Tag: deforestation

bookmark_borderThe Collapse of Nature

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The World Wildlife Foundation issued a report LIVING PLANET REPORT 2022 showing a near 70% decline in wildlife.

* Monitored populations of vertebrates (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish) have seen a devastating 69% drop on average since 1970

* Freshwater species populations have suffered an 83% fall

* The report’s Living Planet Index shows that there is no time to lose in securing a nature-positive society

* Deforestation, human exploitation, pollution, and climate change were the biggest drivers of the loss

Many scientists believe we are living through the sixth mass extinction – the largest loss of life on Earth since the time of the dinosaurs – and that it is being driven by humans.

Tanya Steele, chief executive at WWF-UK, said: “This report tells us that the worst declines are in the Latin America region, home to the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon. Deforestation rates there are accelerating, stripping this unique ecosystem not just of trees but of the wildlife that depends on them and of the Amazon’s ability to act as one of our greatest allies in the fight against climate change.”

“Despite the science, the catastrophic projections, the impassioned speeches and promises, the burning forests, submerged countries, record temperatures and displaced millions, world leaders continue to sit back and watch our world burn in front of our eyes,” said Steele. “The climate and nature crises, their fates entwined, are not some faraway threat our grandchildren will solve with still-to-be-discovered technology.”

She added: “We need our new prime minister to show the UK is serious about helping people, nature and the economy to thrive, by ensuring every promise for our world is kept. Falling short will be neither forgotten nor forgiven.”

The Human Induced Climate Change Experiment

bookmark_borderWill Tree Species Survive Climate Change?

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A Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources article reported:

The theory of evolution suggests that species will adapt to changing environmental conditions. The belief is that these changes occur over long periods of geologic time.

But, instead of warming over a period of 1,000 years, the climate is changing faster due to human activity — several degrees per century (100 years).

Due to the rate of climate change, the gradual natural selection of genetic traits that allow species to adapt and reproduce over time may not be enough to preserve the abundance of tree species in Pennsylvania.

Some tree species won’t be able to thrive here as the climate continues to change faster than the plants can adapt.

Northern species like mountain maple, American beech, balsam fir, paper birch, and quaking aspen are especially at risk. Our climate may warm too quickly for these species to adapt before dying out.

Yet, warming due to climate change is not the only threat to the commonwealth’s trees.

Wetter Conditions Impact Many Tree Species

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Rainy day in Penn’s Woods.

Last year (2018), many areas of the state set records for number of days of rain and total annual rainfall.

Climate change scientists forecasted that the northeastern U.S. climate would become not only warmer, but wetter — which is be proving to be true.

Since 1991, heavy rain events have increased more than 30 percent when compared to the 1901-1960 period. (source: National Climate Assessment)

Many Pennsylvania tree species do not thrive in continuous soggy conditions; and could significantly decline across the state over the long term.

The American mountain ash is a species which may suffer double risk due to its northern habit and upland site preference.

Given current climate trends and future considerations, it wouldn’t make much sense to plant northern/upland species.

A more practical strategy would be to choose climate change-resilient trees to replace those we lose.

Climate Change-Resilient Trees for Pennsylvania

Climate change-resilient trees for Pennsylvania should be southern tree species that tolerate or prefer wetter soil.

Species meeting these criteria include:

  • Sycamore
  • Hackberry
  • Boxelder
  • Eastern redbud

hackberry.JPG
Bark of Hackberry tree.

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Spring blooms on Eastern redbud tree.

Suitable trees for a warming climate, but well-drained sites include several oak and hickory varieties:

  • Pin oak
  • Black oak
  • Shagbark hickory
  • Mockernut hickory

Other adaptable species likely to be climate change-resilient include:

  • Slippery elm
  • Black gum
  • Shortleaf pine
  • Eastern hophornbeam

New Thinking in Forest Management

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Newly planted trees in forest.

Climate change doesn’t mean the end of Penn’s Woods, but it does require new thinking when examining what tree species we should plant.

Savvy growers may want to think about choosing trees with fungal and insect resistance — as some southern pests are moving northward.

Climate change caused by human activities will outpace some native trees’ ability to adapt and persist.

Wise choices for replacements could be part of the solution to ensure that our forests remain healthy, viable, and productive.

For more information about climate change predictions for tree species, see Appendix E in DCNR’s Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Plan (PDF).

Foliage Spoilage & the Trees’ Canopy Collapse

The Human Induced Climate Change Experiment

bookmark_borderTrees: Sudden Oak Death “Unstoppable”

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A new report out of Cambridge University has determined that the sudden oak death epidemic in California is unstoppable.

“Sudden oak death – caused by Phytophthora ramorum, a fungus-like pathogen related to potato blight – has killed millions of trees over hundreds of square kilometres of forest in California. First detected near San Francisco in 1995, it spread north through coastal California, devastating the region’s iconic oak and tanoak forests.”

“Our study is the first major retrospective analysis of how the sudden oak death epidemic in California could have been managed, and also the first to show how to deal with a forest epidemic of this magnitude,” explains Cunniffe.

“Even if huge amounts of money were to be invested to stop the epidemic starting today, the results of our model show this cannot lead to successful control for any plausible management budget. We therefore wanted to know whether it could have been contained if a carefully-optimised strategy had been introduced sooner. Our model showed that, with a very high level of investment starting in 2002, the disease could not have been eradicated, but its spread could have been slowed and the area affected greatly reduced.”

The model also indicates how policymakers might better plan and deploy control when future epidemics emerge.

“It is a tool by which we can make a better job next time, because it is inevitable that there will be a next time,” says Professor Chris Gilligan, senior author and also from the Department of Plant Sciences. “With this sort of epidemic there will always be more sites to treat than can be afforded. Our model shows when and where control is most effective at different stages throughout a developing epidemic so that resources can be better targeted.”

“It can be tempting for authorities to start cutting down trees at the core of the infected area, but for this epidemic our research shows that this could be the worst thing to do, because susceptible vegetation will simply grow back and become infected again,” explains Cunniffe.

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