Ecological and Economical Impact of Snow Molds

By Ken AndersonWinter Ecology, Spring 2009

Mountain Research Station – University of Colorado, Boulder

Outline

Plant winter adaptations Fungal winter adaptations Fungal adaptation for summers Impact on agriculture and golf courses Forest management Methods of control

Plant Strategies for Overwintering

Decreased Respiration, Carbohydrate build up, Increased Cryostability of PM (Gaudet D. 1994) Cross Adaptation in Winter Rye (Hiilovaara-Teijo M. 1999) Snowpack: Friend + Foe (McBeath J. 2002)

Snow Mold Strategies for Winter Activity AFP production (Hoshino et al. 2004) (Snider et al. 1999) Attack plants through stomatal openings or directly through epidermis (McBeath J. 2002) Low temp active enzymes (Schmidt et al. 2008) Depth of snow creates different microclimates (McBeath J. 2002)

Snow Mold Strategies for Spring Snow Melt and Summer Dormancy in the form of Spores: Snow Scard (McBeath J. 2002) Dormancy in the form of scleortia: Typhula spp. (McBeath J. 2002) Stay active over summer with limited activity M. Nivale (McBeath J. 2002) Death of majority of biomass. DIN and DON increase during Spring snow melt (Schmidt et al. 2007)

Economic Impact

Damage to agriculture Winter cereals (Hsiang et al. 1999) Damage to Golf courses (A. stolonifera damage) (Wang et al. 2005) “Treatment of [Typhula spp.] may account for half of the chemical fungicide used on turf in [Canada]” (McBeath J. 2002) Potential control of C. Canadensis by cottony snow mold (Mallet et al. 2000)

Strategies for Control

Modifying strain resistance (Guadet D. 1994) Ensuring proper acclimatization (Guadet D. 1994) Fungicide less effective at low temperatures (McBeath 2002)

Don't degrade quickly at low temp Removing snow cover (Hsiang et al. 1999) Fall fertilization (Hsiang et al. 1999)

Strategies for Control

Biocontrol against Typhula spp. (Hsiang et al. 1999)

Summer ControlStill potential for airborne inoculation

Fall Control Expensive but potential for less ecological damage

Winter Control Requires low temp tolerance

Conclusions

Snow Molds have an important ecological impact These impacts can be harnessed for forest management There are effective strategies for reducing impact on crops

Further Research

Effect of LTB on white spruce seedlings Further resistant strain development of winter cereals Further microbial bio-control for fall and winter

Questions?

Smith J. 1980

Bibliography

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http://apsjournals.apsnet.org

Bibliography

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calamagrostis canadensis under controlled-environment conditions Biological Control [Internet] 2000 March [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from:

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Bibliography

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http://culter.colorado.edu/~kittel/Schadt00_SeasonalDynNiwotFungi

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Available from: http://www.esajournals.org/

11. Schmidt S, et al. Phylogeny and ecophysiology of opportunistic “snow molds” from a subalpine forest ecosystem Microb Ecol [Internet]. 2008 April [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from:

http://culter.colorado.edu/~kittel/schmidt708_SnowMold_MicrobEcol.pdf

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Bibliography

13. Wang Z, et al. Genotypic variation for snow mold reaction among creeping bengrass clones Crop Science [Internet] 2005 [cited 2009 Feb 28th]

Available from: http://crop.scijournals.org