Some vine growth on trees can be more risky than others, as different vine species grow and attach to the tree differently. Not all kill trees, and few of our native plant vines pose any problems. None of the species of concern take nutrients directly out of the wood, though as with any nearby plant, their roots can compete with the tree's for moisture and nutrients.

Rather than killing a tree, occasionally the opposite occurs - a struggling tree has a thinning canopy, which lets more light to the ground below, boosting vine growth and allowing it to cover the tree's trunk or branches. Many factors impact tree health, and often the decline of mature trees is due to several factors that cumulatively pushed it over the edge from thriving into decline. Symptoms can take awhile to manifest for tree decline, and the original cause may have preceded the vine's appearance.

Even so, invasive plant species should always be removed, and your second image ("new vine growing again") does show one of these all-too-common invasives, English Ivy. The important act was to cut the vine free from its roots, as you may have done once already; the top stems that stayed attached to the bark will die and biodegrade on their own in time and eventually fall off, so they don't need removal. Keep trying to kill off what resprouts from the ground, though.

The stem with the hair-like, root-like growths in the other two photos resembles Poison Ivy, though positive identification will require viewing foliage. This is a native plant of great benefit to wildlife, but is of course rarely desirable in home landscapes. Tips for removal and control can be found here: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/poison-ivy

Other commonly-encountered vines that climb trees include:

• Wild Grape (several species, all native)
• Bittersweet (one native species and one invasive species)
• Trumpetvine, a.k.a. Trumpet Creeper (native)
• Honeysuckle (one native, but almost all that appear in disturbed landscapes are invasive species, though only one tends to climb)
• Wisteria (one regionally-native species that we rarely see here, and two invasive)
• Multiflora Rose (invasive)
• Wintercreeper Euonymus (invasive)
• Japanese Hops (invasive)
• Mile-a-minute (invasive)
• Porcelainberry (invasive)
• Kudzu (invasive)
• Virginia Creeper (native)
• Greenbrier (several species, all native)

Almost all of these are perennial or even woody in nature, so removal efforts of established plants take time and may require the use of herbicide to achieve thorough and rapid control. Where not posing a problem, native vines can be left alone for wildlife value, especially for songbirds. Otherwise, a repeated cutting-down of all vine stems and foliage until the roots are exhausted of energy reserves will be required, a process which might take months or even years.

Vine growth can increase in human-altered landscapes for several reasons. Plants that climb seek light by clinging to or scrambling through other vegetation like trees, shrubs, or other vines, since they can't support themselves otherwise. When we shrink woodland habitat as sources of shade, the area of "edge habitat" - where more sunlight reaches the edge of the forest and slightly inside its borders - that creates greater amounts of ideal habitat for vine proliferation. Since many birds happen to forage in edge habitat, their droppings contain seeds of the vine berries they've eaten add to the seed bank in that soil, compounding the problem. Plus, the overall rise in carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has actually been shown to boost vine growth more so than the growth of other types of plants, so it can give them a competitive edge. The final factor is the various invasive species present here, which fewer of our natural herbivores eat (deer, insects, etc.), allowing them to have a competitive edge over native vines and other native plants.

Some areas do have invasive plant removal programs, or volunteers who get trained in plant ID and removal. You may need to inquire with your county or municipal officials to ask about efforts in your area, as we do not have a comprehensive list. One example is the Weed Warriors program that started in Montgomery County, though other counties have since participated. You can read more about them here, and inquire about efforts local to you if you're interested:

https://mdinvasives.org/iotm/march-2015/

https://www.montgomeryparks.org/caring-for-our-parks/natural-spaces/weed-warriors/

https://www.chesapeakebay.net/news/blog/from_the_field_weed_warriors_battle_plant_invaders_in_montgomery_county_md

Miri

You're welcome!