All this is very true.Well this is old news, but climate change has made the pine beetle problem WORSE.
Like I said earlier, the pathways climate change affects the earth are numerous--and many are totally clueless about them.
Climate Has Led to Beetle Outbreaks in Iconic Whitebark Pine Trees | U.S. Geological Survey
Temperature increases caused by climate change were a major factor driving the outbreak of mountain pine beetles that killed whitebark pine across millions of acres in and around Yellowstone National Park in the early 2000s, according to a new study.www.usgs.gov
“Our research shows that warming shortens the time between beetle generations, supercharging beetle population growth. That can then spur catastrophic mortality in forest systems during drought in the Sierra Nevada and throughout the Western United States.
If the effects of compromised tree defenses (15% to 20%) and increased bark beetle populations (20%) are additive, the team determined that 35% to 40% more ponderosa pines would die from beetle attacks for each degree Celsius of warming.
They found that a quicker rate of producing new generations of off-spring contributed more to killer infestations than did surviving the winter in the absence of cold temperatures fatal to the beetle, yet, surprisingly, the increase in the number of generations was not very big.
“In the Sierra, we saw only about one-third more generations per year, but that really amplified mortality,” Robbins said. “It shows that a small impact in the success of these populations can have a big impact on tree mortality, where we previously thought the beetle needed one whole generation increase to substantially impact mortality.
We do not even know what impact greenhouse gases have on the climate. The models used to describe the climate change do not agree with one another, and cannot even go backward and predict what has already happened. Any thought as to how fast the deforested jungles are growing back? And additional CO2 will only accelerate that (biomass is increasing with the increased temps and CO2).
The large majority of white bark pine mortality is due to white pine blister rust. Some mortality has also been due to mountain pine beetle. A major mountain pine beetle epidemic did impact all western pine species in the early 2000's. Mountain pine beetle populations are cyclical.Well this is old news, but climate change has made the pine beetle problem WORSE.
Like I said earlier, the pathways climate change affects the earth are numerous--and many are totally clueless about them.
Climate Has Led to Beetle Outbreaks in Iconic Whitebark Pine Trees | U.S. Geological Survey
Temperature increases caused by climate change were a major factor driving the outbreak of mountain pine beetles that killed whitebark pine across millions of acres in and around Yellowstone National Park in the early 2000s, according to a new study.
“Our research shows that warming shortens the time between beetle generations, supercharging beetle population growth. That can then spur catastrophic mortality in forest systems during drought in the Sierra Nevada and throughout the Western United States.
If the effects of compromised tree defenses (15% to 20%) and increased bark beetle populations (20%) are additive, the team determined that 35% to 40% more ponderosa pines would die from beetle attacks for each degree Celsius of warming.
They found that a quicker rate of producing new generations of off-spring contributed more to killer infestations than did surviving the winter in the absence of cold temperatures fatal to the beetle, yet, surprisingly, the increase in the number of generations was not very big.
“In the Sierra, we saw only about one-third more generations per year, but that really amplified mortality,” Robbins said. “It shows that a small impact in the success of these populations can have a big impact on tree mortality, where we previously thought the beetle needed one whole generation increase to substantially impact mortality.
The climate has been warming & cooling for millennia....only now there are 8 billion people that are in the way & many are using "Climate Change" to consolidate power & control people to suit their own agenda.
This is not an effective debate strategy to win over undecided people to your point of view.
You can’t use facts to argue against someone’s religion.
That it is.
I hear this often. The data doesnt really support it though - china has more renewable generation than America by a factor of 2x.
They also have 3+ times our population, and still are building coal plants that emit many more times the pollution than ours do. They also lie a lot.
This is also for rjthehunter. The United States currently uses over 20 million barrels of crude oil per day. I also see coal trains miles long heading west to the Asian electrical grid each day. Carbon from the Mesozoic era that should’ve stayed miles underground. Simple common sense would say fossil fuels are the #1 problem-everything else will fix itself if we ever find a way to stop using them. Fossil fuels have enabled us to cover the earth with concrete, asphalt, plastic, toxic chemicals, GMO crops and 7.5 billion too many people in a centuries time. I doubt there are 8 billion European starlings and English sparrows on earth but 8 billion people?!Our burning of fossil Fuels is the foundation of our climate change predicament. Slightly off topic but my most profound takeaway from living through the Covid/pandemic/lockdown was seeing how crystal clear and blue the skies got around towns roadways and cities when humanity stopped marching for just a few days. Also as to people blaming forest fires on mismanaged forests/not enough logging-Canada manages and logs its forests heavily yet they’ve had some of the most destructive wildfires in recent history. When it’s 99F and sunny for a month straight even the healthiest Forest will burn like a box of matches
Deforested jungles are turned into fields of corn and soybeans. They don't grow back.
They built 5x solar as they did coal in 2023.
Love it. Quit watching the television and learn a bit about the topic. Simply retorting with "load of absolute crap" demonstrates you and your TV remote need some time apart.
Tree density is one factor, but that's not the lone factor that makes stands susceptible to MPB, far from it. Elevation, diameter, and tree age are a factor and no denying that less exposure to cold temperature increases MPB populations. Drought is also a factor. Anything that stresses a tree/stand and makes things easier on MPB has the potential for large scale MPB infestations.
