Strength loss in EAB infested trees

[treebing]

My experience with EAB is that the wood maintains strength and hinge wood long after the tree is dead, but the roots decay very quickly and the tree becomes unstable. I never found that the wood itself was decayed or rotten.

 

[Shadowscape]

I haven't read any reports on if there is a difference between green ash and black ash in terms of decay. All I have read so far just says, ash. In my neck of the woods there doesn't seem to be any green ash, just black ash. I know the EAB doesn't seem to be selective on which version it attacks. If anyone notes a difference, please chime in.
Local governments seem to want to cut the ash trees down when they note the critter has invaded, or before it hits with the intent of helping stop it. That is good, but it doesn't give us a lot of data about decay.
If I live long enough, I will attempt to gather some data using my ash swale as a test site. After all, I've got a cigar coming down the road...

 

[Crimsonking]

@Tom Dunlap Thanks for sharing the article. It clarifies experiences I've had with ashes that were being treated. Some trees that have been treated after early infestation still felt much weaker than they should have while climbing. There was evidence of both infestation and recovery, but the heartwood had been affected structurally, or so it seemed. The article provides a likely explanation.

 

[Reach]

My experience with EAB is that the wood maintains strength and hinge wood long after the tree is dead, but the roots decay very quickly and the tree becomes unstable. I never found that the wood itself was decayed or rotten.

You are quite fortunate. We have had a number of EAB ash break off halfway up, just random points in the trunk, where there are no signs of previous problems whatsoever.

 

[ATH]

I haven't read any reports on if there is a difference between green ash and black ash in terms of decay. All I have read so far just says, ash. In my neck of the woods there doesn't seem to be any green ash, just black ash. I know the EAB doesn't seem to be selective on which version it attacks. If anyone notes a difference, please chime in.
Local governments seem to want to cut the ash trees down when they note the critter has invaded, or before it hits with the intent of helping stop it. That is good, but it doesn't give us a lot of data about decay.
If I live long enough, I will attempt to gather some data using my ash swale as a test site. After all, I've got a cigar coming down the road...

Blue ash is MUCH less prone to infection/mortality than others. Still see some living in the woods.

I did find one green ash (most likely - but it could have been white) in a woods last year. We marked a timber sale there. Asked the owner if he wanted to take it or leave it on a chance that it might have some resistance. Thankfully, he elected to leave it. There were a lot of other ash killed in that woods over the years. He used to harvest the ash for tree stakes (owns a nursery...). They were pretty useless when harvested from EAB infected ash - as any other sawmill who tried also found to be the case.