Scientists: link
Trees in old-growth forests of the western United States are dying at twice the usual rate, and scientists say climate change may be to blame.
In one of the largest-ever surveys of U.S. forests, ecologists analyzed data on nearly 60,000 trees in 76 old-growth forests. Set to be published Friday in the journal Science, the study reported a startling jump over the past few decades: regardless of type, size or elevation, twice as many trees are dying each year.
And while death rates have increased, birth rates for new trees have remained stable — meaning there aren't enough new trees to replace the old ones.
In the days before and on the great day I planted a few trees for my Barack Obama Inaugural Orchard. I hear a lot about reducing carbon emissions. I don't hear enough about carbon sequestration. The most natural form of sequestration are forests (unless the trees are then burnt for fuel) Follow below the fold for more pictures of my efforts for carbon sequestration and delicious fruit and vegetables.
Hadley Leggett from the San Jose Mercury News continues in his article Global warming may be killing trees in West twice as fast as usual
"If current trends continue, forests will become sparser over time," van Mantgem said. "Simple projections of forest stand structure indicate that average tree age will eventually decrease by half, and this will potentially lead to decreasing average tree size."
Sparser forests provide fewer places for animals to live, van Mantgem said, and also put trees at-risk for sudden die-off from catastrophic incidents such as fire, drought and bark beetle attack.
In addition, because large trees absorb significant amounts of carbon dioxide, death of old-growth forests could further exacerbate climate change.
I'm doing my part, and hoping to get some delicious fruit and vegetables in the years to come. I picked up 3 blackberries, 3 boysenberries and 2 red raspberry bushes to add to the 1 red raspberry and 1 blackberry that I planted last year. On top of that I added 2 navel orange trees to my 1 navel and 1 tangerine that I've planted over the past three years. The final additions were a Wonderful pomegranate, red delicious apple, and yellow pear.
The garden vegetables are Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts, Mesclun, Celery and my radish seedlings are about an inch tall now. I hope these lovely trees and veggies will capture quite a deal of CO2.
Here's a little more about Carbon Sequestration from the Department of Energy.
Carbon sequestration is one of the most promising ways for reducing the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In fact, even under the most optimistic scenarios for energy efficiency gains and the greater use of low- or no-carbon fuels, sequestration will likely be essential if the world is to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases at acceptable levels.
The Office of Fossil Energy (FE), through research conducted at the National Energy Technology Laboratory is transforming the fundamental science of carbon sequestration into a portfolio of practical, affordable and safe technologies and mitigation strategies that the energy industry can use to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
ABC Rural news confirms that I'm not the only one doing this. Lots of people are buying trees for sequestration purposes.
Under the Federal Government's proposed Emissions Trading Scheme, landholders will be paid money by polluters for the carbon their trees store as they grow.
Peter Radke from Yuruga Nursery in far north Queensland says the interest is coming from both farmers and small landholders.
"There's definitely a lot more people now interesting in planting trees for carbon sequestration, there's a lot more of that going on," he says.
"I think now there seems to be a new wave of people who are wanting to plant hundreds or thousands of trees."
Australia has a bill that will become law in 2009. New Zealand just past one in September but has delayed it for climate change review. The EU began experimenting with a emissions trading scheme in Jan 2005. Barack Obama has claimed that he is going to move forward with an emissions scheme as well.
There's a bill under discussion that uses a more complex method which shoves CO2 underground to keep it from the atmosphere. SB2095
Please comment and let me know if you can plant a tree, or have planted one. Or if you have started your garden yet, or what you plan to do. Also this would be a good place for people in cold climates to snarl and give me a hard time for living in beautiful Northern California.
Donations if you can't plant a tree
can go to
The Arbor Day Foundation
or
Plant A Billion Trees Dot Org
UPDATE: Please check out the comment section, there's some fascinating information about a carbon sequestration method called BioChar (DKos Diaries) and BioChar International
Biochar is a fine-grained charcoal high in organic carbon and largely resistant to decomposition. It is produced from pyrolysis of plant and waste feedstocks. As a soil amendment, biochar creates a recalcitrant soil carbon pool that is carbon-negative, serving as a net withdrawal of atmospheric carbon dioxide stored in highly recalcitrant soil carbon stocks. The enhanced nutrient retention capacity of biochar-amended soil not only reduces the total fertilizer requirements but also the climate and environmental impact of croplands. Char-amended soils have shown 50 - 80 percent reductions in nitrous oxide emissions and reduced runoff of phosphorus into surface waters and leaching of nitrogen into groundwater. As a soil amendment, biochar significantly increases the efficiency of and reduces the need for traditional chemical fertilizers, while greatly enhancing crop yields. Renewable oils and gases co-produced in the pyrolysis process can be used as fuel or fuel feedstocks. Biochar thus offers promise for its soil productivity and climate benefits.
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing y'all!