Sadly, black pines are susceptible to the pine borer beetle and that seems to be spreading gradually all over Japan. I wrote recently about the ones on the Goishi Kaigan, next door to Rikuzen Takata, which are visibly suffering and dying from the beetle - https://lessknownjapan.substack.com/p/goishi-kaigan?r=7yrqz
Here in Shimane the (expletive) beetles have radically changed the coastal landscape from what I recall when I first came here some 30 years ago and they have killed a number of really old pines in the process including one in Gotsu that was several hundred years old
Thank you for your comment. I wasn't aware about the dire situation with pine borer beetles in Shimane and Goishi Kaigan. Sounds terrible! I read some policy documents for this article and they stated that was the reason for including sugis and other trees in the mix. In Amanohashidate, I read accounts of how locals are trying to control the growth of those broad leaves trees so as to keep lots of pines. But to avoid beetles, the trees need a lot of management, pruning etc. I suppose it's difficult with the labor situation. Forestry is trickier than I imagined😱
It's impossible. Many of the infected pines are (were) growing in places that are not accessible short of dangling from a helicopter. I don't see a way to stop the spread, and I don't think anyone in Japan does either.
What I observe in Shimane is that the pines die off so the beetles disappear, then the pines grow back and the process repeats in a couple of decades. This seems similar to how Dutch elm disease (also spread by beetles, though the killer is a fungus) works in the UK. Elms now die when they get to about 10-15 years old
Sadly, black pines are susceptible to the pine borer beetle and that seems to be spreading gradually all over Japan. I wrote recently about the ones on the Goishi Kaigan, next door to Rikuzen Takata, which are visibly suffering and dying from the beetle - https://lessknownjapan.substack.com/p/goishi-kaigan?r=7yrqz
Here in Shimane the (expletive) beetles have radically changed the coastal landscape from what I recall when I first came here some 30 years ago and they have killed a number of really old pines in the process including one in Gotsu that was several hundred years old
Thank you for your comment. I wasn't aware about the dire situation with pine borer beetles in Shimane and Goishi Kaigan. Sounds terrible! I read some policy documents for this article and they stated that was the reason for including sugis and other trees in the mix. In Amanohashidate, I read accounts of how locals are trying to control the growth of those broad leaves trees so as to keep lots of pines. But to avoid beetles, the trees need a lot of management, pruning etc. I suppose it's difficult with the labor situation. Forestry is trickier than I imagined😱
It's impossible. Many of the infected pines are (were) growing in places that are not accessible short of dangling from a helicopter. I don't see a way to stop the spread, and I don't think anyone in Japan does either.
What I observe in Shimane is that the pines die off so the beetles disappear, then the pines grow back and the process repeats in a couple of decades. This seems similar to how Dutch elm disease (also spread by beetles, though the killer is a fungus) works in the UK. Elms now die when they get to about 10-15 years old
Sounds unmanageable for sure.
Natural cycles...I hope they bring back the pines.
Thank you for sharing your observations.