When dead trees attack
Falling trees a danger on Flanders roadways
10 comments below
The brown shading indicates where extensive areas of dead pine trees have been discovered by Cornell Cooperative Extension and the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
No one was injured, as drivers managed to halt before colliding with the downed tree and pole.
The woods along Flanders Road are filled with dead trees, and transportation and environmental officials worry that motorists may not be as fortunate in the future when trees collapse. The Pine Barrens Commission estimates that 14,000 acres of the 100,000-acre Central Pine Barrens region, which covers parts of Southampton, Riverhead and Brookhaven, are covered with dead trees.
Some of the hundreds of dead trees along Flanders Road are now starting to fall, presenting a potential hazard to motorists. The state is working on a plan to address the problem.
"There's something wrong with the trees and its extensive," said Eileen Peters, a spokeswoman for the Sate Department of Transportation. "From our standpoint, we have started to work with ... the county parks and others to have a plan for addressing this problem, and we've begun to remove the ones on the right of way that pose an imminent danger."
A number of trees have already fallen along Flanders Road, according to Barbara Swislosky, vice president of the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association.
The extent of the dead trees was discovered during a flyover conducted by Cornell Coorperative Extension entomologist Dan Gilrein with the DEC. It didn't take into account the Pine Barrens on the North and South Forks, so there are likely to be even more dead trees, according to Alexis Alvey, the nursery and landscape specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Suffolk County.
Cornell became aware of the oak mortality last year when Mr. Gilrein did the flyover, Ms. Alvey said. Most of the dead oaks are in Flanders, Northampton, Calverton, Manorville and Westhampton, she said.
Cornell believes multiple factors have contributed to the oak die-off.
One was a severe drought in the summer of 2005 that was followed that October by a very wet month, Ms. Alvey said.
"This likely predisposed the trees to injury," she said.
The injury was compounded by gypsy moths and inchworms, which ate the leaves on the already weakened trees. The third factor in the die-off came because the weakened trees were more susceptible to root rot disease and to other insect pests, including the two-line chestnut borer, a beetle-like insect that attacks weakened oaks, Ms. Alvey said.
The trees likely started perishing in 2005, and it took until about a year ago to notice, she said.
"Last year, it was becoming very apparent that there were a lot of dead trees," she said.
The bulk of the dead trees are oaks: the Pine Barrens comprise mostly oaks and pines, and pine trees are less susceptible to drought and pests, Ms. Alvey said.
Ms. Peters said the DOT maintenance crews routinely patrol state roads to look for trees that might present a hazard, and remove them. She said one tree was removed from Flanders Road last week and another fell on the side of the road.
"The difficulty here is that there are so many dead trees," Ms. Peters said. "It's pretty extensive."
Another difficulty is that the bulk of the trees are on Suffolk County parkland, so while the tree itself might not be in the state road right of way, it could end up in the road if the entire tree were to fall down. The DOT is permitted to remove trees from private property if it presents a threat to motorists, she said.
Ms. Peters said the DOT is working with the county and other agencies to come up with a comprehensive plan for dealing with the problem, but will deal with it "one tree at a time" in the mean time.
"We have a tree crew and they are very, very busy right now," she said.
tgannon@timesreview.com
The Riverhead News-Review is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. The Riverhead News-Review does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The Riverhead News-Review. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Service and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.
10 comments found
Autumn : 10/6/2009
Peak foliage in this area should be mid-October. The leaves turn beautiful colors and THEN fall off. Instead, they are falling off while still green, or turning brown and then falling off. That is NOT normal!
: 10/6/2009
Since when was leaves falling off in October not "normal"? I think it's called AUTUMN
worms : 10/3/2009
I don't doubt there are worms. But the worms that like oaks just don't explain all the other species of trees and shrubs and annuals and aquatic plants that are suffering from the same inability to photosynthesize. Take an inventory! Every single form of vegetative life that relies on producing chlorophyll to survive is imperiled. All you have to do is take a look at the leaves falling off the trees, now, in early October! This isn't normal!
Oak Trees : 10/2/2009
I am a Flanders resident and I can tell you exactly what the problem is and please --it's not the ozone level! For the last 5 years we have been infested here with oak worms that have stripped the trees bare of leaves. Without leaves, trees will eventually die, which is exactly what is happening. I walk on Pleasure Drive several days a week and during the height of this oak worm investation you can hear the noise coming from the trees as these worms are feasting on the leaves as well as see the droppings everywhere. We have sprayed our property twice during the season to save our own trees that surround our property only to have a tremendous amounts of these worms fall dead from the trees. This situation is of great concern to the area residents, not only because of the impact to safety in the event of these trees coming down along the roadways but also a concern from a fire hazard standpoint.
trees : 10/2/2009
Guys you are looking to deep and thinking about it to much, lets be serious if you live in flanders you know its worms. We have had terrible problems with inch worms from tiny ones to big fat ones. They eat all the leaves off the oaks. Oak trees will die after 2-3 yrs of getting there leaves stripped in a row. On pleasure drive thousands of trees have died from worms. We get all our oak trees sprayed twice every summer on infected trees on my property and down falls millions of worms. If you have driven down pleasure drive in flanders over the past month it was covered by smushed worms from cars after they fell off. Trees cant survive without leaves thats the bottom line they are dead from the worms that have infested flanders woods for the past 5 years there are plenty of recently stripped trees to show for it that will soon be completely dead in a year or two.
ozone baths : 10/1/2009
Oh and I should add that, not much is known about this, but when ozone and/or PANs are carried through water vapor, it's possible in a wet summer such as the past one that they coat the leaves of plants and do even worse damage. I personally don't think that's the case, because for one thing, the damage appears to be uniform all over trees and shrubs and if it was due to raining toxins it would be more localized on the exposed leaves and less so on the protected underleaves. But mainly, I started noticing widespread foliage damage in the summer of 2008, when we were having a drought, which was what I attributed it to then. That was before it turned out this year that plants in ponds show terrible symptoms, even though they are consistently in water. That really doesn't leave anything other than the composition of the atmosphere to explain the unarguable facts.
PAN's : 10/1/2009
Exactly. You have not read my blog, or looked at the evidence. I do not think it is ozone, which has been around for decades. I think it is the mandated ethanol additive. That is relatively speaking, new. And more lethal than gasoline emissions. I could be wrong about that, perhaps their is some agent I'm not aware of. But one thing is certain, and easily verified. Whatever is killing trees, coniferous and deciduous, old and young, and shrubs, and annuals, and aquatic, MUST be atmospheric. Nothing else could have such a universal impact. You tell me what it is...I'm curious, since I have children, and I would like them to have food in the future, to eat.
Ozone is not to blame in this case : 10/1/2009
Thanks for your comments Gail, but I will have to diagree with you. While ozone can cause injury to plants as well as people, it is not the main factor in this instance. This year, ozone levels were much lower on Long Island than normal because of the abnormally cool and rainy weather this summer. There were only 2 times during the year which had high ozone levels- late April and early August. During the late April episode I did witness localized ozone damage to a white pine in eastern Nassau County. White pine is particularly susceptible to ozone damage. The trees that we are talking about here are oaks- the pitch pines which dominate the pine stands of Long Island are thriving in Suffolk County's forests. The problem of ground-level ozone that you speak of is nothing new and has been identified as a problem for over 60 years. Effective federal regulations have decreased cars' and factories' individual contributions to ozone (but we now have many, many more cars). However, vegetation itself also contributes to the formation of ozone by releasing volatile organic compounds or VOCs. Researches across the country have been studying ozone for decades, including the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences right here on Long Island at SUNY Stony Brook. If you want more information on ozone please visit the EPA's AirNow website: www.airnow.gov/ Alexis Alvey
Trees in Flanders : 10/1/2009
I lost 3 oaks in my yard alone this year. My problem was carpenter ants. They are everywhere!!
it's the atmosphere, people! : 10/1/2009
I live in New Jersey and have had occasion to travel up and down the east coast this past year. Most people appear to be oblivious, but the fact is that the vegetation is being severely damaged by ozone and peroxyacetyl nitrates (PANS). It is well established through scientific research that these gasses, resulting when sunlight reacts with volatile organic compounds from burning gasoline and ethanol, respectively, are highly toxic to plants (and people, causing cancer, emphysema, and asthma). What hasn't yet been recognized is that the level in the atmosphere is currently killing trees in vast numbers, causing a rapid ecosystem collapse. In New Jersey, many trees are completely bare already even though it is only the first of October - and those leaves that remain are scorched and brown. The coniferous plants are shedding their yellowing needles. For the first time this summer all annual crops show the unmistakable symptoms of atmospheric poisoning. The relatively sudden and universal damage could be due to the mandated addition of ethanol. I think it's quite important for policy makers to be informed that just because these gasses are invisible it doesn't mean they aren't deadly - they obviously are. Please note that within the past year, there is not one single species that relies on photosynthesis that isn't affected, including potted plants, aquatic plants, saplings in nurseries and mature indigenous trees. If you are interested in links to studies and photographs, I post them at witsendnj.blogspot.com. Please feel free to write back or call 908-797-3948 if you have any questions. Sincerely, Gail Zawacki Oldwick, NJ
