundational forest species also meant the loss of the rot-resistant timber it provided (a quarter of all hardwood timber cut for lumber in the Southern Appalachians) and the nut crop that many people and wildlife relied upon. As the chestnut disappeared from our canopies, it was replaced with oak and hickory as dominant species. While both are hard mast producing trees, they were not able to completely fill the ecological and economic role that the abundant chestnuts once held. The American chestnut persists in our forests as small stump sprouts that survive in the shaded understory for multiple years but now rarely reach an age to produce burs. Due to the rarity of this tree, stumbling across a chestnut sprout is a fond experience for hikers and tree-enthusiasts. The Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) enters the story of the American chestnut in 1967 with conversations between the agency’s State Forester George Dean, University of Virginia professor and corn geneticist Dr. Ralph Singleton, Dr. Dick Jaynes of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, and the philanthropist Anne Valk. Two years later, Valk would gift 422 acres of land to the Commonwealth of Virginia through the Lesesne Foundation (named for her father, Archibald Marion Lesesne du Pont) specifically for chestnut research and restoration. This newly acquired land would soon become one of the largest experimental planting of chestnuts since the blight began. One of DOF’s smaller state forests, Lesesne is located at the base of the Three Ridges Mountain. It was originally used as farmland until 1946 when it was first converted to apple orchards and then eventually to chestnut orchards in 1969. Meanwhile, in other parts of the eastern U.S., the straightest and tallest Chinese and Japanese chestnuts were being crossed with the American chestnut by scientists with the aim to breed a blight resistant hybrid. By 1976, under the direction of the DOF Chief of Applied Research Blight canker on a hybrid chestnut at Lesesne State Forest (2024). Tom Dierauf, approximately 11,500 hybrid seedlings and 3,000 irradiated seedlings had been planted at Lesesne. The hybrid chestnuts included seeds and seedlings from the Connecticut Experimental Station that were open pollinated from the best hybrids in the country. Some controlled crosses from the Clapper chestnut and other selectively bred hybrids were also included in this first large-scale planting. The American chestnuts included in the original plantings had been irradiated by Dr. Ralph Singleton, now also the director of The National Colonial Farm, and Albert Dietz from Ohio. These chestnuts were exposed to irradiation in hopes of eliciting a mutation that caused blight resistance. This methodology had previously been used on farm crops with some success. Lastly, about 500 one-year-old seedlings grown at DOF’s Augusta Nursery from irradiated chestnuts were planted in 1976 at Whitney State Forest. Unfortunately, those trees all died due to blight. The goal for all these plantings was simple: observe the chestnuts as they grow to assess their blight resistance and American traits, and eventually choose the best specimens to cross and create further generations of resistant trees. When evaluating chestnuts for conservation and restoration, there are a few important factors to consider. The first is blight resistance, including both survivability and tree growth with the presence of blight. The second is “American-ness” of the hybrid. The Japanese and Chinese chestnuts have smaller, shrubbier forms which don’t fit the role of American chestnut as a dominant canopy and timber species in our native forests. Thus, one of our main priorities in a hybrid is to maintain the fast growth rate, straightness and single-leader qualities of the American chestnut while incorporating the vital blight resistance from its Asian relatives. Over the last 60 years, DOF has continued our breeding program by choosing the best hybrids and backcrossing them with American chestnut trees or other best hybrids from our orchards. We partner with multiple agencies and academic institutions, primarily The American Chestnut
8 VIRGINIA FORESTS An immature female chestnut flower (2024). Foundation (TACF), created in 1983 to continue these efforts. DOF’s partnership with TACF has been fruitful as the Foundation plays a large role in the management and selections at Lesesne State Forest. Today at Lesesne State Forest, there are three different chestnut orchards on site. The first and oldest is the original Connecticut Hybrid Seed Orchard, originally thought to be F1 hybrids (50% Chinese or Japanese and 50% American). However, genotype testing has revealed that the percentages vary by tree. This orchard contains trees that are approximately 50–55 years old and are therefore larger trees with a completely closed canopy. Due to the high levels of Chinese and Japanese ancestry, this orchard is no longer used for controlled pollinations or collection, but the site has potential for future research studies, including silvicultural strategies for chestnut restoration. The second oldest orchard is our American Orchard. Unfortunately, blight has knocked back most of the trees planted from irradiated nuts. From 1980 to 1984 DOF foresters, led by Tom Dierauf and Dr. Gary Griffin of Virginia Tech, grafted more than 1,000 trees with scion wood collected from wild Large Surviving American (LSA) trees across Virginia. The surviving individuals include notable trees such as Ragged Mountain (Albemarle), Thompson (Appomattox), Thoroughfare Gap (Fauqier), Poor Farm Tom Dierauf (previous Chief of Applied Forest Research) in an 11-year-old chestnut orchard at Lesesne State Forest circa 1980. (Nelson), and Loudoun. For reference, to be categorized as a LSA chestnut the tree must be greater than 10-inches DBH (diameter measured at 4 ½ feet above the ground) and survive with the blight for more than five years. These trees are about 40–44 years old and remain the largest in the American Orchard. This orchard is used for back crosses with the hybrids as well as LSA crosses that we even sell through DOF’s nurseries! In the future, TACF and DOF hope to work on a germplasm conservation orchard where we can plant the many wild-type American chestnuts we find still producing burs and pollen in the wild. DOF’s last and youngest orchard at Lesesne is the Backcross Hybrid Orchard. As trees were added as selections and crosses over the last 35 years, this orchard contains a variety of different ages. This orchard includes genetics from the older Connecticut Hybrid Orchard and wild type Americans from across Virginia. Records for this orchard are meticulous, including details that allow DOF staff to continue the work of selection based on both genotype and phenotype. DOF and TACF devote about four weeks every summer bagging and pollinating specific genetic selections within the Backcross Orchard. Lesesne chestnut orchards are home to many lines of DNA critical to the state’s breeding program. Many of the trees are unique in their form and blight resistance, and we continue
Summer 2024 9 Cassie Stark (Regional Science Coordinator at the American Chestnut Foundation) recording pollination data at Lesesne State Forest (2024). Volunteer pointing to an American chestnut grafted in 1980 from a Large Surviving American tree (Thompson tree in Appomattox County) in the American Orchard at Lesesne State Forest (1999). to add new generations as needed. If you have purchased hybrid chestnut seedlings from the DOF nursery they have likely come out of this orchard from open pollination. Lesesne State Forest has become one of the most instrumental sites for the chestnut breeding program in Virginia. Some of our best breeding results have come out of the hybrids planted there, and we continue to add new generations in our LSA Orchard and our Backcross Orchard. With the fine loamy soils and the gentle sloping topography, this forest makes for fantastic chestnut conditions, which lends itself to orchard production and disease resistance. Lesesne is not DOFs only state forest with chestnut orchards. In 2002, a second state forest was donated to the Commonwealth of Virginia by Judge Jack Matthews and his wife Mary Matthews “to provide for the scientific, educational, and research needs for Southwest Virginia’s children and the public, and to continue the work to enhance and bring back indigenous species such as the American chestnut.” Located just west of Galax in Grayson County, Matthews State Forest covers approximately 566 acres. There are two chestnut orchards on this state forest, both of which were planted with advanced backcross hybrids. The larger orchard, created in 2008, is primarily used by The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF). The second orchard was planted in 2010 by DOF with trees from the agency’s Research and Breeding program. Both orchards used a method of inoculating individual trees with the blight to rank resistance and then culling the trees that demonstrated poor resistance. These orchards are in the process of being genotyped to provide DOF with even more data on resistance and American ancestry to further our breeding program. Over decades of meticulous research, investment, and through the tireless efforts of many research partners, interested parties, and collaborators, the Commonwealth has made great progress in the restoration of the American chestnut. As you might have suspected the American chestnut is near and dear to the hearts of many Virginians, including mine. Speaking on behalf of DOF and our partners, we are proud to play such a large role in the breeding program and future restoration of this foundational tree species. Citations Dierauf, T. A., Efforts to Restore the American Chestnut (1974). Charlottesville, VA; Virginia Department of Forestry. Hepting, G. H. (1974). Death of the American chestnut. Jaynes, R. A., & Dierauf, T. A., Proceedings of the American Chestnut Symposium: West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, January 4-5, 1978 68–73 (1982). Morgantown; West Virginia University Books. Stephenson, S. L., Adams, H. S., & Lipford, M. L. (1991). The Present Distribution of Chestnut in the Upland Forest Communities of Virginia. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 118(1), 24–32. https://doi. org/10.2307/2996972. The American Chestnut Foundation. (2024, July 8). https://tacf.org/. Zoe Bergman is Research Program Manager at Virginia Dept. of Forestry and a Forest Ecologist. Her current work focuses on a broad range of applied research topics including improved silviculture for both pine and hardwood forests, diminished species restoration and research, growth and yield of timber species, tree improvement and genetics, and orchard/nursery management. Before this, she was a VDOF Area Forester in the Rappahannock Region where she worked in forest management, fire suppression and prescribed burns, water quality monitoring, and outreach with local natural resource agencies. She earned her M.S. from the University of Virginia in Environmental Sciences and an undergraduate degree in biology from James Madison University.
10 VIRGINIA FORESTS Citizen Science Powers the Restoration of the American Chestnut Tree Once dominant in many upland forest ecosystems from Georgia to Maine, the American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh., Fagaceae) has come to symbolize many things to many people. A critical food source for indigenous communities, wildlife, and subsequent waves of Euro-American settlers and their livestock, as well as a treasured multi-functional timber source, the chestnut is truly deserving of the title iconic. Its ecological role in forests of various management intensity, as well as its relationship with fire, has long been the subject of investigation, while continuous and future change in climates, disturbance, and other factors will mean that its return to the landscape will be decidedly different from its once-held position. Since its demise because of the introduced blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica), people have been undertaking vast breeding campaigns for disease resistance improvement in the context of federal, state, and non-profit groups. From the continental to the local, citizen science and local volunteers have been the lifeblood of many of these efforts. Read on to learn the latest about the science and people powering the return of the mighty chestnut, and how each person can become an integral participant in this grand conservation movement. Current Directions in American Chestnut Improvement for Disease Resistance The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) was founded to develop a blight resistant American chestnut tree and reintroduce it into its native range throughout eastern North America. To develop a blight resistant tree, TACF implemented a backcross breeding program from the 1980s to the 2010s to integrate blight resistance from Chinese chestnut into the American chestnut. This breeding program was based on the idea that a small handful of genes is responsible for natural blight resistance in Chinese chestnut trees, which coevolved with the blight-causing fungus. Fast forward thirty years and the current breeding program is informed by genomic selection. Simply put, genomic selection is used to evaluate the genetic diversity within a breeding program through identification and analysis of specific DNA sequences, or genetic markers, along the individual’s genome. Genomic selection can predict the breeding value of offspring in a population by By Vasiliy Lakoba and Lauren Kerwien The American Chestnut Foundation’s flagship Meadowview Research Farms are in far southwestern Virginia. The above aerial view of the Price Research Farm at Meadowview shows breeding orchards and progeny tests at various stages of growth, all nestled in a mosaic of pasture and forestland. Much of the hybrid chestnut germplasm supplied to the citizen scientists of TACF state chapters originated in the Meadowview program, which started in the late 1980s. associating their traits, like disease resistance, with their genetic markers. To develop a breeding model informed by genomic selection, TACF first characterized the phenotypes of thousands of chestnut trees throughout the native range, focusing on blight resistance, Phytophthora root rot (PRR)
Summer 2024 11 resistance, and physical traits like height and growth from a single main stem that make the American chestnut a highly sought after timber tree. Then, the DNA from each of these trees was sequenced to correlate desired physical traits with their genetic markers. By phenotyping and genotyping trees within the breeding program, TACF can discern genes that are heritable and confer disease resistance. TACF is then able to design crosses maximizing blight and PRR resistance, while ensuring that the genome of each offspring is at least 70 percent American chestnut. The bulk of the trees in TACF’s breeding program are planted at Meadowview Research Farms in Meadowview, Va. Meadowview Research Farms is made up of three farms: the Price, Duncan, and Wagner farms. The Duncan and Wagner farms serve as breeding and seed orchards. The trees planted on these farms are offspring of TACF’s original backcross breeding program and have now been genotyped and phenotype so that they may be used in the new genomic selection breeding program. The Price Farm is used as an experimental research station. Here, staff conduct progeny tests on seedlings to observe and measure blight resistance of offspring, while also developing techniques to accelerate breeding, assess potential bio controls, and evaluate restoration potential in trees produced by our breeding program or through biotechnological methods. Virginia is unique in that it does not just have Meadowview Research Farms, it also has Lesesne State Forest, located in Nelson County and managed by the Virginia Department of Forestry. Lesesne State Forest has several chestnut orchards, mainly backcross hybrid trees like those located at Meadowview Research Farms and wild-type American chestnut trees, including some large surviving American chestnuts that are thought to have natural resistance to chestnut blight. Most of these trees were planted in the late 1960s and early 1970s in a push by the Commonwealth of Virginia to breed blight resistant American chestnut trees. The orchards at Lesesne have been incorporated into TACF’s regional breeding program. Lesesne acts as a hub for crosses conducted in the Mid-Atlantic region that includes Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky in addition to Virginia. Citizen Science at the Heart of American Chestnut Tree Improvement and Restoration For decades, citizen science has been an integral part of American chestnut restoration efforts. Working both independently and in tandem with non-profit, government, and academic researchers, chestnut enthusiasts have played a crucial role in stewarding the multi-generational work of experimental and production orchard establishment, disease resistance testing, and distribution of chestnut seeds, seedlings, and pollen into landscapes and communities throughout the eastern United States. Within the structure of TACF, citizen scientists and other volunteers are organized into state chapters—some states singly and others paired with their neighbors. Each
12 VIRGINIA FORESTS Lesesne State Forest in Nelson County, Va., is the site of the Virginia Department of Forestry’s decade’s long chestnut breeding program, drawing on American, Chinese, and Japanese chestnut germplasm. With ten acres of mature hybrid canopy as well as partly resistant American chestnut conservation orchards and younger Chinese American hybrid plantings, Lesesne offers myriad opportunities for volunteers and professional researchers alike. In the image above, Dr. Abhilash Chandel of Virginia Tech operates a drone with multispectral imaging capabilities at Lesesne to collect one of several data timepoints which will be used to build statistical models differentiating trees in high throughput phenotyping. chapter is governed by a board of directors and sets its tree improvement, reintroduction, and outreach plans in varying degrees of coordination with TACF National. The latter facilitates coordination within and among state chapter efforts through a committed team of regional staff. Four Regional Science Coordinators (RSCs)— overseeing the New England, North-Central, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern regions—work closely with volunteers to plan and execute each season’s breeding priorities, new planting establishment, management and maintenance of existing plantings, as well as collection of genotypic and phenotypic data on hundreds of seedlings and mature trees. Meanwhile, Northern and Southern Regional Outreach Coordinators (ROCs) work with chapter members and RSCs to track, formalize, and advance recruitment, outreach, and smooth communication within and across chapters and regions. This critical staff infrastructure ensures the continuation of citizen science momentum, partnership with local communities, and the passage of the American chestnut restoration mission from generation to generation. Volunteer chapters and the citizen scientists that comprise them have different areas of focus depending on their regional priorities. Some heavily emphasize wild type germplasm conservation for genetic diversity, others emphasize breeding orchards and blight resistance assays. Still others focus on maintaining and harvesting from seed orchards of advance hybrid material or establishing reintroduction populations in forested sites. Some chapters in the far southern part of the range are active in tracking the progeny of hybrid trees that show intermediate resistance to PRR, the second major disease affecting American chestnuts, especially in the South but increasingly in the Mid-Atlantic and even into parts of the coastal Northeast. Some chapters collaborate with state land grant institutions while others largely rely on private lands and local networks. Get Involved with American Chestnut Restoration Interested in joining the effort to restore the iconic American chestnut tree in Virginia? Virginia residents have a variety of avenues available for getting involved in chestnut tree improvement, experimental plantings, building public awareness, and connecting with like-minded peers at any level of time commitment. The first thing to note is that the historic and future range of the American chestnut tree is overwhelmingly in the Piedmont and Appalachian Mountain regions, both nationwide and in Virginia specifically. This means that tree planting, testing, and monitoring activity is concentrated in the portion of Virginia that lies west of Interstate 95, and especially to the west of U.S. Route 29. The American chestnut is also a habitat specialist, which means that it has rather strict site requirements within the broad physiographic regions where it is present. It prefers well-draining, acidic soils, especially those derived from sandstone bedrock rather than limestone. Some of the finest American chestnut habitats are Appalachian ridgetops and summits, where species like chestnut oak (Quercus Montana Willd), white pine (Pinus strobus L.), sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum (L.) DC.), and lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) abound. Therefore, if you’re wondering whether a particular parcel of land would be suitable for a new chestnut planting, take a close look at the soils, elevation, and existing vegetation on site. To learn about existing efforts underway in Virginia, the best first step is to visit the TACF website (tacf.org) and connect with the Virginia chapter. Relevant contact information is available to engage with chapter leadership, reading materials tracking past and current work, as well as chapter and national organization news. At a glance, you will also be able to take stock of the closest experimental orchards to your location.
Summer 2024 13 Other common avenues for initial involvement with TACF include identifying wild type and cultivated American chestnut trees and documenting their location. Find thorough information on species identification in TACF’s fact sheet series, specifically at tacf.org/fact-sheets/. Various legitimate citizen science databases are currently available online, and treesnap.org is the preferred one to use when logging information about the location and condition of chestnut trees in naturally occurring populations. In the managed landscape, however, things can be a bit more complex—especially species identification. Hybrid chestnuts are plentiful in the landscape, variably combining American (C. dentata), Chinese, (C. mollissima), Japanese (C. crenata), European (C. sativa), and other interfertile chestnut and chinquapin species. If you find a chestnut tree of uncertain ancestry in Virginia, you are eligible to send a leaf and twig sample to TACF National for identification. Specific instructions can be found at tacf.org/identification/. Other ways to engage directly with TACF include guided tours of Meadowview Research Farms—available by appointment only—or hosting a free screening of TACF’s documentary film, titled Clear Day Thunder: Rescuing the American Chestnut. Information pertinent to hosting a screening is available online at rescuingtheamericanchestnut.com. The restoration of the majestic American chestnut tree is as bold an endeavor as one will encounter in conservation science. Its engine, however, is the passion, commitment, and sweat of a community of countless volunteers, advocates, staff, and other leaders who shepherd it through the decades and, eventually centuries. Amid changing forests, changing climates, and complex economic landscapes, it is the social movement behind the return of the American chestnut that keeps the science on a path of progress and ensures that future generations will come to know these giants of the forest in their own way. Vasiliy Lakoba is Director of Research with The American Chestnut Foundation, based at Meadowview Research Farms in southwest Virginia. He holds a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, where he studied interactions between biological invasions and other types of environmental change. His primary interests regarding the American chestnut are the socio-ecological dimensions of longterm species restoration. Lauren Kerwien is the Laboratory Manager at The American Chestnut Foundation’s Meadowview Research Farms. She holds a B.S. from the University of Vermont and an M.S. from Virginia Tech, with expertise in molecular genetics and microbiology. Her work with the American chestnut spans tree performance trials, host-pathogen interaction, and speed breeding optimization.
14 VIRGINIA FORESTS Emerging and Established Threats Impacting American Beech By Carrie J. Fearer Characteristic crinkled and banded symptoms associated with beech leaf disease. American beech (Fagus grandifolia) is a foundational tree species in the eastern deciduous forests of the United States with its range extending across 30 states from Maine to Florida. Along with sugar maple (Acer saccharum), American beech comprises the canopy of beech-maple forests, one of the dominant forest ecosystems in the northeastern United States. In the Southern Appalachians, it is an important tree species in high-elevation, northern hardwood forests and comprises the dominant “beech gap” forest type. Beech gaps harbor a highly rich and diverse community of understory plants that are endemic to these high elevation forests. They produce beechnuts, which are an important food source for mammals and birds, especially black bears and turkeys. In addition to forests, American beech trees are often planted in parks and landscape settings as shade trees where they are admired for their smooth, gray bark and gold, autumn foliage. American beech is generally renowned as a longlived species, and its height and diameter can span over 50 feet. However, old-growth American beech forests may soon face the same fate as other native tree species like the American chestnut and American elm due to threat of nonnative, invasive pests and pathogens. Beech bark disease American beech has long been affected by beech bark disease, a complex forest disease caused by both native and nonnative insect and fungal species. The disease was first discovered impacting American beech in the United States in Maine in 1935. Since its discovery, it has spread as far south as North Carolina and as far west as Wisconsin, leaving a trail of dead overstory beech in its path. Beech bark disease generally progresses through a forest in three recognizable stages: advance front, killing front, and aftermath. In the advance front, there are no visible symptoms of beech bark disease, but there is a build-up and spread of the Colonization of the beech scale insect (identified by the red arrow) on an American beech tree infected with beech bark disease.
Summer 2024 15 beech scale (Cryptococcus fagisuga), the nonnative, piercing and sucking insect associated with the disease complex. The advance front typically last three to six years before progressing to the killing front. As the name suggests, the killing front occurs when the fungi (Neonectria faginata and N. ditissima) have successfully colonized the trees, resulting in visible symptoms and widespread mortality. The characteristic symptoms of beech bark disease are bark cankers, which are sunken, dead areas on the bark of the tree and a reduced canopy. Following the heavy beech mortality associated with the killing front, the aftermath stage has reduced levels of the beech scale and fungi due to the lack of mature beech remaining in the forests. Aftermath forests are dominated by small beech that take over the entire understory of the forest. There is little mortality from beech bark disease in aftermath forests until the trees reach a DBH of approximately 15 inches. Beech bark disease impacted stands in Virginia are currently in the aftermath phase. Despite the loss of American beech trees, arguably the most ecologically damaging consequence of beech bark disease is the increased proliferation of young beech saplings in the understory, also known as beech thickets. Beech thickets greatly reduce the understory diversity and outcompete native vegetation, such as spring ephemerals in the Southern Appalachian forests. Furthermore, beech thickets significantly inhibit or eliminate woody regeneration, resulting in stands that are inadequately stocked and require management intervention to increase the recruitment of more desirable species. Since beech do not begin producing beechnuts until they are approximately 40 years old, the reduction in an overstory mast species negatively impacts the mammal and bird species within a forest, and the unpalatable beech leaves may further decrease the presence of herbivores within a beech stand. Unlike other forest diseases like chestnut blight, beech bark disease alone does not eliminate beech from the forest; instead, it changes its function from a dominant overstory species to an understory woody shrub. Beech leaf disease Unlike beech bark disease that has impacted beech for almost a century, beech leaf disease is an emerging disease that was only recently discovered. The disease was first identified in Ohio in 2012 and has since spread throughout 15 states including Virginia, and Canada (Figure 1). Along with American beech, European (Fagus sylvatica), Oriental (F. orientalis), and Chinese (F. engleriana) beech are also susceptible to the disease, and symptoms of beech leaf disease have been identified on these species in nurseries and arboretums. Symptoms of beech leaf disease include interveinal darkening of the leaves (referred to as banded symptoms), thickened and darkened leaves that appear shriveled (referred to as crinkled symptoms), and dead buds that do not produce leaves during the growing season. Mature trees succumb to the disease in approximately seven years, but beech saplings can succumb to the disease much faster depending on the level of infestation. Characteristic canker symptoms of beech bark disease on severely impacted American beech trees. FIGURE 1. Current distribution of beech leaf disease.
16 VIRGINIA FORESTS Beech leaf disease is associated with a nonnative, microscopic worm, also known as a nematode (Litylenchus crenatae subspecies mccannii), that is otherwise only found in Japan. Research is still ongoing to determine how the nematode spreads, but rain and wind appear to facilitate its movement throughout a forest. The nematode has also been found in mites that can live on birds, which may serve as a mechanism of dispersal. Since beech leaf disease is a relatively new disease, there is little research on the impacts of The compounding effects of beech bark disease and beech leaf disease on American beech in a forest in northern Maine. the disease to the surrounding ecosystem. The disease causes a reduced canopy that increases light to the forest floor, which may influence the understory community composition. In addition, the disease reduces the overall photosynthetic capacity of the tree. Compounding disease effects The distribution of beech bark disease and beech leaf disease began to overlap in 2017, and beech leaf disease continues to spread to areas in the northeast that were first impacted by beech bark disease. While beech bark disease only infects larger DBH trees, beech leaf disease can impact beech trees of any size. Therefore, it could be possible that the combination of the two diseases may result in the eradication of American beech from native forest ecosystems; however, additional evidence and research on the impacts of both diseases must be gathered before making such claims. Treatment and prevention There are currently no treatment options available for trees impacted by beech leaf disease, but research on treatment options is ongoing by Davey Tree and Bartlett Tree Experts in collaboration with Cleveland Metroparks. Insecticides are available to control beech scale and prevent beech bark disease on landscape trees, but such treatments are ineffective for use at the forest scale. The most effective methods to control forest diseases are detecting disease early in order to prevent its spread and selecting for host resistance. Presently, there is evidence of beech bark disease resistant American beech, but research on beech leaf disease resistance has not yet been explored. Research is ongoing by scientists at universities and at the U.S. Forest Service to learn more about beech leaf disease to protect the eradication of yet another foundational tree species. Carrie Fearer is an assistant professor of forest health in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation (FREC) in the College of Natural Resources and Environment (CNRE) at Virginia Tech. Her research program covers a broad range of topics related to forest health, including forest pathology, early disease detection, and the role of microbes in tree health. Dr. Fearer is broadly interested in developing rapid, non-destructive methods to identify tree diseases prior to spreading and disease resistant trees to protect forest biodiversity and assist in ecosystem restoration applications.
Summer 2024 17 ACTION REQUIRED Enhancing Virginia’s Hardwood Forests By Joe Rossetti
18 VIRGINIA FORESTS Young forests grow quickly—so quickly that you can almost watch them grow. As forests age and reach sawtimber size, it often becomes difficult to observe growth. You know it must be growing because all plants must grow to live, but its growth is imperceivable. Most hardwood forests have grown like this for decades, leading us to believe that this is the way it’s always been. This precedent has slowly developed over the last few decades due to a stagnation of hardwood forest management at a statewide scale, wherein most forests are passively managed or not managed at all. This decline in management has resulted in a decline in the quality of Virginia’s hardwood forests and the benefits they provide. At the Virginia Dept. of Forestry (DOF), we’re working to reverse this decline by promoting proactive forest management that increases forest productivity and benefits for landowners and the Commonwealth as a whole. Hardwood forests are a crucial resource for Virginia’s landscape, wildlife and people, especially forest landowners. Hardwoods make up 80 percent of our forestland and are comprised of over 100 species. Countless wildlife species—both game and non-game—call hardwood forests home for part or all their lives. We love the beauty of our forests and often take for granted that we live in a forested landscape, with 66 percent of Virginia covered in forestland. You can see forestland in every county and even from most cities. You’re never more than a few minutes’ drive from a hardwood forest. Hardwood forests cover the headwaters of most watersheds and make up riparian buffers along waterways, cleaning the air we breathe and filtering the water we drink. Hardwood forests are also a considerable financial asset for landowners. They are an important source of occasional income for landowners who have the privilege and responsibility to conduct a harvest when the time is right. In fact, much of our hardwood forest is full of sawtimber-size trees. Today’s landowners are the beneficiaries of work done by past landowners to grow great forests that are ready to meet their desires for providing wildlife habitat, aesthetics, clean water, and income. In short, they’re ready for management. Forest management is the process of transforming a forest from its current condition to one that better meets the landowner’s goals. It’s usually a series of practices carried out in a strategic order with time in-between for the forest to respond by growing or regenerating. Hardwood forests
Summer 2024 19 The Hardwood Initiative provides guidance, knowledge, resources, and incentives that help landowners achieve their hardwood forest management goals. are complex systems with many interacting parts, and landowners need to intervene with the right management practices at the right time to shape the forest to their desire. Landowners often need help with these decisions, and that’s where foresters come in. In making recommendations, foresters consider the landowner’s objectives, species present and the number of trees, existing tree regeneration, current condition of the forest, and other factors. In hardwood forests where many species are involved and trees regenerate through natural processes, the forester’s assessment is a crucial step to making good recommendations. Foresters believe we can improve the forest through intentional management, so it better meets the landowner’s goals. If every forest met every landowner’s goal, then the Commonwealth and all Virginians would be well-served. From this idea, and indications that past passive management isn’t producing forests that will meet landowner needs, DOF and partners started the Hardwood Initiative. The goal of the Hardwood Initiative is to improve Virginia’s hardwood forests through intentional management that meets goals at the landowner and landscape level. Since landowner goals vary and the forest condition varies from place to place, the practices used to improve forests will vary, too. For some landowners we will improve hardwood regeneration, so the next crop of trees is as beneficial for wildlife and economics as the current crop. Older forests are more susceptible than young forests to damage from insects, disease, and weather events, so having desirable tree regeneration is important in every forest, whether harvesting is planned or not. For other landowners, establishing younger forests may help achieve wildlife goals. Since most hardwood forests are over 80 years old, there’s a statewide lack of young hardwood forest available for wildlife habitat. Since some wildlife species require younger hardwood habitat, forests of varying ages in Virginia’s landscape are necessary for wildlife biodiversity. For some landowners, growing a forest is an investment. Much like investing in a diverse stock portfolio, it’s important to diversify an investment forest’s stock to help guard against risk and threats such as disease and pests. Landowners that have done well with pine management may choose to transition some acres to hardwood to grow a different product and access other markets. There are many more reasons why growing hardwood forests can meet landowner goals. The Hardwood Initiative
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