Dear etaoin: a phenomenon that might interest you. I can't remember the name of the town, but it is about halfway from
Boston to NH border,where I saw a large area containing small saplings of the edible chestnut trees that had tops killed a hundred years ago by an imported disease. The trees were huge, and roots did not die, but put out saplings that cannot grow more than a few feet before the disease kills them back.Tragic.