Medical and Hospital News  
WOOD PILE
Yellowstone's forests could be grassland in just a few decades
by Brooks Hays
Washington (UPI) Jan 18, 2019

The combination of warming, drought and wildfire could turn Yellowstone's forests into grassland by the middle of the century, scientists warn.

Wildfires are a normal occurrence in most forests in the American West. Large fires are less common. In Yellowstone, big blazes rip through the park once every 100 to 300 years. Flora and fauna in Yellowstone are adapted to periodic large fires, but they need time to recover and regenerate.

But according to a new study, large fires are becoming more common, and hotter, drier conditions are making it more difficult for plant and animal species to repopulate ecosystems scorched by wildfire.

As prolonged droughts, extreme heatwaves and bigger fires become the new norm, scientists worry Yellowstone's forests will be grassland in just a few decades.

"It's terrifying in some ways. We are not talking many years away," Monica Turner, professor of integrative biology at the University of Wisconsin, said in a news release. "Today's college students will be mid-career. It feels like the future is coming at us fast."

As a number of studies have shown, hot, dry conditions are driving an increase in the frequency and severity of wildfires in California. The trend is expected to continue as the planet warms.

To better understand how trees will fare under hotter, drier, fire-prone conditions, scientists planted and observed the development of tree seedlings at several test sites in Yellowstone. Turner and research partner Winslow Hansen located grow sites with hotter, drier conditions, including areas of forests recently burned. The duo monitored the seedlings for three years.

At lower elevations where temperatures were higher, the majority of Douglas fir and lodgepole pine seedlings failed to establish, and those that did died within three years. More seedlings survived and matured at higher elevations where temperatures were cooler.

Researchers published the results of their study this week in the journal Ecological Monographs.

"It wasn't just a small reduction," said Turner, "it was a failure to establish at the lower elevations."

Follow up studies in the lab using soil collected from a range of Yellowstone sites showed soil temperature by mid-century are likely to be too high to support tree regeneration in the wake of larger fires.

"Forests are critical from both social and ecological perspectives," Hansen said. "The Greater Yellowstone region may be a very different place to live and visit over the next few decades."


Related Links
Forestry News - Global and Local News, Science and Application


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


WOOD PILE
Water, not temperature, limits global forest growth as climate warms
Tucson AZ (SPX) Jan 18, 2019
The growth of forest trees all over the world is becoming more water-limited as the climate warms, according to new research from an international team that includes University of Arizona scientists. The effect is most evident in northern climates and at high altitudes where the primary limitation on tree growth had been cold temperatures, reports the team this week in the online journal Science Advances. "Our study shows that across the vast majority of the land surface, trees are becoming ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

WOOD PILE
US extends troop deployment at Mexico border

Tech to the rescue: New products aim to improve disaster relief

Global natural disasters wreak $160 bn damage in 2018: Munich Re

Saudi teen's asylum case being judged at lightning speed

WOOD PILE
Magnetic North's erratic behavior forces update to global navigation system

US Air Force contracts Lockheed Martin to continue GPS ground control supprt

GPS-denied navigation on small unmanned helicopters

China's BeiDou officially goes global

WOOD PILE
'Zebra' tribal bodypaint cuts fly bites 10-fold: study

Animal bones in Jordan suggest early dogs helped humans hunt

AI-powered genomic analysis reveals unknown human ancestor

Understanding our early human ancestors: Australopithecus sediba

WOOD PILE
Romeo and Juliet: the last hopes to save Bolivian aquatic frog

Even short-lived insects become elderly

Ecologists: Alaska wildlife management threatens state's largest carnivores

Crocodile mauls woman to death in Indonesia

WOOD PILE
Hong Kong scientists claim 'broad-spectrum' antiviral breakthrough

Chinese children given expired polio vaccines in latest scare

Danish malaria vaccine passes test in humans

An ancient strain of plague may have led to the decline of Neolithic Europeans

WOOD PILE
Canada asks China clemency for convicted drug trafficker

'Hostage politics': Death sentence heightens China, Canada tensions

Canada asks China for clemency for convicted drug trafficker

Chinese dissidents in Taiwan airport limbo for over 100 days

WOOD PILE
WOOD PILE








The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.