Abiotic and Biotic Stress in Low Maintenance Tree Health Care Programs

Summary: Low maintenance tree health care programs balance roots and shoots growth and photosynthesis to beat light, moderate and severe abiotic and biotic stress.

Biotic stress of a blight devastated the American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata) populations, with the accidental introduction of the pathogenic (disease-producing) fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica, into the United States in 1904; photo of blight-riddled American chestnuts taken in 1943: USDA Forest Service - Northeastern Area , USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, via Forestry Images

Understanding Tree Responses to Abiotic and Biotic Stress Complexes in the December 2016 Arborist News addresses low maintenance tree health care programs for balanced growth, carbon acquisition, pest resistance and stress tolerance.

Daniel A. Herms of The Ohio State University's Department of Entomology in Wooster, Ohio, broaches bark-boring, canker-forming, leaf-defoliating biotic pests and light-, moisture-, nutrient-deficient abiotic soils. Abiotic- and biotic-constructed stress complexes communicate limits to uptake of resources that otherwise are present in adequate supply or shortages of essential resources in the environment. Soil light, moisture, nutrient, pH, pollution and temperature levels and species-specific pest resistance and stress tolerance determine whether trees defy interference with, or shortages of, resources.

Baldcypress endures flood stress and flowering dogwood and sugar maple expect light-stressed forest understories where paper birch and rhododendrons respectively experience shade- and alkaline-induced nutrient-deficient stresses.

Ideas that "rapidly growing trees are the most pest resistant and stress tolerant" favor fertilizing, landscaping, spraying and watering in low maintenance tree health care programs.

Photosynthetic processing rates of light, moisture and nutrients per leaf glom onto total leaf area to generate tree growth processes of cell division and cell enlargement. Rapid growth hampers defense, maintenance, reproduction and storage and hastens unsupported succulence that hustles stakes until bark, celulose and lignin are produced and the trees harden. Growth is sensitive to light, moderate and severe stress even though "In most temperate forest ecosystems, tree growth is nutrient limited, and summer drought" is predictable.

A 50 percent defoliation finally jars growth rates even though any defoliation always jumps photosynthetic rates of carbon acquisition, otherwise sensitive only to severe stress, downward.

Photosynthesized carbon acquisition keeps growing stress-tolerant biomasses of naturally pest-resistant allelochemical nicotine and terpenes, thick cell walls and tough cuticles even when trees know no growth.

Carbon acquisition lends lightly and moderately stressed trees energizing defensive compounds and stored carbohydrates until severe stress closes stomata, decreases carbon dioxide and harms photosynthetic machinery. Light and moderate stress minimizes growth but maintains photosynthesis to maximize allelopathic, disease-, insect-, pathogen-, pest-resistant, naturally strong defensive compounds until severe stress mangles photosynthetic rates. Light, moderate and severe shade and sun stress necessitates pruning or relocation since all defoliation and species-specific light and shade intolerances nip photosynthesis in the bud.

Low maintenance tree health care programs operate fertilizing, landscaping, pruning, relocating, spraying and watering options against all light, moderate and severe abiotic and biotic stress complexes.

Nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizers prefer growth over pest resistance and stress tolerance, which proceed from defoliating-fighting, photosynthesized allelopathy, and never pull stress through trunk invader-disrupted, vascular system-injured intolerances.

Ample, fast-release, macronutrient-heavy fertilizers in moist, nutrient-balanced, pest-resistant, stress-tolerant, well-drained soils always quicken growth, with reverse effects upon allelopathic production and photosynthesis rates of carbon acquisition. Conservative nutrient schedules with adequate soil moisture realize high rates of photosynthesis and biomass accumulation of defensive chemicals and solid carbohydrates and moderate rates of growth. Macronutrient- and micronutrient-proportioned, slow-release fertilizers for allelopathic buildup and chlorophyll production support balanced roots and shoots growth and photosynthesis unweakened by defoliation, drought and lighting stress.

Growth, sensitive to abiotic and biotic stress complexes, teams up with photosynthesis, sensitive to defoliation, drought and trunk invasions, in low maintenance tree health care programs.

pine tree suffering from drought, a major abiotic stress, in 1987: William M. Brown Jr., Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, via Forestry Images

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to:
talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet;
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for superior on-campus and on-line resources.

Image credits:

Biotic stress of a blight devastated the American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata) populations, with the accidental introduction of the pathogenic (disease-producing) fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica, into the United States in 1904; photo taken in 1943: USDA Forest Service - Northeastern Area , USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, via Forestry Images @ http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1396146

pine tree suffering from drought, a major abiotic stress, in 1987: William M. Brown Jr., Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, via Forestry Images @ http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5359718

For further information:

Gilman, Ed. 2011. An Illustrated Guide to Pruning. Third Edition. Boston MA: Cengage.

Hayes, Ed. 2001. Evaluating Tree Defects. Revised, Special Edition. Rochester MN: Safe Trees.

Herms, Daniel A. December 2016. "Understanding Tree Responses to Abiotic and Biotic Stress Complexes." Arborist News 25(6): 12-19.

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