Pine Beetle Outbreaks Increase Groundwater Supply in Rockies

Do more pine beetles mean more groundwater? Perhaps—but that's not necessarily a good thing, say the authors of a new study. The bark beetle outbreak that has plagued North America's Rocky Mountains is having significant ripple effects on the region's hydrology, researchers from Colorado's School of Mines in Golden, Colo., report in a study published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change. Compared with a watershed where a beetle infestation's impacts were less intense and occurred less recently, a watershed with more beetle-killed trees absorbs about 30 percent more groundwater, the researchers found. "A 30 percent increase in groundwater is substantial, particularly in the late summer when other contributions are low," said lead author Lindsay Bearup, a doctoral candidate at the School of Mines' Hydrological Science and Engineering Program. However, Bearup cautioned that it's too early to celebrate this side effect of an otherwise ecologically devastating trend. "From a quantity standpoint, it's obviously not a bad thing," Bearup said, but she added that this is perhaps a simplistic way to look at her study's outcome. "As we're changing where the water comes from, it can change the quality as well," she said...more

Dead trees don't drink water.  Guess some didn't know that.