Maple Syrup, Moose, and the Impacts of
Climate Change in the North
From ScienceDaily.com
In the northern hardwood forest, climate
change is poised to reduce the viability of the maple syrup industry, spread
wildlife diseases and tree pests, and change timber resources. And, according
to a new BioScience paper just released by twenty-one scientists,
without long-term studies at the local scale -- we will be ill-prepared to
predict and manage these effects.
Following an exhaustive
review of more than fifty years of long term data on environmental conditions
at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, located in the White Mountains of New
Hampshire, the paper's authors arrived at a sobering conclusion: current
climate change models don't account for real life surprises that take place in
forests.
One thing is clear: at
Hubbard Brook Forest spring is advancing and fall is retreating. Over the past
half century, the climate has warmed and there has been a rise in rainfall and
a decrease in snowfall. Winters are getting shorter and milder, with snowpack
melting some two weeks earlier. But soil thaw is no longer tightly coupled with
spring plant growth, creating a transitional period that results in the loss of
important soil nutrients.
In the absence of
insulating snow pack, exposed soils are more susceptible to freezing, which
damages tree roots. Sugar maples are suffering a one-two punch: soil frost is linked
to tree mortality and warmer winters reduce sap yield. Mild winters are also
encouraging the spread of pests and pathogens, including the destructive
hemlock woolly adelgid -- which was once held in check by cold winter
temperatures.
As snow depth decreases,
deer are better able to forage in the forest. Their browsing damages young
trees and spreads a parasite that is lethal to moose. Reduced snow pack is also
a challenge for logging operations, which use snow-packed roads to move trees,
and ski resorts, which already rely heavily on human-made snow.
Groffman concludes,
"Managing the forests of the future will require moving beyond climate
models based on temperature and precipitation, and embracing coordinated
long-term studies that account for real-world complexities." Adding,
"These studies can be scaled up, to give a more accurate big picture of
climate change challenges -- while also providing more realistic approaches for
tackling problems at the regional scale."
Story Source:
The above story is
reprinted from materials provided byCary Institute
of Ecosystem Studies.
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Journal Reference:
1. peter M. Groffman, Lindsey E. Rustad, Pamela H.
Templer, John L. Campbell, Lynn M. Christenson, Nina K. Lany, Anne M. Socci, Matthew
A. Vadeboncoeur, Paul G. Schaberg, Geoffrey F. Wilson, Charles T. Driscoll,
Timothy J. Fahey, Melany C. Fisk, Christine L. Goodale, Mark B. Green, Steven
P. Hamburg, Chris E. Johnson, Myron J. Mitchell, Jennifer L. Morse, Linda H.
Pardo, and Nicholas L. Rodenhouse. Long-Term Integrated Studies Show
Complex and Surprising Effects of Climate Change in the Northern Hardwood
Forest. BioScience, December 2012 DOI: 10.1525/bio.2012.62.12.7
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