Massive tree dieback has occurred periodically in the Hawaiian montane rain forest. The species mainly involved is Metrosideros polymorpha, which is the prevailing upper canopy tree species throughout most of this forest on all high Hawaiian islands. The canopy dieback occurs in stands over the entire spectrum of sites, from well-drained lava flows over nutritionally rich volcanic ash to perman...

In 2001 and 2002, Georgia salt marshes experienced a dieback event that affected more than 800 ha throughout the coastal zone. The dieback event was unprecedented in the state and affected both Spartina alterniflora and Juncus roemerianus. A transplant study was conducted from May to October 2003 to determine if healthy plants could survive in dieback areas. Transplants were carried out at two ...

In 2011, Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA, experienced the most severe single year drought in its recorded history, resulting in significant plant mortality. We used this event to test how perennial plant response to drought varied across elevation, plant growth form and leaf traits. In October 2010 and October 2011, we measured plant cover by species at six evenly-spaced elevations ranging f...

During recent years, oak decline has been widely spread across Brant’s oak (Quercus Brantii Lindl.) stands in the Zagros Mountains, Western Iran, which caused large-area forest dieback in several sites. Mapping the intensity and spatial distribution of forest dieback is essential for developing management and control strategies. This study evaluated a range of geostatistical and interpolation m...

Approximately 50,000 ha of native wet Metrosideros forest on the island of Hawai'i experienced a drastic reduction (dieback) of the tree canopy between 1954 and 1977. Two general hypotheses have previously been suggested to explain this phenomenon: 1) Metrosideros dieback has resulted from recently introduced pathogens, and 2) the dieback has naturally occurred previously in Hawai'i, and is rel...

A major dieback of seagrass occurred in South Australia where 12,717 ha of intertidal and shallow subtidal seagrasses were lost along the north eastern coast of Spencer Gulf. This was a rapid decline, occurring toward the end of summer in January or early February of 1993. The extent and location of the dieback was mapped from aerial photographs taken before (1987) and after the event (1994). E...

Stems or roots + stems of potted, 2-year-old paper birch (Betula papyrifera L.) were subjected to simulated winter thaws of various durations in climate-controlled chambers. The simulated thaws induced dieback of shoots of the treated plants. Although the stem thaw treatment did not significantly increase dieback, there were significant (P < 0.05) correlations between growing degree days above ...

brown leaf spots; or diffuse yellow blotches. Severely affected plants have rotten basal stems and stumps and black, rotten roots. Symptoms of ‘awa dieback may resemble other ‘awa diseases or conditions. The mosaic symptoms associated with ‘awa dieback resemble nutrient deficiencies (e.g., nitrogen, potassium, and iron) caused by insufficient fertilizer applications or planting in a nutrient-po...