Additional CO2 and warmer weather will help plants, the climate change denialists say. That’s not what we see, however. Turns out CO2 helps weeds, and warmer weather helps destructive species, more than it helps the stuff we need and want in the wild.
For example, the white-bark pine, Pinus albicaulis:
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From American Forests:
With increasingly warm winters at high elevations in the West, a predator that has stalked forests for decades has gained the upper hand. It is mountain pine blister rust, an invasive fungus. Combined with mountain pine beetles, which kill hundreds of thousands of trees per year in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA), the environmental health of the Rocky Mountains and neighboring regions is in danger. To make matters worse, the species most susceptible to these two threats, the whitebark pine, is also the most vital to ecosystem stability, essential to the survival of more than 190 plant and animal species in Yellowstone alone.
First debuted at SXSW Eco, this video tells the story of our endangered western forests and how American Forests and the Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee are working toward their restoration and protection for future generations.
Learn more: http://www.americanforests.org/what-we-do/endangered-western-forests/
More:
- Wyoming study delves into pine’s impact on grizzlies (billingsgazette.com)
- Exxon Facing New Lawsuit over Yellowstone Spill (insurancejournal.com)
- Matt Martin: Wildlife surprises abound at Yellowstone (goerie.com)
- Exxon Hit With New Lawsuit Over Yellowstone Spill (insurancejournal.com)
- Oce Collaborates with Michelin to Help Preserve a National Treasure (prnewswire.com)
Whitebark Pine (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Whitebark Pine, cones and needle cluster (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Whitebark pine’s distinctive, almost-black cone. (Photo: Wikipedia)
