[PCA] NEWS: Environment Blamed in Western Tree Deaths

[Olivia Kwong]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/us/23trees.html?hp

Environment Blamed in Western Tree Deaths
By MIREYA NAVARRO

Rising temperatures and the resulting drought are causing trees in the
Western United States to die off at more than twice the pace they did a few
decades ago, a new study has found.

The combination of a warmer climate and diminished water supply have
impaired the ability of the forests to absorb greenhouse gases and made
them sparser and more susceptible to fires and pests, the authors of the
study said. The scientists, who analyzed tree census data collected in 1955
and in later years, found that the mortality of trees increased in 87
percent of the 76 forest plots studied. In some plots, the die-off rate had
doubled after as little as 17 years; in others, the mortality rate doubled
after 29 years, the study found.

See the link above for the full article text.  You can also see articles 
on the same subject at:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/01/22/study.forests.dying/index.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/22/AR2009012202473.html?hpid=topnews

The Science article is available to subscribers at:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/323/5913/521

A news item about it is available on Science for subscribers:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/323/5913/447