Root and Butt Rot in Planted White Pine at Biltmore, North Carolina

There has been some inquiry and more speculation as to how well planted stands compare with natural stands because of the possibility of unnatural root development after planting. New evidence in one planted stand suggests that a combination of tangled roots associated with planting and subsequent thinning of the stands may result in considerable butt rot through a build-up of decay organisms in the stumps of cut trees, followed by infection of standing trees by way of strangled dead roots.