Western US Forests Suffer Death by Degrees

It's suspected that some redwoods, yellow cedars and hemlocks of the temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest can live 1000 years and well beyond. But a new study from the US Geological Survey, reported on in Science, suggests that the lifespan for such confers is on the decline. “Warmer temperatures and subsequent water shortfalls” are pinpointed as the likely cause of the trees' increased death rate. Forest ecologist Phillip J. van Mantgem did not plan to study tree deaths, but noticed the trends after reviewing some long-term data and then followed up by working with other researchers to study tree deaths in old-growth forests. The findings will likely spark new studies of tree mortality and replacement rates around the globe, to detect trends, causes and cures. – YaleGlobal