Page 28 - aruba-today-20170107

A28 SCIENCE
Saturday 7 January 2017

Study documents tree species’ decline due to climate warming

ize the injury and continue change on yellow ce-
DAN JOLING growing. dar has led to research
Associated Press The slow-growing trees on other shallow-rooted
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) historically found a niche trees that could be vulner-
— A type of tree that thrives near bogs. Those wetlands able, such as sugar maple
in soggy soil from Alaska to provided openings in the and yellow birch, said Paul
Northern California and is forest canopy but poor soil Schaberg, a Forest Service
valued for its commercial rejected by other trees. research plant physiologist
and cultural uses could “Elsewhere, it (yellow ce- from Burlington, Vermont.
become a noticeable ca- dar) generally gets out- No climate change effects
sualty of climate warming competed by spruce, on U.S. trees have been as
over the next 50 years, an which grows faster, or well-documented as re-
independent study has hemlock, which can grow search on yellow cedar, he
concluded. in lower light conditions,” said.
Yellow cedar, named for Buma said. “Projections are that other
its distinctive yellow wood, The study by Alaska, Wash- species could be nega-
already is under consider- ington, California and Brit- tively impacted, but other
ation for federal listing as ish Columbia researchers species, at least in some
a threatened or endan- documented the magni- places, could be positively
gered species. tude and location of yellow impacted,” he said.
The study published in the This undated photo provided by the U.S. Forest Service shows cedar mortality in Canada The agency has begun a
journal Global Change Bi- yellow-cedar trees growing along Sheep Lake east of the Cas- and the United States. tree atlas, currently listing
ology found death due to cade crest in Washington State. More than 1,544 square 134 species, that docu-
root freeze on 7 percent of Associated Press miles containing yellow ments their current and
the tree’s range, including cedar — mostly north of possible future distribution
areas where it’s most prolif- versity of Alaska Southeast Yellow cedar began to Vancouver Island, British under climate change pro-
ic. It cited snow-cover loss assistant professor of forest decline in about 1880, ac- Columbia — have experi- jections.
that led to colder soil. ecosystem ecology. cording to the U.S. Forest enced upward of 70 per- A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
Additional mortality is likely By 2070, winter tempera- Service, and its vulnerabil- cent mortality. Another vice decision on listing yel-
as the climate warms, re- tures in about 50 percent ity is viewed as one of the 20,207 square miles remain, low cedar as threatened
searchers said. of the areas now suitable best-documented exam- but many of the trees will or endangered is sched-
“Lack of snow is only go- for yellow cedar are ex- ples of climate change’s be vulnerable if projected uled for September 2019,
ing to become more and pected to rise and transi- effect on a forest tree. warming occurs. spokeswoman Andrea Me-
more prevalent,” said lead tion from snow to more rain, The trees are in the cypress Researchers found little deiros said.
author Brian Buma, a Uni- according to the study. family and are not true ce-
dars, w mortality in trees at higher Owen Graham, executive
hich are part of the pine elevations in Washington director of the Alaska For-
family. They have grown to and Oregon where snow est Association, a timber
200 feet and can live more level has not diminished industry trade group, re-
than 1,200 years. and roots have not been mains opposed to a listing.
Tlingit, Haida and Tsim- exposed to freezing tem- Yellow cedar die-off in the
shian people used yellow peratures. Conversely, last century has been in-
cedar for canoe paddles, in some areas, such as termittent and natural, he
tool handles and totem parts of Vancouver Island, said. Trees that died were
poles. They can harvest there’s no snow where yel- replaced by new trees.
a lengthwise strip of bark low cedar grows, but tem- “The whole thing is just a
from a living tree for weav- peratures never drop suffi- stupid effort to try to tan-
ing baskets and hats, and ciently to freeze their roots, gle up the timber supply
as backing in blankets. The Buma said. some more,” he said. “It’s
tree can compartmental- The effect of climate ludicrous.”q