Trees are susceptible to all types of Environmental Attacks also know as Abiotic Damage. Some examples are frost, ice/hail/snow, winter kill, drought, sunscald and road salt. Trees that have been damaged by an abiotic factor become stressed and can become more susceptible to attacks by other insects and disease.
Frost damage young trees have damage to new growth, mature trees have longitudinal frost cracks in the bole.
Snow damage or snow press from deep snowfalls, the stem of younger trees bend under the weight of the snow.
Ice damage from windblown ice cystals that abrade or scar the portions of the tree stem that is above the snowpack.
Hail damage strips branches, bruises/scars the upper surface of branches, tree crowns become tattered/ragged with missing foliage and buds
Winter kill results from temperature fluctuations, warmer dry air during the day followed by cold air at night leads to lost moisture resulting in dessication injury. (foliage and buds are killed)
Drought - unusually low rainfalls will result in drought kill, especially in climates or ecosystems that are already drier to begin with. Mortality, reduced growth, dead tops, defoliation are all results of drought.
Sunscald - young trees are susceptible to this from high summer temperatures that kill the cambium. The south west side of the stem will turn copper to bright red, resulting in shedding bark, shrinking or bark cracks that get loose and slough off.
Road Salt damages all species and ages of trees along the roadside in areas of significant snowfall where salt is applied to the roads. It can kill some conifers and can cause dieback and browning.
For more information on environmental damage a handy field reference guide can be found here:https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/forestry/forest-health/forest-health-docs/field_guide_to_forest_damage_in_bc_web.pdf
All hides for this Spruce Geo Art Series are camoed pill bottles or bison tubes. Each container contains a logsheet sealed in a tiny zip lock bag. Please bring your own pencil. This cache is not hidden at the posted coordinates, however all the information you need is on this cache page.
Background image Credit: Created in Microsoft Paint with available stickers. North 53 38.237 West 122 59.268
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