Cypress mortality (mal del cipres) in the Patagonian Andes: comparisons with similar forest diseases and declines in North America

Abstract

SummaryWidespread mortality of Cordilleran cypress (Austrocedrus chilensis) occurs in developed and pristine forests in south‐western Argentina and possibly south‐eastern Chile. Affected trees may die rapidly but mortality is commonly preceded by several decades of severely restricted radial stem growth. Roots are often affected by one or more types of decay. Cypress mortality, locally termed ‘mal del cipres’, is similar to a major forest disease in North America: Port‐Orford‐cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) root disease in Oregon and California and a major tree decline: Alaska yellow‐cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) decline in south‐east Alaska. This paper discusses several hypotheses concerning mal del cipres and compares current forest decline research in Patagonia with North America.