The RITY-2 phenology model was developed for the spatiotemporal simulation of the seasonal development of European spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus. RITY-2 is based on the PHENIPS model and was ...developed through improving PHENIPS with innovative approaches and calibrating and validating it for Slovenia. RITY-2 predictions are based on air temperatures from Integrated Nowcasting through a Comprehensive Analysis (INCA) system, which is used to calculate the effective bark temperature for beetle development. In this paper we describe the calculation procedure for RITY-2.•INCA enables high resolution spatial and temporal simulations and predictions.•An innovative procedure was introduced that finds the most appropriate spring date threshold from which the calculation of the phenological model is initiated.•Simplified and customized linear models for calculation of the air temperature in the forest and bark temperatures were developed.
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The European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus L.) is an eruptive forest pest that has caused a great deal of damage in the last decades because of increasing climatic extremes. In order to ...effectively manage outbreaks of this pest, it is important to predict where they will occur in the future. In this study we developed a predictive model of the sanitary felling of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) because of bark beetles. We used a time series of sanitary felling because of bark beetles from 1996 to 2020 in Slovenia. For the explanatory variables, we used soil, site, climate, geographic, and tree damage data from the previous year. The model showed that sanitary felling is negatively correlated with slope, soil depth, soil cation exchange capacity, and Standard Precipitation Index (less sanitary felling in wet years). On the other hand, soil base saturation percentage, temperature, sanitary felling because of bark beetles from the previous year, sanitary felling because of other abiotic factors from the previous year, and the amount of spruce were positively correlated with the sanitary felling of Norway spruce due to bark beetles. The model had an R2 of 0.38. A prediction was performed for 2021 combining an occurrence model and a quantitative model. The model can be used to predict the amount of sanitary felling of Norway spruce due to bark beetles and to refine the risk map for the next year, which can be used for forest management planning and economic loss predictions.
Reports of sooty bark disease of maples caused by the fungus Cryptostroma corticale have recently been emerging from across Europe. The aims of our study were to describe the first report of sooty ...bark disease in Slovenia, to determine the pathogenicity of C. corticale, to confirm the optimum temperature for the growth of the fungus, and to determine the mass loss of Acer pseudoplatanus wood inoculated by C. corticale. We confirmed the presence of C. corticale on A. pseudoplatanus via morphological and molecular analysis. The optimal growth of C. corticale was measured in vitro on potato dextrose agar and was determined to occur at 25 °C. Pathogenicity tests were performed on 30 saplings of A. pseudoplatanus under two treatments, humid and drought stress, and the fungus was pathogenic in both treatments. The mean length of bark lesions and wood discoloration of the drought-stressed saplings was significantly greater than that in the humid treatment. Re-isolations of C. corticale were successful from all inoculated saplings, and thus Koch’s postulates were confirmed. The mass loss of A. pseudoplatanus wood was determined by mini-block test in a period of 10 weeks and was observed as minimal. Based on the results, we conclude that C. corticale is a weak and opportunistic pathogen that most likely expresses itself intensively under hot and dry conditions.
The ten most frequently isolated fungi from the wood of the dead branches of Acer pseudoplatanus L. were tested in dual cultures to evaluate their in vitro antagonistic activity against Eutypella ...parasitica R.W. Davidson and R.C. Lorenz, the causative agent of a destructive disease of maples in Europe and North America. The tested fungi, treated also as challenge isolates, were Diaporthe sp., Eutypa sp., Eu. maura, E. parasitica, Fusarium avenaceum, Neocucurbitaria acerina, Neonectria sp., Peniophora incarnata, Petrakia irregularis, and Phomopsis pustulata. The antagonistic ability of each challenge isolate was evaluated by calculating an index of antagonism (AI) based on the interaction type in the dual cultures. The results of competition between the fungal isolates were quantified after re-isolations from the interaction zone (s). The dual cultures revealed two main types of competitive interactions: Deadlock, consisting of mutual inhibition after mycelial contact or at a distance, and replacement, reflecting in the inhibition of E. parasitica, followed by partial overgrowth by the replacing fungus. Statistical analysis showed significant differences in average AI and s of challenge isolates between different dual culture assays. Based on the results of the antagonism index, Eutypa sp., Eu. maura, Neonectria sp., and P. incarnata had the highest inhibitory effect on E. parasitica growth and were recognized as the most promising candidates for further biocontrol studies of E. parasitica. The mycelium of E. parasitica at the interaction zones remained mostly viable, except in dual cultures with Eutypa sp., F. avenaceum, and Neonectria sp., where re-isolations did not yield any colony of the E. parasitica isolate. Based on the results, we assume that E. parasitica is a weak competitor, which invests less energy in direct mycelial competition. We discuss the potential of the observed antagonists as a possible biocontrol of Eutypella canker of maple. Nevertheless, additional experiments should be performed for a solid conclusion about competitive ability of E. parasitica and usefulness of antagonists as biocontrol.
Eutypella parasitica R.W. Davidson and R.C. Lorenz is the causative agent of Eutypella canker of maple, a destructive disease of maples in Europe and North America. The fungus E. parasitica infects ...the trunk through a branch stub or bark wound. Because the fungal community may have an impact on infection and colonization by E. parasitica, the composition of fungi colonizing wood of dead branches of sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) was investigated in five sampling sites in Slovenia. Forty samples from each sampling site were collected between the November 2017 and March 2018 period. Isolations were made from the wood in the outer part of dead branches and from discoloured wood in the trunk that originated from a dead branch. Pure cultures were divided into morphotypes, and one representative culture per morphotype was selected for further molecular identification. From a total of 2700 cultured subsamples, 1744 fungal cultures were obtained, which were grouped into 212 morphotypes. The investigated samples were colonized by a broad spectrum of fungi. The most frequently isolated species were Eutypa maura (Fr.) Sacc., Eutypa sp. Tul. and C. Tul., Fusarium avenaceum (Fr.) Sacc., Neocucurbitaria acerina Wanas., Camporesi, E.B.G. Jones and K.D. Hyde and E. parasitica. In this study, we distinguished species diversity and the fungal community. There were no significant differences in the diversity of fungal species between the five sampling sites, and branch thickness did not prove to be a statistically significant factor in fungal species diversity. Nevertheless, relatively low Jaccard similarity index values suggested possible differences in the fungal communities from different sampling sites. This was confirmed by an analysis of similarities, which showed that the isolated fungal community distinctly differed between the five sampling sites and between the different isolation sources. Eutypella parasitica was isolated from all five investigated sampling sites, although Eutypella cankers were observed in only three sampling sites, indicating the possibility of asymptomatic infection.
Brown spot needle blight (BSNB), caused by
Lecanosticta acicola
(Thüm.) Syd., is an emerging forest disease of
Pinus
species originating from North America and introduced to Europe and Asia. Severity ...and spread of the disease has increased in the last two decades in North America and Europe as a response to climate change. No modeling work on spread, severity, climatic suitability, or potential distribution has been done for this important emerging pathogen. This study utilizes a global dataset of 2,970 independent observations of
L. acicola
presence and absence from the geodatabase, together with
Pinus
spp. distribution data and 44 independent climatic and environmental variables. The objectives were to (1) identify which bioclimatic and environmental variables are most influential in the distribution of
L. acicola
; (2) compare four modeling approaches to determine which modeling method best fits the data; (3) examine the realized distribution of the pathogen under climatic conditions in the reference period (1971–2000); and (4) predict the potential future global distribution of the pathogen under various climate change scenarios. These objectives were achieved using a species distribution modeling. Four modeling approaches were tested: regression-based model, individual classification trees, bagging with three different base learners, and random forest. Altogether, eight models were developed. An ensemble of the three best models was used to make predictions for the potential distribution of
L. acicola
: bagging with random tree, bagging with logistic model trees, and random forest. Performance of the model ensemble was very good, with high precision (0.87) and very high AUC (0.94). The potential distribution of
L. acicola
was computed for five global climate models (GCM) and three combined pathways of Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) and Representative Concentration Pathway (SSP-RCP): SSP1-RCP2.6, SSP2-RCP4.5, and SSP5-RCP8.5. The results of the five GCMs were averaged on combined SSP-RCP (median) per 30-year period. Eight of 44 studied factors determined as most important in explaining
L. acicola
distribution were included in the models: mean diurnal temperature range, mean temperature of wettest quarter, precipitation of warmest quarter, precipitation seasonality, moisture in upper portion of soil column of wettest quarter, surface downwelling longwave radiation of driest quarter, surface downwelling shortwave radiation of warmest quarter and elevation. The actual distribution of
L. acicola
in the reference period 1971–2000 covered 5.9% of
Pinus
spp. area globally. However, the model ensemble predicted potential distribution of
L. acicola
to cover an average of 58.2% of
Pinus
species global cover in the reference period. Different climate change scenarios (five GCMs, three SSP-RCPs) showed a positive trend in possible range expansion of
L. acicola
for the period 1971–2100. The average model predictions toward the end of the century showed the potential distribution of
L. acicola
rising to 62.2, 61.9, 60.3% of
Pinus
spp. area for SSP1-RCP2.6, SSP2-RCP4.5, SSP5-RCP8.5, respectively. However, the 95% confidence interval encompassed 35.7–82.3% of global
Pinus
spp. area in the period 1971–2000 and 33.6–85.8% in the period 2071–2100. It was found that SSP-RCPs had a little effect on variability of BSNB potential distribution (60.3–62.2% in the period 2071–2100 for medium prediction). In contrast, GCMs had vast impact on the potential distribution of
L. acicola
(33.6–85.8% of global pines area). The maps of potential distribution of BSNB will assist forest managers in considering the risk of BSNB. The results will allow practitioners and policymakers to focus surveillance methods and implement appropriate management plans.
The fungus Pseudodidymella fagi is spreading in Europe and causing leaf blotch of European beech, Fagus sylvatica. Between 2008 and 2017, outbreaks of P. fagi were observed on European beech in ...Switzerland, Germany (also on F. orientalis), Austria, and Slovakia. In Slovenia, leaf blotch symptoms were first observed on F. sylvatica in 2018. P. fagi was identified as the causal agent of the observed symptoms in Slovenia by morphological examinations together with sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rDNA. This study links the fungus to the expansion of the known distribution of the disease to Slovenia, and based on in vitro pathogenicity trials, also to a new potential host, Quercus petraea. The pathogenicity tests confirmed F. sylvatica and F. orientalis as hosts for P. fagi, but not Castanea sativa, where pathogenicity to F. orientalis was proved for first time in vitro. Although Koch’s postulates could not be proven for C. sativa, it seems to be partially susceptible in vitro because some of the inoculation points developed lesions. Additionally, damage to Carpinus betulus related to P. fagi near heavily infected beech trees was observed in vivo but was not tested in laboratory trials. Based on the results and our observations in the field, it is likely that P. fagi has a wider host range than previously thought and that we might be witnessing host switching.
New and emerging Phytophthora-related diseases in small trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants typical of subalpine vegetation have recently been observed in Italy and Slovenia. Diseased plants showed a ...complex symptomatology including foliar necrosis, fruit rot, shoot blight and branch bleeding cankers. Since little information is available about the aetiology of these aerial Phytophthora diseases, from 2019 to 2022, field surveys were conducted in 54 sites to define the occurrence, distribution and impact of the Phytophthora species on mountain vegetation. A total of 360 Phytophthora isolates were obtained from 397 samples collected from 33 herbaceous and woody host species. Based on phylogenetic analysis and morphometric data, 17 Phytophthora species were identified: P. pseudosyringae (201 isolates), P. plurivora (54), P. gonapodyides (21), P. ilicis (20), P. alpina (17), P. acerina (11), P. cactorum (7), P. pseudocryptogea (6), P. cambivora (5), P. idaei (4), P. psychrophila (3), P. bilorbang (2), P. chlamydospora (2), P. hedraiandra (1), P. kelmanii (1), P. rosacearum (1) and P. syringae (1). In addition, three isolates of a new putative Phytophthora species obtained from Alnus viridis, Juniperus communis and Rhododendron ferrugineum are described here as Phytophthora pseudogregata sp. nov. Overall, the results highlighted an unexpectedly high diversity of Phytophthora species in mountain areas, with many species able to cause aerial infections due to the production of caducous sporangia.
Eutypella parasitica R.W. Davidson & R.C. Lorenz is the causative agent of Eutypella canker of maple, a destructive disease of maples in Europe and North America. The fungus E. parasitica is known to ...cause wood stain and decay. However, it is not known how effectively it decomposes the wood of the most widespread maple species in Europe. Wood samples of Acer pseudoplatanus L., A. platanoides L., and A. campestre L. were exposed to four isolates of E. parasitica and nine other fungal species for comparison, according to the modified EN 113 standard. After 15 weeks of incubation, mass loss and microscopical analysis of samples showed evidence of colonization and different wood decay potentials among fungal species. A highly significant positive correlation was found between mass loss and moisture content for all fungal species. Similarly, the measured cell wall thickness correlated well with the calculated mass loss of the samples. On average, the fungal species caused the lowest mass loss in A. pseudoplatanus (10.0%) and the highest in A. campestre (12.6%) samples. Among the samples exposed to E. parasitica isolates, the highest mass loss was recorded in A. pseudoplatanus (6.6%). Statistical analysis showed significant differences in mass loss and moisture content between different E. parasitica isolates. Based on the results of staining, we discuss the type of decay caused by E. parasitica. Although E. parasitica isolates caused smaller mass loss of samples compared to other more effective decay species, we should not disregard its capability of degrading maple wood. Because E. parasitica usually infects the lower portion of the trunk, which is the largest and most valuable part of the tree, any damage can cause significant economic and resource loss.
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