US army may have killed Italian trees

Nature ^ | 4/6/04 | Helen R. Pilcher

[LibWhacker]

The US Army may have unwittingly killed hundreds of pine trees in an Italian hunting estate. Genetic analysis suggests that the trees were infected with an American fungus, imported by US troops during the Second World War.

The Presidential Estate of Castelporziano, not far from Rome, was once home to 60 square kilometres of native Italian flora, including the Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea). Twenty years ago, estate staff noticed that the pine were beginning to rot. Today, a 100-metre barren gash reminds them where the trees once stood.

In an attempt to track down the killer, researchers studied DNA from fungi at the base of infected trees. The fungi were an American form of Heterobasidion annosum, a pest that makes trees rot from the inside out, the team report in Mycological Research1.

The fungi probably arrived with the US army, says team member Matteo Garbelotto from the University of California, Berkeley. American troops set up camp on the estate shortly after capturing Rome in 1944.

The pathogen probably stowed away in transport crates or other military equipment made from wood from infected trees, the researchers say.

"It's a plausible explanation," says tree pathologist Joan Webber from the UK Forestry Commission. H. annosum spreads from tree root to root, and can travel through the air as spores - but it's unlikely spores blew across the Atlantic.

The findings sound a warning bell for future military operations. "When planning military operations abroad, there is a need and a responsibility to check for potential microorganisms that could be introduced into foreign lands, and to take measures to prevent them from spreading," says Garbelotto.

Slow death

Fungal DNA taken from seven infected Castelporziano pines matched American, not European samples of the fungus, the team found.

Samples from the trees differed genetically. This shows infection occurred decades ago, giving the fungus time reproduce and generate diverse offspring.

H. annosum kills trees over many decades, says forest patholgist Jan Stenlid from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden. So trees infected in 1944 might not have displayed symptoms until the 1980s.

Researchers are watching to see if the disease spreads beyond the estate. The fungus can infect pine, fir and spruce trees.

The disease can be contained, says Stenlid, by spraying anti-fungal agents onto exposed stumps or bark to block the fungi's point of entry into the tree. When conifers are pruned or thinned, their exposed surfaces can be treated immediately to lower the risk of infection, says Stenlid.

[LibWhacker]

"When planning military operations abroad, there is a need and a responsibility to check for potential microorganisms that could be introduced into foreign lands, and to take measures to prevent them from spreading,"

LOL! . . . Oh, brother. The hate America crowd is losing it.

[Conservative4Ever]

The disease can be contained, says Stenlid, by spraying anti-fungal agents onto exposed stumps or bark to block the fungi's point of entry into the tree. When conifers are pruned or thinned, their exposed surfaces can be treated immediately to lower the risk of infection, says Stenlid.

If this is the case why the hell didn't they start spraying before the trees started dying? and I swear the world just wants to hate us, no matter what. They figure any excuse will do.

Red

[AntiGuv]

*gasp!*

[JLS]

They wrote the headline wrong. It should have been, More Victims of the WWII Axis. Or, More Victims of Italian Facism. It is not like the US was a bunch of tourist coming over there because we wanted to be there.

[MediaMole]

Sheesh. We had more important things to do in 1944 than check crates for fungus.

[Prime Choice]

The US Army may have unwittingly killed hundreds of pine trees in an Italian hunting estate. Genetic analysis suggests that the trees were infected with an American fungus, imported by US troops during the Second World War.

We defeated the Nazi Axis and all these idjits can yammer about sixty years later are their frickin' TREES??

Just when I think the Eurotwits can't sink any lower...

[Polybius]

"When planning military operations abroad, there is a need and a responsibility to check for potential microorganisms that could be introduced into foreign lands, and to take measures to prevent them from spreading", says Garbelotto.

We're really sorry, Mr. Garbelotto. We were so preoccupied fighting and dying to liberate Italy from the Nazis that we forgot all about doing a fungal analysis of our shipping crates. We hope you can forgive us.

[An.American.Expatriate]

"When planning military operations abroad, there is a need and a responsibility to check for potential microorganisms that could be introduced into foreign lands, and to take measures to prevent them from spreading," says Garbelotto.

Okay. Sounds good to me. The next time some a**hole decides it his turn to conquer the world, before we (again) militarily engage the enemy, we will call in Greenpeace, PETA, ELF (and hundreds of others) to do an environmental impact study. That should only take about 10 years (more if the Area of Operations is "hot).

This has two benefits:
1. No soldiers will die during the study (except of course by natural causes), and
2. It will help thin the Environnazi population.

PS: JF'nK would probably SUPPORT this!

[struwwelpeter]

In the 1940s the Italians were doing some "exporting" themselves. Yenakievo, East Ukraine has a big Italian military cemetary.

[Ruth A.]

I am getting so tired of these U.S.-is-responsible muck. Would they have rather we left them to Mussolini?

[kingu]

You know, the liberals keep screaming to bring back the draft (mostly to appease their usually ignored Black and Hispanic supporters)... I think that it's time we give them some time on the soapbox.. It strikes me that if these idle folks at Berkley, Harvard, Rutgers, etc were given a couple years in the military, they might have a bit of an appreciation of the fact that usually studying wood with a microscope on the off chance that a fungus that would kill a tree in twenty years might be there.

[Wacka]

And other countries have introduced: starlings, kudzu, zebra nussels, dutch elm disease and many more things to ours.

[lowbridge]

You know what bigotry is? It's an Italian forest.

Big-a tree.

[Tredge]

Guys guys guys...

I think y'all might be getting a persecution complex.

It's just a dumb article written so an Italian can get his tenure...what's the problem?

Or are we in the bleacher seats? If we are I'll load my balloon launcher and get ready to let rip.

[Caipirabob]

This intentional act of arbicide by our troops has pushed me over the edge. Where is Hillary to save us all? What a world!

[DustyMoment]

Oh PUH-LEEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZE!!!!

This is the epitomy of anti-American insanity. How many friggin' Italian trees were blown to smithereens by bombs, artillery and hand grenades??

Must be a slow week for the anti-American enviro-nazis.

[DustyMoment]

And other countries have introduced: starlings, kudzu, zebra mussels, dutch elm disease and many more things to ours.

And killer bees.

[Youngblood]

Don't you think you people are just slightly over-reacting to this article? The spread of invasive species is a huge problem worldwide - one of the other posters mentioned several notorious US invaders. Don't you think the southern states could do without fire ants and Africanized bees, or foresters in the northeast wish the Gypsy moth or elm disease or chestnut blight had never been introduced? The author studied the problem and made a recommendation on future prevention, that's all. That's his job as a scientist.

[jigsaw]

You know what bigotry is? It's an Italian forest.   Big-a tree.

"Ya never know whatcha gonna git," Forest Gumpardi.

[TaxRelief]

Just damn?