Brianna Shepherd, research specialist at Holden Forests & Gardens, measures the diameter of an American beech tree as part of a long-term study on the impacts of beech leaf disease. First observed ...

Of 263 American beech trees tracked at the Cuyahoga County research site, 30% have died since BLD was first observed in the area in 2014, with the most severe losses occurring in recent years.

Darkened, thickened bands between leaf veins—seen here on an American beech leaf—are characteristic symptoms of beech leaf disease (BLD). First detected in northeastern Ohio in 2012 ...