Re:U.S. Pacific Northwest heat wave bakes wheat, fruit crops
by Pokepokalypse on Monday July 12, 2021 @01:51PM
(#27813053)
I do a lot of backpacking in the Sierras, and last year I went to Colorado for the first time. The number of trees there that are standing-dead from pine borer beetles is staggering. It looked to be about 1/3.
Re:U.S. Pacific Northwest heat wave bakes wheat, fruit crops
by TheBill on Monday July 12, 2021 @05:37PM
(#27815430)
Yep, we'd manage to kill off a lot of the invasive species like eucalyptus, take a load off the water table for a few years. A chance to get ahead of things like the beetle blight that are dependent on early spring drought to kill native pine trees would be good.
After spending a lot of time in the Sierra Nevadas growing up, I really can see how a lot more trees are dying. A lot of it is that pine beetle wreaking havoc, but the number of standing dead trees is astounding. Old bike paths I used to fly down I now have to be careful on in case I round a corner and have a tree down; 20 years ago I just never had that cross my mind!