Pines falling SE Ohio

[reffitt20]

In SE Ohio. Meigs county to be more exact. In the last three years I have noticed a lot of pines falling down. I have heard about the concept of soil disturbances can lead to trees being affected and falling but I have seen a lot of pines in sections that are untouched. Has anyone else had this experience in the area? The tops of these hills have a lot of pines but at this rate in 20 years the woods is going to look a lot different.
Any information is appreciated.

 

[finelyshedded]

Dang, that is weird for sure. I’ll be checking into this thread if it gathers more information.

 

[GoetsTalon]

High wind damage? Root balls out of the ground or dead and dieing trees from disease?

 

[jagermeister]

Excess soil moisture plus high winds = No bueno. Could be that, could be any number of causes. Nature does what nature does.

 

[reffitt20]

Root ball and all.

 

[Outdoorsfellar]

I remember reading something a few years back where pines in ohio & some surrounding areas would be threatened, & create their demise. Seemed far fetched, so I dunno ....

 

[Quantum673]

Pines have a very compact rootball that does not extend very far down which makes them prone to blow over. High winds and saturated soil is the perfect combo.

 

["J"]

Yep, moist soil and wind have been the demise of a lot of pine trees. Personally, I have one close to my house which I want to take down. But I’ll need to have a service do because it’s close to the shed and within striking distance of the house.

 

[CJD3]

It’s simply a combination of poor timing. The shallow root ball combined with a wind storm and saturated ground is all it takes. The mast of pine needles catches the wing better than leaves. My grandfather planted hundreds of pines in the 1920’s. Some years I’ve had half a dozen go down, most years, none.

I’m waiting for the yard to dry up some here so I can deal with the latest casualty.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

I'm in Gallia and haven't really seen much of that. A few random trees but nothing systemic. Not really been that soft here though

 

[triple_duece]

Pines have a very compact rootball that does not extend very far down which makes them prone to blow over. High winds and saturated soil is the perfect combo.

Idk, our pine trees have a very long tap root. There is a few shallow roots that spread out but the tap root is what keeps the tree upright

 

[Quantum673]

Idk, our pine trees have a very long tap root. There is a few shallow roots that spread out but the tap root is what keeps the tree upright

Nickle’s pic above is a good example of what I am used to seeing up in Ohio. Not sure if different pine types have different root structures or not.

 

[at1010]

Yep @triple_duece those are likely long leaf pines in your area. Deep tap root system - Ohio is mostly red pines that folks are seeing tip over and these are a more shallow root system.

as for them dying - it’s just a function of timing and a shit pine market. Imo. They are getting old, big and no-one is harvesting them. I believe the pulp mill in Chillicothe that used to take a lot of pine for all of Ohio isn’t running anymore - so unless you find a few Amish to cut the pine, they will grow grow grow and fall over.

One of the best things that can happen is having them come down, get light to the forest floor and let regeneration start again. Imo.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Yep @triple_duece those are likely long leaf pines in your area. Deep tap root system - Ohio is mostly red pines that folks are seeing tip over and these are a more shallow root system.

as for them dying - it’s just a function of timing and a shit pine market. Imo. They are getting old, big and no-one is harvesting them. I believe the pulp mill in Chillicothe that used to take a lot of pine for all of Ohio isn’t running anymore - so unless you find a few Amish to cut the pine, they will grow grow grow and fall over.

One of the best things that can happen is having them come down, get light to the forest floor and let regeneration start again. Imo.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've noticed the smell from that plant as I go into Chillicothe in a while now

 

[at1010]

Come to think of it, I don't think I've noticed the smell from that plant as I go into Chillicothe in a while now

I harvested 6 acres of red pine last year. After years of trying to sell it. I was told that once that pulp mill shutdown - it was about it for the Ohio market. That was like 5-6 years ago. I was lucky to find a few Amish to cut mine for me.