Climate Change Takes Toll on the Lodgepole Pine

Rising temperatures, drought and the spread of destructive insect pests will shrink the North American range of the lodgepole pine nearly 10 percent by 2020, a new study finds. The scientists behind the report said the projected decline of the evergreen species, whose range covers much of the Pacific Northwest and extends as far south as Colorado, was backed by observed ecosystem changes dating back to 1980. The study was conducted by forestry researchers at Oregon State University and the Department of Forest Resource Management at the University of British Columbia. It will appear in the latest edition of the scientific journal Climatic Change. “For skeptics of climate change, it’s worth noting that the increase in vulnerability of lodgepole pine we’ve seen in recent decades is made from comparisons with real climatic data and is backed up with satellite observations showing major changes on the ground,” Richard Waring, an emeritus professor of forest science at Oregon State University, said in a statement...more