Deaths-head Jester

About:
[The Project]
[The ApocaDocs]
[Equal Share]
The Six Scenarios:
[Species Collapse]
[Infectious Disease]
[Climate Chaos]
[Resource Depletion]
[Biology Breach]
[Recovery]
Explore:

Play:

It's weekly, funny, and free!

SEARCH

More than 5,600 stories!

A great gift
for crisis deniers!


The ApocaDocs have a Book!
Humoring the Horror of the
Converging Emergencies
94 color pages
$24.99 now $15!
Or read FREE online!




Twitter




Ping this story
in social media:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
NowPublic
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon

Posted Tue Apr 6 2010: from Oregon State University, via EurekAlert:
Forest epidemic is unprecedented phenomenon, still getting worse http://apocadocs.com/s.pl?1270567950
The Swiss needle cast epidemic in Douglas-fir forests of the coastal Pacific Northwest is continuing to intensify, appears to be unprecedented over at least the past 100 years, and is probably linked to the extensive planting of Douglas-fir along the coast and a warmer climate, new research concludes. Scientists in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University have also found that this disease, which is affecting hundreds of thousands of acres in Oregon and Washington and costing tens of millions of dollars a year in lost growth, can affect older trees as well as young stands - in some cases causing their growth to almost grind to a halt.... "We can't say yet whether climate change is part of what's causing these problems, but warmer conditions, milder winters and earlier springs would be consistent with that." Another key suspect, scientists say, is the planting for decades of a monoculture of Douglas-fir in replacement of coastal forests, which previously had trees of varying ages and different species.
[Read more stories about: massive die-off, forests, ecosystem interrelationships]

New!:
No reader quips yet -- be the first!

Got a PaniQuip?

Your Quip (limit 140 characters, no links, just wit):

First name:

The text shown in the Web image to the right:


We reserve the right to reuse, remove, or refuse any entry.

'Doc Michael says:
Biodiversity is so messy. Monocultures are at least consistent.

NEXT>
More stories:
  • Study: Northeast seeing more, fiercer rainstorms
  • Madagascar's radiated tortoise threatened with extinction
  • (Forest epidemic is unprecedented phenomenon, still getting worse)
  • New study shows rising water temperatures in US streams and rivers
  • Exposure to 3 classes of common chemicals may affect female development

  • Want to explore more?
    Try the PaniCloud!
    Copyright 2010 The Apocadocs.com