Jack Pine - Ecology

Ecology

Kirtland's Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii), an endangered bird, depends on pure stands of young jack pine in a very limited area in the north of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan for breeding. Mature jack pine forests are usually open, and the fall of their needles creates acidic soil, so blueberries are often abundant in the understory.

Young jack pines are an alternate host for sweet fern blister rust (Cronartium comptoniae). Infected Sweet ferns (Comptonia peregrina) release powdery orange spores in the summer and nearby trees become infected in the fall. Diseased trees show vertical orange cankers on the trunk and galls on the lower branches. The disease does not tend to affect older trees.

Jack pines are also susceptible to Scleroderris canker (Gremmeniella abietina). This disease manifests by yellowing at the base of the needles. Prolonged exposure may lead to eventual death of the tree.

Insects that attack jack pine stands include white pine weevil (Pissodes strobi), jack pine sawfly, and jack pine budworm.