[PCA] NEWS: Tree Deaths in California's Sierra Nevada Increase as Temperatures Rise
Olivia Kwong
plant at plantconservation.org
Fri Sep 21 09:10:28 CDT 2007
Tree Deaths in California's Sierra Nevada Increase as Temperatures Rise:
A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey reports a rising death rate for
trees in old-growth forests of the Sierra Nevada mountain range,
paralleling increasing summer drought due to warming temperatures. These
findings suggest Sierran forests, and potentially other forests of dry
climates, may be sensitive to temperature-driven increases in drought,
making them vulnerable to die-back during otherwise normal periods of
reduced precipitation. These results pose a challenge to forest managers.
Forest restoration often attempts to mimic conditions prior to
Euro-american settlement. However, if forests respond rapidly to warming
temperatures, attaining conditions similar to this relatively cooler
target era may not be feasible or desirable. This study, by USGS
scientists Phil van Mantgem and Nate Stephenson, appears in Ecology
Letters. See: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/vanmantgempbaug2007.html.
(Phil van Mantgem, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3179, pvanmantgem at usgs.gov)
Citation: van Mantgem, P.J., and N.L. Stephenson. 2007. Apparent
climatically-induced increase of mortality rates in a temperate forest.
Ecology Letters doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01080.x.
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