Drought's heat killed Southwest's pinon forests.At this New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). site, pinon pines were damaged by 2002 (left) and dead by 2004 (right) in a scorching scorch v. scorched, scorch·ing, scorch·es v.tr. 1. To burn superficially so as to discolor or damage the texture of. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. drought. At sites across four states, a team headed by David Breshears of the University of Arizona (body, education) University of Arizona - The University was founded in 1885 as a Land Grant institution with a three-fold mission of teaching, research and public service. in Tucson found that 40 to 80 percent of the pine nut-producing trees died during the drought and its plague of bark beetles. Fewer pinons perished during a similarly prolonged drought decades earlier. The recent drought "wasn't any drier than the 1950s drought, but it was hotter," Breshears says. Heat reduces ground moisture, dehydrates trees, and encourages beetle infestations. Tree-killing droughts could increase in frequency as the world's climate warms, the researchers warn in the Oct. 18 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, usually referred to as PNAS, is the official journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences. . |
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