yellow and paper birches, Betula allegheniensis and 
B. papyrifera; sugar maple, Acer saccharum; American 
beech, Fagus grandifolia; eastern white pine, Pinus 
strobus; eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis; and 
mountain ash, Sorbus americana. In low lying bogs 
of the northeastern United States and adjoining 
Canada, red spruce occurs in association with black 
spruce, ,Picea mariana, with which it readily 
hybridizes, and eastern larch, Larix occidentalis. 
In North Carolina, Tennessee, and southwestern 
Virginia, balsam fir is replaced by Fraser fir, A. 
fraseri, and in West Virginia, Abies sp. is not 
commonly associated with red spruce. Red spruce is 
a shade tolerant tree which is a component of 
several climax vegetation communities (Fowells 
1965) . 
Extensive areas of forest where red spruce is a 
major component are largely unmanaged and relatively 
inaccessible. These forests have been historically 
subjected to a wide range of damaging agents 
including insects, fungi, fire, wind, and ice. 
Widespread outbreaks of spruce budworm, 
Choristoneura fumiferana, and several species of 
bark beetles; Dendroctonus rufipennis and 
Polygraphus rufipennis, have been reported since the 
late 1800’s (Kucera and Taylor 1984; Hopkins 1899; 
Hopkins 1901). In North Carolina, Tennessee, and 
southwestern Virginia, the introduced adelgid, 
Adelges piceae, has caused catastrophic mortality of 
A. fraseri since the late 1950's (Lambert and Ciesla 
1966) . A root pathogen, Armillaria sp., is known to 
cause tree mortality in red spruce and the dwarf 
mistletoe, Arceuthobium pusilum, has recently been 
found causing damage to this tree (Hawksworth and 
Shigo 1980). High winds, especially on the mountain 
peaks, have caused extensive blowdown in these 
forests. Red spruce, a shallow rooted tree, is 
highly susceptible to blowdown. 
Red spruce is an important sawtimber and pulpwood 
species. The tree is also a major forest component 
in many places of high scenic or recreational value 
and contributes significantly to the unique 
character of these areas. Red spruce regeneration 
provides critical habitat for certain wildlife 
species such as the snowshoe hare. 
Figure 2 - Declining red spruce on the Monongahela 
National Forest, West Virginia. 
4 INVENTORIES OF SPRUCE AND FIR DECLINE 
Beginning in 1984, a series of special Inventories 
were conducted by the Forest Pest Management 
organization of the USDA Forest Service to obtain 
data on the status of decline and mortality of red 
spruce and its most closely associated species, 
balsam and Fraser fir. The objectives of these 
inventories were to: 
1. Identify and classify forests with a red spruce 
component into specified mortality classes. 
2. Obtain data on levels of decline and mortality 
of spruce and fir in each mortality class. 
3 SYMPTOMS OF RED SPRUCE DECLINE 
A variety of symptoms associated with a decline of 
red spruce has been reported in recent years. In 
portions of the northeastern United States, the 
predominant symptom associated with the decline of 
red spruce is a reddening of the current years 
growth, a condition commonly known as winter damage. 
Successive episodes of winter damage causes branches 
to die from the tops down and from the tips of the 
branches inward (Friedland et al. 1984). In West 
Virginia, decline of sawtimber size trees is 
characterized by mortality of the branches 
throughout the crown (Fig. 2). The fungus Valsa 
(=Cytospora) kunzei has been isolated from affected 
branches. This fungus is normally considered a 
secondary pathogen and its overall role in the 
decline syndrome is not yet fully understood (Mielke 
et al. 1986). In North Carolina and Tennessee, 
decline of red spruce is characterized by a loss of 
older foliage. 
In addition, a general decline of the growth of 
red spruce has been documented throughout much of 
its natural range, beginning in the early 1960's 
(Adams et al. 1985; Hornbeck and Smith 1985). 
These symptoms occur amid a high incidence of 
damage and mortality to both spruce and fir, caused 
by the biotic and climatic agents described in the 
preceding section. 
3. Map the location of forests with a red spruce 
component by specified mortality classes. 
4. Evaluate the condition of spruce and fir re 
generation. 
5. Identify biotic, climatic and mechanical fac 
tors associated with the decline and mortality of 
red spruce. 
6. Establish a data base against which results of 
future surveys can be compared. 
To date inventories have been conducted in three 
major portions of the natural range of red spruce. 
These are in various stages of completion. Survey 
areas included (1) portions of three northeastern 
states; New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont; (2) 
the high elevation forests of West Virginia; (3) and 
the red spruce-Fraser fir forests which occupy the 
crests of the highest mountains in western North 
Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and southwestern 
Virginia. Maine and adjoining portions of northern 
New Hampshire and Vermont also contain extensive 
areas of spruce-fir forest. These areas have not 
been included in these inventories because they have 
recently suffered from widespread defoliation by C. 
fumiferana, which is known to cause tree mortality, 
top dieback, and growth reduction in both spruce and 
fir in that portion of the natural range of red 
spruce (Kucera and Taylor 1984).