The Loblolly Pine trees have been dying in greater numbers recently across the southeast portion of Arkansas, with a higher prevalence in Ashley and Drew Counties. The cause of this has yet to be determined.
To learn more about the situation, the Advance staff spoke with Dr. Michael Blazier, the dean of forestry at University of Arkansas at Monticello.
The pattern that has been recognized is that the pine trees will start growing stunted pine needles or have discolored foliage.
"You're not supposed to be able to look up in the forest and see sky", Blazier said.
These pine trees are very important to Arkansas' economy because they account for a large portion of the state's timber products. Another concern with this issue is that the trees cost a lot of money to be removed, and many people want to preserve forests with these trees.
Fortunately, Dr. Blazier helped form a group of professionals to collect data on the issue and help those affected recognize and remove the dead trees. The group consists of forestry colleges around the state, the forestry division of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, and the Arkansas Forestry Association.
The group met on Tuesday, June 6, to discuss ways to analyze the data better as well as help others dealing with this issue. Something they have been working towards is creating manuals to help people recognize these dying trees and tell them what to do when they see one.
Colleges around the state, including UAM, have been testing foliage and wood samples to try to determine a cause to the issue.
If you think you have found a tree that is dying due to this unknown cause, you can report it on the Arkansas Department of Agriculture Forestry Division website under the forest health tab. If you report it, the groups associated will also assist in removing the dying tree.
