December | 2024 | Sudden Oak Life by Lee Klinger

Four years of doing nothing …

31 12 2024

I often tell people inquiring on how to best care for their oaks that doing nothing is not an option! It seems that most people see oaks as native trees of California that have adapted and endured here for thousands of years, so they should not need our care.

Missing from this understanding is that the great oak forests here are the result of thousands of years of care by the Native Peoples. That is why those of us who know this are tending the oaks with fire and/or fire mimicry and seeing clear improvement in their health. Indeed, most of the information on this blog addresses mainly the positive results of tending trees.

But what happens to oaks when we do nothing?

Here I present four-year photo sets of numerous canyon live (Valparaiso) oaks where nothing has been done, save for one oak that received a partial fire mimicry treatment in January of 2021. Most of the oaks are showing noticeable decline in canopy leaf density, a fair measure of the trees’ overall health. Several show no clear change in canopy density, and one or two seem to have improved over the past four years.

Can anyone guess which of these oaks received a partial fire mimicry treatment?

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Categories : Big Sur, Fire ecology, Fire mimicry, Native people, Oak health, Repeat photography

Oranges and fire mimicry

26 12 2024

*A commercial orange orchard in Visalia, CA.*

Fire mimicry is clearly showing itself as a useful tool for restoring our native California trees. But what of all the non-native agricultural trees growing in vast orchards across the state? Is there any aspect of fire mimicry that may benefit them?

With these questions in mind I attended the World Ag Expo in Visalia, CA in February of 2007 and met a farmer whose family had been growing oranges in the Central Valley for generations. The farmer was concerned about a decline in the productivity and quality of their oranges in recent years. So in April of that year I returned to Visalia and inspected her orchards.

She first showed me an orchard block that had been consistently under-producing compared to adjacent blocks. I immediately noticed that a dense cover of mosses had formed around many of the trees, indicating to me that the soils were acidified and likely lacking in alkaline-rich nutrients. Most of the moss cover appeared confined to the soil zone of surface saturation along irrigation lines. [Any of you who have read Chapter 6 “The cryptic ecology of mosses and lichens” in my book Forged by Fire knows why this buildup of mosses may be problematic.]

*Sick orange tree in a low productivity orchard.* *Note the thin canopy and yellowing of the leaves.*

*Dense mats of mosses growing on soils saturated by irrigation lines.*

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Categories : Fire mimicry, Testimonials

Photo montage of trees other than coast live oaks that are feeling the love …

23 12 2024

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Categories : Buckeye health, Case studies, East Bay, Fire mimicry, Monterey/Carmel, North Bay, Peninsula, Repeat photography, Santa Cruz

California oak decline is reversible!

22 12 2024

For more than two decades the decline and death of California’s oaks has been a matter of serious concern. In 2000 the California Oak Mortality Task Force (COMTF) was formed and members of the task force have received over $50 million in funding to address this problem. I attempted to become a member of the COMTF in the early 2000’s and applied several times for funding, but to no avail. The problem was seen then, as it still is, as pathological (say the pathologists) not ecological (say me).

That cold shoulder turned out to be a fine move for the dying oaks, as it forced me to stop studying the problem and start trying to fix it. Hence “Sudden Oak Life” was born and ever since I have been showing the fruits of my labor. While the title of this post may be news to many, it is old news to the long-time followers of this work. In the archives of this blog that span two decades are photos of THOUSANDS of oaks showing that in most cases their decline can be reversed.

Shown here are photo sets of 16 ailing coast live oaks in Monterey CA treated with fire mimicry showing their progress after three years. Most of the oaks exhibit a notable increase in canopy density and many appear greener.

More evidence that California oak mortality is reversible! Enjoy …

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Categories : Case studies, Fire ecology, Fire mimicry, Monterey/Carmel, Oak health, Repeat photography, Sudden Oak Death

Monterey pines in Monterey showing off their new foliage

20 12 2024

Monterey pines (Pinus radiata) are fast-growing trees that produce abundant large cones and seeds. They are, as might be expected, quite common in Monterey, CA and are endemic to our region, having been here since the Tertiary. Lately, however, Monterey pines, like the coast live oaks, are in decline, essentially victims of colonization which has led to a lack of healing fires. Both pitch pine canker disease and bark beetles are taking a heavy toll on the pines, as well as overcrowding of the forests.

While my focus is on tending oaks, I’ve found that many other fire-adapted native trees respond well to fire mimicry. Thus, I began tending this grove of Monterey pines three years ago using the same fire mimicry protocol I use on the oaks. Yesterday I checked on these trees and am happy to report that most are showing noticeable improvement in the density and lushness of their foliage. Also, they bear no signs of disease or insect pests.

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Categories : Case studies, Fire mimicry, Monterey/Carmel, Pine health, Repeat photography

Is the assumption that lichens are harmless to trees correct?

12 12 2024

Dying coast live oak, centuries old, “smothered” in *Ramalina* *reticulata* and Usnea sp. lichens.

One of the most popular posts on this blog has been “Do lichens play a role in oak decline?” with nearly 4K views since it was published in 2018. With all those views I’m surprised that only a single reader has so far responded. It seems that photographing and identifying lichens is cool, but the ecology of lichens isn’t all that interesting to most folks.

Today I present readers a more detailed discussion on the ecology of epiphytic lichens and their possible effects on tree health. The following are excerpts from Chapter 6: The Cryptic Ecology of Mosses and Lichens, in my book “Forged by Fire: The Cultural Tending of Trees and Forests in Big Sur and Beyond”.

Foliose lichen (*Flavoparmelia* sp.) growing in a mat of mosses (*Grimmia* sp.) on the bark of an ancient coast live oak.

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Categories : Moss ecology, Native people, Oak health

Non-toxic approach to oakworm infestations along the Central Coast, CA

10 12 2024

In 2017 there was a severe oakworm infestation of coast live oaks in the Monterey region and elsewhere. I’m often contacted at these times by property owners concerned about their oaks. Many wish to spray the trees with insecticides to reduce the infestation. Upon my advice, I tell property owners that spraying chemical insecticides is not necessary for the oaks to recover from these infestations, provided they are given proper care. Since the oakworm infestations are related to a lack of cultural fires, which controlled their populations in the past, a way forward is to emulate fire effects on the forest ecosystem.

Thus, rather than using chemical sprays as is typically recommended by arborists, I prefer using fire mimicry treatments to oak trees infested with oakworm. In the present case study I recommended to the property owner to do fire mimicry treatments instead of spraying the oaks. Never knowing for sure, I explained to them that the oaks would likely recover from the infestation, and that they would show continued improvement in the following years. A second set of fire mimicry treatments were preformed the following year (2018).

Shown here are repeat photographs of numerous coast live oaks taken upon initial treatments at the height of a severe oak worm infestation (2017), one year afterwards (2018), and seven years afterwards (2024).

Assessing the repeat photography results, the changes in canopy density of all the oaks on this property in Monterey, CA show that, in nearly all case studies, the canopy density increased as expected the year following the oakworm infection. However, the canopy density has continued to increase in nearly all of the oaks after only two years of fire mimicry treatments.

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Categories : Case studies, Fire mimicry, Monterey/Carmel, Oak health, Repeat photography, Sudden Oak Death

Oak restoration project in Boulder Creek, CA – 2024 Update

6 12 2024

Six years ago I began a forest restoration project in Boulder Creek, CA using fire mimicry treatments to help improve the health of a grove of coast live oaks, some of which are likely more than 250 years old. Additionally, two of the oaks had bleeding stem cankers (probably Sudden Oak Death) that were surgically removed, cauterized, and poulticed.

In 2022 most of the oaks were pruned to help reduce the canopy size, which lowers the risk of both wind and fire damage to the trees. The pruning also allows for more light to reach the lower branches resulting in improved density and lushness of the inner canopy foliage.

Last Tuesday I made my annual pilgrimage to this grove to re-photograph the oaks and to assess their response to the fire mimicry treatments. Here are the case study results showing canopy conditions at the time of initial treatment (2018) and a few days ago (2024).

Note, also, the last two photo sets that show the rapid recovery of two surgical wounds (on the same old-growth oak). The absence of any residual bleeding from the wounds indicates that the surgeries were successful in removing the stem canker infections. I’m calling this a win!