Aspen trees dying across the west:

[amborin]

/snip

a mysterious ailment -- or perhaps a combination of factors -- is killing hundreds of thousands of acres of the trees from Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona through Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and into Canada, according to the U.S. government and independent scientists.

The aspen die-off comes on the heels of a pine-beetle invasion that has destroyed millions of acres of evergreens. Foresters expect to lose virtually every mature lodgepole pine in Colorado -- five million acres of them.

Aspen and lodgepole pine intermingle across many Rocky Mountain slopes at elevations of 5,000 to 8,000 feet. Millions of the trees are now down or brown, transforming the landscape into a huge fire risk....

/snip





<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125547187504583409.html?mod=WSJ_myyahoo_module>

[TexasObserver]

1. I blame Scooter Libby and Judy Miller.

[Horse with no Name]

4. They turn in clusters, you know. n/t

[TexasObserver]

6. the thought of those two doing it was the worst part of the whole controversy

Intertwined at the root? I suppose so, Scooter.

[ananda]

2. Oh dear.

Poor mother nature is now WAY out of balance.

[BeHereNow]

5. We were warned decades ago.

http://www.taironatrust.org
“Up to now we have ignored the Younger Brother. We have not deigned even to give him a slap. But now we can no longer look after the world alone. The Younger Brother is doing too much damage. He must see, and understand, and assume responsibility. Now we will have to work together. Otherwise, the world will die.”
Kogi Mama

BHN

[Maru Kitteh]

3. That is just dammed depressing. What the hell are we doing to this planet?

:-(

[MarjorieG]

7. Every year in Colorado we'd go directly west on Hampden Ave 'til it became a direct route to the

mountains to watch Aspen Glow. Coming from Boston and multi color Fall not the same, but still beautiul. Heart-breaking.

[rockymountaindem]

8. Tell me about it. The Colorado forests look horrible now

It's such a shame considering my memories from growing up less about 10+ years ago. I didn't think it was the end of the world because while the lodgepole pines are dying, the forestry experts say we can replant as they die off with fir and spruce trees which are not susceptible to the beetle problem. That way 50 years from now the forest will be more diverse. But I don't know what we would do without aspen trees.

[TexasObserver]

9. On a serious note, this really is horrific.

The aspen are so awesome when they change, and that wave of yellow gold splashes across the mountains.

I hadn't heard about the losses to the pines, either.

[winyanstaz]

10. In my own opinion, I believe it is due to the chemicals...

being sprayed in chem-trails. I also believe it is these same chemicals that are causing both mad cow and the wasting disease..both of which that effect animals that graze on plants. It may also have contributed to the bees dying off.
We all can see the chemtrails..and yet it is denied they are doing this daily.
If our government claims they know nothing about it..then they are not protecting our skies at all.

[winyanstaz]

11. By the way...

If all the trees die...so shall we.

[tabatha]

13. I heard once that the aspens in a grove are all one tree.

A rhizome is a root-like, underground stem, growing horizontally on or just under the surface of the ground, and capable of producing shoots and roots from its nodes. Rhizomes are most commonly produced by perennial, herbaceous species of plants, that die back to the ground at the end of the growing season, and must grow a new shoot at the beginning of the next season. Rhizomes are capable of storing energy, usually as starch, which is used to fuel the regeneration of new shoots. Rhizomes are also sometimes called rootstocks.

Plant species that have well developed rhizomes often rely on these organs as a means of propagation. However, the regeneration of plants through the spreading of rhizomes and development of new shoots is a type of non-sexual, vegetative propagation, because the progeny are genetically identical to the parent. Horticulturalists take advantage of the ease of propagation of certain plants with rhizomes by using bud-containing segments of these organs to grow new plants. This is the major method by which many ornamental species, such as iris (Iris spp.), are propagated. Some agricultural plants are also propagated in this way, such as sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), arrowroot (Canna edulis), ginger (Zingiber officinale), and potato (Solanum tuberosa). In the case of some agricultural species, the rhizome is also the harvested part of the plant. The potato, for example, has discrete, modified sections of its rhizomes, called tubers, that are modified to store starch. Potato tubers are, of course, an important agricultural product.

Some species of tree can regenerate extensively by issuing new vegetative shoots from their underground rhizomes, after damages caused by disturbance by fire or harvesting. In North America, trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) can regenerate very effectively in this way, and stands dominated by genetically identical "trees" of this species can sometimes occupy an area of several to many hectares (up to 40 ha). These stands may represent the world's largest "individual" organisms, in terms of biomass.

http://science.jrank.org/pages/5867/Rhizome.html

[winyanstaz]

15. Yes I have read that as well.

[amborin]

12. it is horrific

and yet rethugs will argue that taking steps to combat climate change will harm the economy; it's insane!

hope everyone joins 350.org

[BREMPRO]

14. this kind of disease/insect infestation was predicted by scientists studying global warming.

not a surprise, but devastating. Global warming deniers- GO TO HELL!

[aquart]

17. Yep. Leading to die off and deforestation and death.

Happy future!

[mix]

16. That is horrible news.

Here in the Northeastern highlands of New Mexico, at the south tip of the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the Pecos Valley, the forests are healthy, in better shape than they have been in years. The Aspen groves are also in full color.