What's wrong with these birch trees?
-
Apologies if the photo quality is insufficient. In a particular bit of forest, I found an area with a large birch population that all seemed to be suffering from the same issue. Something is causing the leaves to first stripe green and yellow, then turn brown/black, and while there are new leaf buds forming, trees are seemingly losing the leaves faster than they can replace them. There are other areas with birch trees on the same forest that don't have this issue at all. In the affected area, some trees have only one or two leaves left with any green in them at all.
This is in New England, USA
-
Apologies if the photo quality is insufficient. In a particular bit of forest, I found an area with a large birch population that all seemed to be suffering from the same issue. Something is causing the leaves to first stripe green and yellow, then turn brown/black, and while there are new leaf buds forming, trees are seemingly losing the leaves faster than they can replace them. There are other areas with birch trees on the same forest that don't have this issue at all. In the affected area, some trees have only one or two leaves left with any green in them at all.
This is in New England, USA
I go hunting many times a year and as you can imagine find myself surrounded by old birch forests from time to time.
I have yet to see a healthy group of birch trees. I even have birch on my property, and the only ones that are doing well are surrounded by anything other than birch.
-
Apologies if the photo quality is insufficient. In a particular bit of forest, I found an area with a large birch population that all seemed to be suffering from the same issue. Something is causing the leaves to first stripe green and yellow, then turn brown/black, and while there are new leaf buds forming, trees are seemingly losing the leaves faster than they can replace them. There are other areas with birch trees on the same forest that don't have this issue at all. In the affected area, some trees have only one or two leaves left with any green in them at all.
This is in New England, USA
I believe these are beech trees, not birches, and they appear to be suffering from beech leaf disease which is a newly introduced and highly deadly species of nematode.
Read more here: https://extension.psu.edu/beech-leaf-disease
-
I believe these are beech trees, not birches, and they appear to be suffering from beech leaf disease which is a newly introduced and highly deadly species of nematode.
Read more here: https://extension.psu.edu/beech-leaf-disease
Agreed, birch leaves are serrated, these look like beeches
