Hit my 500th oak removal last month and the pattern scared me

I just passed 500 oak removals in my 8 years of climbing and the numbers are getting weird. About 60% of those were dead or dying from oak wilt, and most were in the same 10 mile radius around Austin. I started keeping a spreadsheet after noticing the same thing - clusters of sick trees all within a few blocks of each other. My mentor told me 5 years ago that oak wilt was going to blow up but I didn't think it'd be this fast. Now I'm seeing it spread to live oaks way more than before. Anyone else tracking their removal ratios and noticing a spike in certain diseases?

2 comments

2 Comments

mary6147d ago

...and the thing is, I've been digging into the soil data around those clusters and it's not just the oak wilt itself. I mean, I found that a lot of those sick live oaks are in areas where they did major construction or road work within the last 10 years. The roots get nicked and then the fungus just moves right in through the wounds. Maybe it's just me but I bet if you cross referenced your removal spots with city construction permits you'd see a real tight match. That would explain why it's hitting in blocks instead of just random trees.

christophermorgan5d ago

That "getting hit in blocks" part is interesting, @mary614 - but have you checked if the sick trees also share the same underground utility lines?