It can be associated positively, with winter, Christmas, Christmas decorations and traditions. Green throughout the year, mistletoe has its dark side. Fighting for survival as she adapted to this, it poses a threat to our forests. This threat is becoming very serious – what we and we put our hand for. Artur Dawidziuk, a forest inspector from the Celestynów Forest District, says directly: Mistletoe is a problem for us.
Much, more and more
What – apart from worrying for leek – Is the mistletoe? This semi -fassitative plantgrows into the body of the host with modified roots – suckies. With their help, he takes water and mineral salts from the tree. In quotation marks, it can be called a “pest”. – colloquially speaking, uses the opportunity and drinks what the tree should drink and consume itself. During the wet years, when the water is abundant, this semi -passing with the tree 'gets along'. They can weaken them, but it's just weakness. However, when there is no winter, there is a lack of rainfall, snow, and spring is not wet – like this year – mistletoe becomes a competition for a tree. After two or three such seasons, the pine occupied by the mistletoe, says Artur Dawidziuk.
The way the mistletoe can “murder” the tree, explained to us by Kamil Szpędzek, a forest education specialist in the Celestyn Forest District:
Mistletoe has a green dye, chlorophyll, which produces nutrients. Their high concentration in mistletoe generates higher water potential, as if higher 'pressure'. Therefore, the water taken by the tree, instead of reaching its branches and needles in the case of a coniferous tree, goes mainly to the mistletoe. This half -fassit is additionally very spreading with water – a single 'bunch' can evaporate more water than the whole tree. Because the trees with water farm quite sparingly, if it is dry, they close stomach apparatus and limit the transpiration. Mistletoe, on the other hand, tries to grow as soon as possible, and needs a large amount of water with nitrogen as soon as possible.
Over the years, we observed the mistletoe primarily on deciduous trees. Now not only that there is a lot of them on them, but more and more often she appears on coniferous trees – sośnie or spruce – once a great rarity. She did not “move” to new Hosts, because they are two different subspecies: typical common mistletoe and the mistletoe, respectively. However, they work in the same way and are conducive to the same: Climate change.
It is not that the mistletoe in the forests was not, it is about its quantity. We have been observing since around 2015 that there is more and more of it. This is due, among others, that we now have relatively warm winters and the extended vegetation period of plants. This means that mistletoe grows faster, blooms earlier and produces fruit with seeds. These are eagerly eaten by numerous birds, i.e. loans, paszkoty, scythes, flower beds and many more. Along with droppings, the seeds go to new substrates: branches and tree trunks
– Forest Inspector Dawidziuk explains to us.
Mistletoe did not suddenly start taking trees for no reason. She just got excellent conditions from us to spread. By adding to the warming of the climate, we provide its success, which harms the stands. These problems can be seen very clearly.
Whole areas of trees clearly weakened by mistletoe are already appearing. This is manifested, for example, with a rarer grasp at a pine. When she is completely healthy, he has a lot of needles, he can hold them for several seasons. However, when it is weakened, these needles are much rarer and you can clearly see these mistletoe balls in the crowns of trees. We also already have such stands where trees clearly wither
– says next.gazeta.pl Kamil Zapek. It is enough that in some area the semi -fascine will attack every second tree, weaken it or make it wither. These are already noticeable damage. In the Celestynów Forest District has been cut out so far Several thousand cubic meters of trees Dry or on the edge of the drizzle because of the mistletoe attack.
How to fight it?
Can you do anything about it? Unfortunately, not much at the moment. – Currently The only form of fighting is the elimination of the tree. We are not able to get rid of it effectively cutting out the semi -fassion itself, and State forests so -called We limit chemistry to the absolute minimum – says Artur Dawidziuk. The problem is also that the young mistletoe is poorly seen, for example, in pines, is most often noticed only when a tree attacks seriously. Foresters are waiting for new solutions. Scientists are working on them, for example, looking for opportunities to use parasitizing fungi for mistletoe.
– A selective body is being sought all the timewhich, for example, attacked only mistletoe or bark beetle – difficult to fight the pest Polish forests. The point is that limiting harmful phenomena should not affect the other species – says Kamil Zwądek. – Nature itself is also looking for such a way. In nature, there is often a natural limiting factor spontaneously, for now there is no – adds the forester Dawidziuk.