Hotter and drier conditions limit forest recovery from wildfires PNASNews
Warmer and drier climate conditions in western U.S. forests are making it less likely that trees can regenerate after wildfires, according to new research published in theImportantly, the research also finds that ecologically based forest management can partially offset climate-driven declines in tree regeneration by limiting fire-caused tree death, but only if action is taken quickly.
Researchers found that warmer, drier conditions over the past four decades have led to a decline in tree regeneration after wildfires and this trend is expected to accelerate in the future. For example, from 1981 to 2000, 95% of the areas studied had climate conditions suitable for tree regeneration after wildfires, but this is projected to decrease to only three-quarters of the West by 2050 under future climate scenarios.
"The impacts of climate change and wildfires vary across the West, and the large scope of this study allowed us to highlight where these changes are most concentrated and happening first," says Philip Higuera, a co-author and professor of fire ecology at the University of Montana.The study also found that ecological forest management in vulnerable dry forests could offset climate-driven changes by reducing the number of trees killed in wildfires.
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