Forests
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The heat is on across the globe, and there have been many heat-related stories in the news. Here are a few of the ones that caught my eye, including some great pictures from Quartz at the link below. New York magazine: A global heat wave has set the Arctic Circle on fire Washington Post: Death…
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Yale Climate Connections posted a story earlier this week about forest loss in the Southeast and the associated loss of carbon storage that occurs when mature trees are cut down. According to the story, “Between 2000 and 2012, trees in the region were cut up to four times faster than in South American rainforests.” Trees…
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EarthSky posted an interesting article this week describing some new research using laser images of a Brazilian rainforest canopy to see how El Niño-induced drought changed the composition of the forest. There is an excellent video of the process with the article. You can see the article and video here.
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In one of my favorite books, “The Control of Nature” by John McPhee, a third of the book discusses the topic of mud flows in California after wildfires occur on the steep slopes there. This story by Reuters tells a similar tale about what is likely to happen in the Southwest after wildfires burn down…
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On January 31, 1971, Apollo 14 lifted off for the third trip to the lunar surface. Included in the cargo on the space ship were some small canisters packed with tree seeds of five species: Loblolly Pine, Sycamore, Sweetgum, Redwood, and Douglas Fir. After the mission concluded, the seeds were planted and grown to seedlings,…
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With Alberto moving out of the Southeast and across Indiana today, it’s time to take stock of what damage the winds and saturated soils may have caused to trees on your property. Here is a recent video on how to create storm-resilient urban forests which may minimize future damage. The video is one of of…
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Long-time residents of Georgia may remember the devastating floods of Tropical Storm Alberto in July 1994. The rain was so intense that Georgia’s one-day rainfall record was set during that storm, with 21.10 inches recorded at Americus for a 24-hour period ending on July 6, 1994 as the storm stalled over the state. In spite…