Plant Health and Condition

Observation by Wilson Justin:

Took a short walk today. The leaves, in general, don't look too healthy. They seem to lack vitality and are shriveled in many places. The walkway shows many leaves to have disengaged and ended up on the ground.

Comments from LEO Editors:

In the Interior of Alaska, about 350 miles to the NNW of Chistochina lies the community of Evansville. In an observation posted by Debbie Sue Nictune, Changing Plant Conditions, she tells that summer of 2012 she began to notice a change as to when plants began flowering with an increase in the leaf miners and number on Poplar trees (Populus tremuloides). Subsequent years saw more observation from around the state of plants either blossoming, berrying much earlier than normal, or with a fungal issue due to weather conditions. This observation has been shared with the Cooperative Extension Service, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. M. Tcheripanoff

Alaska Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program Consult:

Cooperative Extension Service Invasive Plants Instructure, Gino Graziano, Anchorage District Office, shared this observation with Jessie Moan, Statewide IPM Technician. She writes:

Hi all, It looks like leaf miners in the first and third picture. Leaf miner damage can cause leaves to change color and drop from the tree earlier in the season than normal. Leaf miner damage doesn't usually heavily impact tree health in the short term, though several successive years of very high populations can lead to more severe stress. The leaves in the second picture that appear yellowish might have something else going. There are many things that might lead to yellowing so it's hard to say without knowing more information.

Resources:

Alaska Forest Health Protection – Information about common or significant disease, insect, and noninfectious damage agents in Alaska, including their current status, distribution, historic activity, symptoms, biology, and impacts to host trees and forest management. Source: USDA Forest Service, Alaska Forest Health - Disease, Insect, and Noninfectious Agents

Forest Health Conditions in Alaska Reports (2002-2016) – Access and download the Forest Health Conditions in Alaska (full reports, highlights sections, and online maps from aerial surveys). Source: USDA Forest Service Alaska Region