Climate: Study finds plant ‘emissions’ counteract small percentage of global warming

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Plant-based aerosols seen as factor in global warming puzzle. Bob Berwyn photo.

Regional effects of plant-based aerosol formation could be significant

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — A warmer climate will spur plants to release more gases that help form clouds, counteracting about 1 percent of effect of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, according to research by IIASA and the University of Helsinki.

On a regional scale, the effect is more significant, the scientists concluded, finding that in places like Finland, Siberia, and Canada, the negative feedback loop could counteract  up to 30 percent of warming in more rural, forested areas where anthropogenic emissions of aerosols were much lower in comparison to the natural aerosols. (more…)

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Colorado: Federal funds to help restore watersheds in High Park, Waldo Canyon fire areas

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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A burned watershed in the footprint of he Waldo Canyon fire.

Critical work in High Park, Waldo Canyon fire areas to protect against flooding and erosion

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Federal agencies will continue to assist local Colorado governments with critical watershed restoration and protection work.

The projects include mulching, seeding, channel stabilization measures in areas hard-hit by last summer’s High Park and Waldo Canyon fires. The $19.8 million is  funded through the the Emergency Watershed Protection program.

Residences and neighborhoods built in fire-prone forest zones are at risk of flooding in burned areas; local and regional water supplies are also threatened.

(more…)

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Opinion: Letter from western governors a misguided, muddled attempt to hijack national forest management

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Let science, not politics, guide forest management

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One man’s healthy forest is another man’s tree farm. Bob Berwyn photo.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Flying in the face of science, the Western Governors’ Association last week called on the U.S. Forest Service to do more logging in an effort to promote forest health.

The letter, signed by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Utah Gov. Gary. R. Herbert, also seems to suggest that privatizing some activities on publicly owned national forest lands could help address what they called a forest health crisis — without a single mention of global warming or the crucial restorative role of wildfires in forest ecosystems. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, commentary, Environment, Forest health, forests, global warming, writing | Tagged: , , , | 4 Comments »

Climate: Do fungi drive the forest carbon cycle?

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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A mushroom and spruce seedling grow intertwined in a Colorado forest. Bob Berwyn photo.

In some forests, up to 70 percent of carbon sequestration happens deep underground

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Humble mushrooms may play a much greater role in regulating forest carbon cycles than previously understood, according to new research from Sweden.

Most scientific literature suggests that the plant matter in northern forests is responsible for sequestering atmospheric carbon, but after carefully analyzing numerous soil samples, the Swedish scientists concluded that mycorrhizal fungi, which live in association with plant roots, are trapping the carbon deep in the ground as part of the process of nutrient exchange between the fungi and plant species. (more…)

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Environment: Can forest health be legislated?

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Proposed Senate bill would require widespread national forest logging

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Healthy undergrowth and lodgepole regeneration in an unlogged stand of beetle-killed lodgepole pines near Frisco, Colorado. Bob Berwyn photo.

Salvage logging in a stand of beetle-killed lodgepole pines in Frisco, Colorado. Bob Berwyn photo.

Salvage logging in a stand of beetle-killed lodgepole pines in Frisco, Colorado. Bob Berwyn photo.

*This story has been corrected to include Sen. Michael Bennet as the primary author of the proposed bill. That information was left out of the previous version due to an editing error.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Federal land managers could get wider authority for more backcountry logging under a new bill proposed in the U.S. Senate by Michael Bennet (D-CO), along with co-sponsors Mark Udall (D-CO), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Max Baucus (D-MT).

The National Forest Insect and Disease Treatment Act is being pitched as a way to   help Forest Service treat insect and disease epidemics and promote overall forest health. As drafted, it directs the agency to treat threatened watersheds while prioritizing preservation of old-growth and large trees when possible. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Environment, Forest health, forests | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Global warming: Forest timberline impacts not so clear

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Local factors, including geology and topography, play a critical role

Will global warming push forests up into this alpine tundra around Guanella Pass, in Clear Creek County, Colorado?

Will global warming push forests up into this alpine tundra around Guanella Pass, in Clear Creek County, Colorado?

Colorado recorded the greatest increase in average maximum temperatures — between .7 and .9 degrees — from the old normals, compiled between 1971 and 2000, and the new normals, which are based on temperature readings between 1981 and 2010. On average across the U.S., the new average temperatures are about .5 degrees warmer.

Colorado recorded the greatest increase in average maximum temperatures — between .7 and .9 degrees — from the old normals, compiled between 1971 and 2000, and the new normals, which are based on temperature readings between 1981 and 2010. On average across the U.S., the new average temperatures are about .5 degrees warmer.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — For residents of high-elevation regions, including Colorado — the impacts of global warming include a potentially radical change in the composition of plant communities. In mountainous areas, the distribution of many species is limited by factors related to elevation, including temperature.

With warmer and drier conditions potentially limiting growth at lower elevations, scientists have already documented the treeline creeping upward in some areas, but there are additional factors to consider, according to a new study from the University of Calgary.

Even in a warmer world, local conditions, including slope steepness, exposure and soil depth – will limit trees being established and growing on mountainsides, the research found. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Environment, forests, global warming | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

USFWS to consider endangered species listing for woodpeckers that rely on post-fire habitat

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Black-backed woodpeckers rely on recently burned forests for habitat. Photo courtesy Wikimedia.

Salvage logging, fire suppression seen as key threats

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — U.S. Forest Service programs touted as forest health work may be the the primary threats to two populations of black-backed woodpeckers that rely on post-fire habitat.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week said it will consider those threats to the rare birds in California, Oregon and the Black Hills of South Dakota as it decides whether to protect the birds under the Endangered Species Act based on a petition requesting protection.

Some of the primary threats to the populations that were included in the petition include post-disturbance salvage logging, active fire suppression that limits the acreage and severity of fires each year, and forest thinning programs.

“This is the first time in the history of the Endangered Species Act that the government has initiated steps to protect a wildlife species that depends upon stands of fire-killed trees,” said Dr. Chad Hanson, an ecologist and black-backed woodpecker expert. “We are pleased to see the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognize the naturalness and ecological importance of this post-fire habitat.” (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, endangered species, Environment, forest fires, forests | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Environment: What’s the outlook for Colorado forests?

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
Colorado aspen forests and global warming

It’s not just lodgepoles — many of Colorado’s forest types are going to feel the heat of global warming. Bob Berwyn photo.

Global warming not playing favorites, as all of the state’s forests are struggling with dry conditions and increasing temperatures

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — I’ve been working my way through a series of stories about Colorado’s forests the past few weeks — after all, lodgepole pines are only one part of the state’s forest landscapes, and in looking at the overall picture, it’s clear that global warming and drought are probably going to have a big effect.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Even though the pine beetle outbreak was scary big and scary fast, it looks like those lodgepole groves will grow back just fine, at least in the short-term (the jury is still out on the impacts of global warming). In some areas, the young trees that remained after the beetle outbreak are growing twice as fast as before, and in many areas, the forests are growing back with more diversity. Read the Summit Voice story here. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Drought, Environment, forests, global warming | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Summit Voice offers a unique Colorado news feed

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Ever wondered about mountain pine beetle genetics? Read Summit Voice.

Water, forests and more …

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — In the age of a global economy and a global environment, nearly all news is local. Case in point is last week’s report from the Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General. The IG audited the U.S. Forest Service’s oil and gas drilling program, and found that there is quite a bit of room for improvement when it comes to being prepared for potential spills, and even just keeping track of required inspections.

Since the IG’s office documented a total of almost 200 spills on national forest lands in 2010 and 2011, it’s more than just a hypothetical exercise, and with oil and gas activities expected to ramp up on the White River National Forest, there are implications close to home. Read the story here. (more…)

Filed under: Summit County Colorado, Frisco, Dillon Reservoir, climate and weather, Colorado, events, Drought | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Climate: Arctic greening to amplify regional warming

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

New study suggests large-scale northward shift of forests

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Tundra treeline in Siberia.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A massive greening of the Arctic that’s already under way will intensify in the next few decades and speed up the planet’s warming process, according to a new study published this week in Nature Climate Change.

Forested areas in the Arctic could increase by 50 percent, reducing the albedo of the region and speeding up the warming of the Arctic, according to Richard Pearson, lead author on the paper and a research scientist at the American Museum of Natural History’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation.

“Such widespread redistribution of Arctic vegetation would have impacts that reverberate through the global ecosystem,”  said Pearson, part of a research team including scientists with AT&T Labs-Research, Woods Hole Research Center, Colgate University, Cornell University, and the University of York. (more…)

Filed under: Arctic, climate and weather, Environment, forests, global warming | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

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