LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Something is killing Arkansas’ state tree, the Loblolly pine, and experts are scrambling to find out what it is.
The unknown ailment is most noticeably affecting trees in the southeastern part of the state, where many pine plantations are located. Drew and Ashley county have seen the most occurrences of the strange affliction.
“Loblolly pine is a really good tree to grow. It’s very easily propagated, it’s very easily planted, it grows extremely well on a wide variety of sites, and we really have a very productive forest. This phenomena that we’re seeing right now is unusual because it’s contrary to what we normally see,” said Vic Ford, Associate Vice President of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
Afflicted trees lack the foliage of healthy ones, their nettles turn brown and fall during the intermediate stages of the illness. Some trees die, though it’s unknown what the mortality rate is.
Ford said that the source of stress impacts how the trees brown, such as the Southern Pine Beetle, which left pine trees a reddish hue. Ford said that, though he’s seen a range of color for the mystery affliction, he has noted that the foliage of affected trees often turn a grey-brown.
The ecological mystery has many in the logging business disturbed.
“The majority of our forests in the state are owned by private individuals. And so, they’ve invested their livelihoods in creating healthy forests. Anything that impacts those forests from a health perspective is cause for concern,” said Mike Braswell, Executive Director of the Arkansas Forestry Association.
“There have been some, a handful of landowners, that have cleared some of their forests out of concern that the ailment that they were suffering from may continue to spread,” said Michael Blazier, Dean of the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
Blazier sent samples to scientists at the University of Auburn three weeks ago, and says the results should return by this Thursday, hopefully providing some answers.
Chandler Barton, a Division Forester with the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, is among those on the ground investigating the mystery ailment.
“We’re undergoing a sampling effort to identify potential causes. Everything is on the table. We’re looking at pathogens, we’re looking at potential herbicide damages,” Barton said.
“The clues are out there, we just got to figure out what clues are important and how do we put the story together?” said Ford.
“It’s not the Southern Pine Beetle that we had in the ’80s, it’s not the Oak Borer that we had in the 2000’s,” he said. “What it is, is a phenomenon that we’ve noticed. We want to do our due diligence and learn about it. It’s something that we really need to pay attention to, because it could become a problem.”
On Tuesday, the Arkansas Forestry Association, a trade association for the state’s private timber and forest products industry, held a meeting at the Arkansas Department of Agriculture to coordinate a plan of action going forward as they wait on answers.
Experts stressed that there is no need to panic, as the vast majority of trees in the state are unaffected.
