In Warming Climate, Multiple Pressures Likely For Remaining Northern Hardwood Forests
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Those and other factors combined mean that climate change is poised to reduce the viability of the maple syrup industry, spread wildlife diseases and tree pests, and change timber resources. And without long-term studies at the local scale, resource managers will be ill-prepared to predict and manage these effects, Groffman and co-authors wrote in a new BioScience paper.
The study looked at more than 50 years of long term data on environmental conditions at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
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.
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http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/11/24/environment-northern-hardwood-forests-poised-to-take-big-hit-from-global-warming/
