Until two years ago, the fungus Sydowia polyspora was considered harmless to forestry when it suddenly caused damage to Swedish pine near Kalmar.
In Nordanstig, the same fungus may now have caused the first known infestation of lodgepole pine.
Water scarcity may be the cause
Iryna Matsiakh, an expert on tree damage at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences' Forest Damage Centre, needs to do lab tests on needles and shoots before she can answer definitively whether it is about Sydowia. But there is a lot to suggest about it.
"Warmer climates can make trees more stressed due to water shortages and thus make them more susceptible to disease," says Iryna Matsiakh.
Follow along in the video as Iryna Matsiakh examines the trees and hear more about her theories.