'In a hundred years, we will have lost almost 20 percent of our forests. That’s like all of Southern California’s forests being gone, or all of the Southern Sierras being gone.” (via highcountrynews)
, the state’s forests lost almost 7 percent, or just over 1,700 square miles, of tree cover since 1985. That’s an area larger than Yosemite National Park. In particular, forests in California’s southwestern mountains lost 14 percent of tree cover.
Thousand-year-old forests now get only a decade or less between fires to recover. California’s forests are “never going to get a chance to become old-growth forest again,” Wang said. Instead, they may have “more of a permanent stunted state.” And aridification means that forests once considered fairly fire-resistant, such as old-growth coastal redwoods, can no longer rely on wet weather conditions for fire protection.
To track how California’s forests changed over the past few decades, researchers used machine learning, training an algorithm to identify vegetation types in satellite images taken every few days, dating back to 1985. The algorithm differentiated between three causes of tree death: wildfires, logging and drought. As it turns out, far more of California’s tree cover is disappearing due to wildfires than from drought or logging.
To be clear, wildfires remain a natural part of healthy forest ecosystems across the West, and controlled burns are important tools in forest management. But California has a fire deficit. Colonizers stamped out Indigenous fire-management practices, so fuels keep building up, leading to ever more destructive conflagrations. Today, the astronomical costs of living in California’s cities encourage people to move into forests, and fires follow.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes southern Turkey, leveling buildingsA powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey early Monday, leveling residential buildings in nearby cities and in northern Syria. Video of the aftermath showed residents trapped under rubble. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Les mer »
7.8-magnitude earthquake kills hundreds in southern Turkey, SyriaBreaking news: Officials said the massive earthquake in southern Turkey has killed more than 200 people across the country and in neighboring Syria, adding that numbers were likely to rise as rescuers searched flattened buildings.
Les mer »
Southern Arizona authors tackle the arts, poetry, adventure and moreLooking for your latest literary adventure? Pick up one of these reads by a Southern Arizona author.
Les mer »
7.8-magnitude earthquake kills dozens in southern Turkey, SyriaA deadly earthquake in southern Turkey early Monday killed dozens across the country and in northern Syria, officials said. The magnitude-7.8 earthquake — felt as far away as Lebanon, Jordan and Israel — occurred in Nurdagi, near the Syrian border.
Les mer »
High school girls’ water polo: Southern Section playoff pairingsHigh school girls' water polo: Southern Section playoff pairings
Les mer »