Bread and Circuses on Nostr: Yesterday we looked at the problem of feedback loops in the northern forests of ...

Yesterday we looked at the problem of feedback loops in the northern forests of Canada and Siberia, where a warming climate dries out vegetation, making wildfires more frequent and more intense, with those fires then releasing tons of CO2, methane, and black carbon which warm up the climate even more, and so on.

See -- https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses/112518840893017287

But another related problem is plaguing forests further south, in the United States. Trees there are threatened not only by drought, but also by infestations of bugs, such as bark beetles in the Rocky Mountains, and by fir borers in Oregon, Washington, and California.

These bugs are much more common now than they used to be, doing far more damage to forests, and it's all because of warmer, dryer weather brought on by — you guessed it — climate change. It's a vicious cycle that only gets worse, decade after decade.

Here's one story about the sad decline of fir trees in Oregon, where experts worry that forests there may be disappearing forever.

➡️ https://www.ijpr.org/environment-energy-and-transportation/2024-05-22/douglas-fir-die-off-in-southern-oregon-gives-a-glimpse-into-the-future-of-west-coast-forests

#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis