Wounds:  Fire, Mechanical, Sunscald   

Fig. 404  Blackened bark and crown symptoms from fire.	Fig. 405  Sunscald on alder leaves.

Distribution:  Throughout B.C. 

TREE SPECIES ATTACKED: All species can be affected.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Bark removal, gouges, cracks, cankers in the bark, or blackened carbon.

SIGNS & SYMPTOMS: Open wounds of the bark and broken stems or branches may occur from several abiotic factors and by animals. Fire wounds are identified by charred and blackened bark. Mechanical wounds, typically caused by logging activities, are commonly found as gouges on the lower trunk. Sunscald is normally found on the southwest side of the trunk. Affected bark is initially copper to bright red but fades as the bark dies and sloughs off. Ground-level heat girdling of seedlings by the sun may also occur.

DAMAGE: Wounding itself causes little economic damage although severe sunscald, fire, or mechanical activities may cause enough cambial damage to cause tree mortality. Seedlings may die of heat girdling. The main concern is the creation of a point of entry for disease. Trees with thinner bark, such as cottonwood, are more susceptible to wounds. 

SIMILAR DAMAGE: The cause of the wound may become difficult to determine if a disease uses the wound as a point of entry for disease. However, in the early stages, wounding can be identified by examining the area around the wound for clues.

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Contact Tim Ebata if you have comments on the presentation of this information.

BC Ministry of Forests
Forest Practices Branch
P.O. Box 9513 Stn. Prov. Gov.
Victoria, BC
V8W 9C2

Section phone: (250) 387-8739
Section fax: (250) 387-2136

Last updated March 04, 2002