Forestry
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I’ve been collecting recent stories about climate and agriculture in the news that may be of interest to you. They are listed below in no particular order. Real Agriculture: Farmers need to talk to consumers about climate change Phys.org: Agrivoltaics proves mutually beneficial across food, water, energy nexus Morning Ag Clips: Restoring soil can help…
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Earlier this week, folks from Florida held a forum in Gainesville which addressed how climate change is impacting Florida agriculture, including crops, livestock, and timber. They also discussed how agriculture is taking a lead in responding to the changes that greenhouse warming is bringing to Florida. You can read a recap of what they discussed…
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Southerly Magazine posted an interesting story last week about the large number of prescribed fires that Georgia and other parts of the Southeast have compared to other parts of the country. The fires are set to keep the forests healthy and clear of underbrush and invasive weeds. Burn plans are made carefully and take into…
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Georgia Trends has a good story and recap of Hurricane Michael’s impact on Georgia agriculture from July 1. It tallies the losses to forestry and pecans as well as some other crops. Devastating! Most of the recovery is being done by loans since the recovery money from the federal government has yet to appear. You…
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A recent study by scientists at the University of Illinois shows that forested areas affected by tornadoes or other wind storms not only knock down many trees but also provide an opening for the spread of invasive weeds and pests by disrupting the forest canopy. In some cases the infestation of exotic pests is so…
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Drought affects trees on many different time scales. In the Southeast, we grow a lot of trees in controlled conditions for timber. The timber is managed by planting, thinning, and harvesting. Until recently, there have been very few studies done on the impacts of management techniques like thinning on the trees’ resilience to drought and…
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In the news today (see first story below) was a story that we can put a dent in climate change by planting billions or even trillions of trees, which will absorb and store carbon dioxide. While that will help slow the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere, it really only buys some time, since the…