Austrian Black Pine: A Beautiful Tree with a Troubled Future

As the chainsaw teeth tore into the trunk of the pine growing next to my home, I found myself remembering a line from Aldo Leopold: “Hard times come to pines as they do to men.”

Leopold, the author of A Sand County Almanac, a work regarded as one of the finest examples of 20th-century nature writing, observed that pine trees can survive for a hundred years. My own tree, however, reached the end of its life at nearly 30 years old, brought down in what should have been the prime of its existence by the difficulties it encountered.

The Austrian Black Pine

The tree was an Austrian black pine (Pinus nigra), a species capable of growing to approximately 50 feet tall. My specimen had reached only about 30 feet, roughly one foot of height for every year it had lived.

When given enough room and not forced to compete with neighboring trees, an Austrian black pine can retain branches almost all the way to the ground. Its natural form can develop into a broad, somewhat rounded silhouette resembling a plump Christmas tree.

The word “black” in its common name is an appropriate description of the tree's appearance. It has a rather dark and serious character. Its stiff needles are about 4 inches long and deep green in color, growing densely around the stems and giving the branches a bottle-brush appearance.

Like other two-needle pines, it produces its needles in pairs. The bark covering the main trunk and larger branches is generally gray-brown, although it can become nearly black, reinforcing the tree's distinctly somber appearance.

Native Range and Timber Use

As its common name suggests, the Austrian black pine originated in Europe. It occurs widely throughout the mountainous regions of southern Europe and Asia Minor.

Because the species occupies such an extensive geographic range, it shows considerable variation from one region to another. Numerous botanical forms and varieties have consequently been described.

The species is also harvested for timber in areas where it naturally grows. However, the lumber produced from Austrian black pine is generally knotty and is considered relatively poor in quality.

Austrian Pine as an Ornamental Tree

In the United States, Austrian pine has primarily been grown as an ornamental landscape tree. It can be an attractive and useful tree while young, but its condition often deteriorates significantly as it becomes older.

The Veterans Affairs hospital in Fayetteville planted numerous Austrian black pines during the 1930s as part of its original landscape installation. About four decades later, I was asked to advise the maintenance staff about what should be done with the deteriorated trees those same plantings had eventually become.

Problems That Develop with Age

Austrian black pines are generally adaptable and relatively easy to grow during the first 25 years of their lives. Once they reach maturity, however, health problems become increasingly common.

In the South, two fungal diseases are especially troublesome: diplodia blight and needle-cast disease.

The damage generally begins near the lower portions of the tree, where the oldest needles are affected first. As the disease progresses, the needles closest to the ground become infected and eventually die.

Once those needles have disappeared, the blight can progress into the branches themselves, eventually killing the affected limbs. Although fungicide treatments may theoretically be possible, spraying becomes impractical once an aging tree has entered a prolonged decline.

The Fate of My Pine

My own tree, along with many other Austrian black pines in northwest Arkansas, experienced a different kind of decline.

While taking the tree down, I found hundreds of exit holes left by Ips beetles. These bark beetles commonly attack conifers that have already been weakened or placed under stress.

My pine had mature oak trees growing close to it on two sides, leaving it crowded and competing for resources. It had also endured the drought conditions that affected the area during previous summers.

How Ips Beetles Found the Tree

Two years earlier, bark beetle scouts had apparently moved through the neighborhood searching for suitable host trees. Changes in the phenolic chemistry of my weakened pine may have signaled to the beetles that the tree was under stress and could serve as a food source.

After locating the struggling tree, the initial beetles released aggregation pheromones. These chemical signals attracted large numbers of additional beetles, creating a concentrated attack on the tree.

What initially appeared to be a tree simply struggling with age and environmental stress ultimately revealed itself to be another example of how drought, competition, and insect activity can combine to bring down a mature conifer.

Would I Plant Another Austrian Pine?

Would I choose to plant another Austrian black pine? Most likely not.

There is nothing wrong with the appearance of the species, particularly when it is young. However, I prefer to plant trees with the potential to survive longer than I will.

In the cooler climates farther north, Austrian black pine can have a longer and more successful life. Those regions are therefore better suited to planting this species.

Plant Availability and Extension Support

The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture does not keep a list of retail businesses that sell these plants. Gardeners interested in growing them should contact local nurseries and other plant retailers to determine whether the species is available and appropriate for their particular growing region.

Arkansas Dairy Industry

Milk and dairy beef sales in Arkansas total approximately $100 million annually and come from around 420 dairy herds containing approximately 40,000 milk cows.

The Extension Service provides producers and people working in the dairy industry with research-based information intended to help them remain competitive as the market becomes increasingly demanding.

Environmental Management

Environmental regulations and the ability of dairy producers to meet those requirements are major concerns within the industry.

For this reason, waste management receives significant attention in dairy Extension programs. Producers need practical information that can help them manage waste effectively while meeting environmental standards.

Improving Dairy Production Efficiency

Arkansas and neighboring states have traditionally ranked among the lowest states in the United States for milk production per cow. Consequently, improving production efficiency is another major focus of Extension education.

Programs address subjects such as forage quality and utilization, better herd management, financial record keeping, Dairy Herd Improvement Association records, ration balancing, and cow comfort.

Heat-stress management is also an important part of maintaining cow comfort and improving productivity.

Genetics and Reproduction

Sire selection and reproductive management are additional priorities. The genetic quality of a herd and its overall reproductive performance can have significant effects on the profitability of a dairy operation.

Maintaining strong genetics and effective fertility programs can therefore contribute directly to the financial performance of individual herds.

The Future of the Dairy Industry

The U.S. and international dairy industries may experience even more significant changes in the years ahead.

The continuing reorganization of federal milk marketing orders, along with changes in where milk is produced across the United States, makes educational support from Extension increasingly important.

Providing producers with research-based guidance on efficient milk production can help the dairy industry respond to these changes while supporting both dairy producers and consumers.