Ari Hietala

Seniorforsker

(+47) 480 28 268
ari.hietala@nibio.no

Sted
Steinkjer

Besøksadresse
Innocamp Steinkjer, Skolegata 22, Bygg P 1. etasje, 7713 Steinkjer

Sammendrag

Overvåkingsprogrammet i 2023 omfattet undersøkelse for tilstedeværelse av furuvednematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) i hogstavfall fra furu og i furubukker av slekten Monochamus. I OK-programmets delaktivitet som omfattet kartlegging av furuvednematode i hogstavfall, ble det tatt 410 flisprøver fra hogstavfall og vindfall av furu (Pinus sylvestris) som hadde tegn på angrep av furubukker i slekten Monochamus. Prøvene ble tatt i Agder og Østfold. Flisprøvene ble inkubert ved +25°C i to uker før nematoder ble ekstrahert med Baermann-trakt og undersøkt i mikroskop. Furuvednematoden B. xylophilus ble ikke påvist, men den naturlig forekommende arten Bursaphelenchus mucronatus kolymensis ble oppdaget i 1 flisprøve. Siden overvåkingen av furuvednematode startet i 2000, har alle de analyserte flisprøvene, totalt 9334, vært negative for furuvednematode. I OK-programmets delaktivitet som omfattet kartlegging av furuvednematode i furubukker, ble feller med attraktanter for fangst av voksne, flygende furubukker satt opp i Agder, Østfold, Innlandet, Trøndelag og Ålesund. Billene ble kuttet i biter og ekstrahert med en modifisert Baermann-trakt. Suspensjonen fra ekstraksjonene ble undersøkt i mikroskop for forekomst av Bursaphelenchus spp. Ingen furuvednematoder ble påvist i de 23 undersøkte billene. Bursaphelenchus mucronatus kolymensis ble ikke heller oppdaget.

Sammendrag

Forest grazing by free-roaming livestock is a common practice in many countries. The forestry sector sees the practice as unfortunate owing to several reasons, such as damages inflicted by grazing in young plantations. Concerning Norway spruce forests, a tree species known to develop wood decay with high frequency followed from stem bark damage, there is a strong perception among foresters that the trampling damage caused by livestock on the superficial root system of this tree leads to decay. Because of the very limited scientific documentation available on this topic, we pursued a clarification by investigating three 38- to 56-year-old Norway spruce forests used for silvopasture. Two types of injuries were observed on exposed roots: bark cracks characterized by resin exudation, and injuries involving localized bark peeling and exposure of the underlying wood. These injuries occurred up to 250 cm away from the root collar, with the sector 50–150 cm away from the root collar showing the highest incidence of injuries. In two of the forest stands, wood within the injured root areas was primarily colonized by the wound parasite Corinectria fuckeliana or species of the order Helotiales, fungi that do not cause wood decay. Wood colonization of injured roots by Heterobasidion species, the most frequent wood decay fungi of Norway spruce, was common in the third stand, but only in a few cases it was possible to deduce that the colonization had probably initiated via trampling injuries on roots. In a few cases, an injury was located at stem base at the root collar height along paths used by animals, and in such cases, it was obvious that stem colonization by Heterobasidion species had initiated via the wound. The relatively small amount of data warrants caution when drawing conclusions. Considering the high establishment frequency of decay via stem bark wounds of Norway spruce observed in previous studies, our data would suggest that roots are generally better equipped to defend themselves upon infliction of superficial wounds than stem of this tree species. The likelihood of trampling injuries leading to decay may vary considerably between different stands, this presumably depending on the level of local propagule pressure by pathogenic wood decay fungi and the frequency of damages close to root collar.