Older Lodgepole Pines Fend Off Stem Rust

Observations have failed to reveal whether ageing or increasing height enables lodgepole pine trees to resist infection from western gall rust.

As lodgepole pine grows older and taller, it suffers fewer infections from the disease.

Researchers have now discovered that during pines' first decade, western gall rust infection rates decline by over 85 percent, regardless of whether trees are 60 or 260 cm tall.

Changes to a tree's outer bark as it ages may help prevent stem rust infections. These results indicate that aggressively thinning young pine stands where western gall rust prevails is inadvisable.