sdu faculty of forestry journal special edition 2009 - Orman Fakültesi

SDÜ ORMAN FAKÜLTESİ DERGİSİ
Wuerttemberg reports fir broom rust to be economically important on 575 ha
(Schroeter et al., 2009).
The increment of the trees is not directly affected by the rust infection (Solla et
al., 2006). However, if the stems are affected, wood quality is deteriorated by burl
formation and even more by secondary infection by wood decay fungi, primarily
Phellinus hartigii, which makes the stems break in timber age. Thus, besides the
economical damage the rust fungus is driving higher biodiversity in silver fir stands
(Holdenrieder, 1994).
We performed a study in order to quantify the disease incidence in advance
plantings of silver fir under Norway spruce. In the past, broom rust was designated
as a major problem in silver fir forest (Heck, 1894), so it should be elucidated
whether this is true under the given circumstances today.
Figure 1. M. caryophyllacearum-stem canker
(arrows) in two Abies alba plants.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
183
Figure 2. Several cankers on the trunk and
in branches closed to the trunk of a silver fir.
Eleven forest stands with advance plantings and two stands with natural
regeneration of silver fir were selected in the eastern slope of Black Forest in the
SW-German districts of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Schwarzwald-Baar, and Tuttlingen.
Altitude and geology are listed in Table 1. Age class and density of
regeneration and canopy were evaluated according to forest inventory methods
(Kramer and Akca, 1995). Three to seven circular sample plots of 25 m² each were
placed at random within these stands.
Presence of brooms respective cankers formed in consequence of
Melampsorella-infections in were counted separately for branches and trunks
(Figure 2). Branch cankers which are closer than 10 cm to the trunk are expected to
fuse with the stem in a few years and hence were regarded like stem cankers. The
presence of caryophyllaceous host plants (mainly Stellaria nemorum) bearing the