Root Vitality and Decline of Red Spruce. 1993. (CBA, vol. 4). illustr. 41 tabs. VI,134 p. gr8vo. Paper bd.

Root systems are far too often neglected in studies on forest treesmaladies, forest tree decline being no exception. While a wealth ofinformation has existed on the crown symptoms associated with red sprucedecline, until now little information was available on root symptoms.The research reported here stems from a major effort to betterunderstand the root and crown dynamics of decline disease in red spruce(Picea rubens Sarg.) which grow at high elevation sites in thenortheastern United States. The results indicate that a decrease in fineroot vitality and mycorrhizal relationships are associated with, and mayprecede, crown deterioration in red spruce. The combined root and crowndeterioration data are consistent with the hypothesis that red sprucedecline is linked to acidic deposition afflicting the trees directlythrough the foliage, or indirectly through the soil. Methods to evaluateroot vitality and relate them to specific tree and crown conditions weredeveloped for this study and are described here in sufficient detail toallow researchers to determine similar root/crown relationships in otherspecies.