Billiem's Environmental Notes

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About the American Chestnut

The American Chestnut Society: (http:/www.acf.org/)

The detailed information provided by the American Chestnut Society is easy to navigate and very informative. Especially useful are descriptions of the diagnostic characteristics of the American chestnut. In the dry woodlands of Shenandoah County, VA, the Chestnut oak is the easiest to confuse with the American chestnut by the novice. The site also accesses a wealth of technical and lay information through the Journal of the American Chestnut.

One article by Pat Chamberlain describes an American chestnut in Erie County, Pennsylvania, that reaches 25 inches DBH (diameter at breast height). Its resistance is attributed to a less virulent (hypovirulent) form of the fungus blight Endorhia parasitica.

I recommend that you have a look at the site, and even to join the Society to help in its important work of reestablishing the American chestnut.

A Fungus Beats the Chestnut Blight at its Own Game

Rudolph Chelminski published this article in 1979 (The Smithsonian Magazine, v. 10, no. 3, p. 96-107) describing how a less virulent form of the Endorhia parasitica can dominate and lessen the damage of the more virulent form. This research is by the French agronomist Jean Grente working on the European chestnut Castanea sativa. The American chestnut does not seem to have responded strongly to this promising cure..

The Dying of the Trees: the Pandemic in America's Forests

Charles E. Little, 1996, Viking Press, Penguin Books, N.Y. At times a detective story-like treatment of many of the assaults on American trees by various pests and pollution, starting with the alarming infestation of the Eastern Flowering dogwood, Cornus florida, by a fungal infection termed anthracnose. This book is a must for those who wish to learn about the many changes affecting American forests.

About the Gypsy Moth

Michigan's Gypsy Moth Education Program site provides an informative summary of many aspects of the gypsy moth (http://www.ent.msu.edu/gypsyed/) . I found the section on the "3 Ps" of control (parasites. parasitoids, and pathogens) especially important. Of these, the virus Neucleopolyhederosos is identified as the major cause of collapse of gypsy moth outbreaks such as we saw near Big Schloss. Especially fascinating was how the use of pesticides inhibited the natural course of this disease, which becomes a controlling factor only when the caterpillar population is large. The Virginia Tech site and U.S. Forest Service site include maps, outstanding photos and a wealth of other information on the gypsy moth.

Site Reviews

There are many fine sites on the subjects of the Chestnut blight and the gypsy moth: I have reviewed only a few, and cite those especially suited for the lay reader, like myself.

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Note 061200. Published June 12, 2000, with occasional corrections/improvements after that.