Fall colors fade in U.S. west as aspen trees die (prematurely)

[Cetacea]

By Laura Zuckerman

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - The American West is losing its autumn colors as global warming begins to bite and there is far more at stake than iconic scenery.

Aspen, the white-barked trees with golden leaves that gave their name to the famed Colorado ski resort, have been dying off across the Rocky Mountain states. The die-off is puzzling but some foresters point to climate change.

This disaster coincides with beetle outbreaks that have laid waste to millions of acres of pine and spruce forest in the American and Canadian west. They too have been linked to warmer winters since extremely cold temperatures are needed to kill the insects.

Recent droughts and other factors linked to global warming are seen as likely causes for "sudden aspen decline," or SAD, so named because it can strike a forest so quickly.

article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE5826QY20090903

[SammyWinstonJack]

1. K&R

[izquierdista]

2. They will have to move

And when they run out of mountain to move up, the only ones that will survive will be the ones who can move north. What the article fails to point out is that a forest of aspen is not a bunch of distinct trees, but often, just one individual. Individual aspen plants can have thousands of trees covering hundreds of acres. As such, one individual may not be able to move to the cool climate that it needs as fast as the climate change can happen.

[Cetacea]

3. Thanks for the info. eom