Environment: USGS researchers quantify carbon sequestration in western ecosystems

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Forests, grasslands play important role in carbon cycle

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New study to help inform resource management. Bob Berwyn photo.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Western forests, grasslands, shrublands and other ecosystems sequester about 100 million tons of carbon each year, equivalent to about 5 percent of the nation’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report released this week by the U.S. Department of Interior.

“This important study confirms the major role that our natural landscapes have in absorbing carbon and helping to counter-balance the nation’s carbon emissions,” said Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes. “This kind of groundbreaking science not only will help us be more effective stewards of our lands, but it also helps reveal how our forests, wetlands and rangelands in the West — and throughout the nation — are positively impacting the carbon cycle.” (more…)

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

Forest Service considers tweaking cave-access policies to protect western bats from deadly white-nose syndrome

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Deadly bat-killing fungus confirmed west of the Mississippi this year

A Missouri bat that died after being infected with white-nose syndrome. PHOTO COURTESY USGS.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — The U.S. Forest Service is considering some changes to the way it manages caves on national forest lands to prevent the spread of white-nose syndrome, a disease that has wiped out millions of bats in the eastern U.S. in the past few years.

In the northern Rockies, (Region 1) the agency is leaning toward a permit system that would require cave visitors to register and agree to certain conditions aimed protecting bats from the disease and gaining information on bat populations at the same time, according to Forest Service wildlife biologist Kristi Swisher.

She said the final decision is up to a new incoming regional forester, slated to take over the region in the next few weeks. The “closure with permitted entry” regulation would encompass an existing national rule requiring decontamination procedures, along with a bat survey to help land managers learn more about bat populations.

Region 2, (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming) enacted a blanket emergency closure of caves and abandoned mines two years ago, as awareness about the potential threat of white nose syndrome grew. (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, endangered species, Environment, public lands, US Forest Service | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Global warming: Forest Service researchers examine the role of pathogens in a world that’s heating up

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Study examines common western forest diseases under varying climate change scenarios

Will forest pathogens become more common in a warming world?

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Forest Service scientists say warmer and drier conditions could lead to more Armillaria root disease in some conifers and hardwoods, as well as more Cytospora canker on aspens and dwarf mistletoe, which poses a high risk under drought conditions.

Under a warmer and wet climate change scenario, sudden oak death and other Phytophthora tree diseases could become more common, as the pathogens reproduce and spread quickly under favorable moist and warm conditions.

The report from the agency’s Pacific Southwest Research Station surveyed existing scientific literature to try and rate potential risks to forests under different climate change scenarios, looking specifically at eight diseases that affect forests in the Western United States and Canada. (more…)

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

Western water supplies will take big climate change hit

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Western water resources are at risk from climate change, according to a new report from the Bureau of Reclamation.

BuRec report says higher temps, changes to runoff likely under most climate change scenarios

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Water supplies in the western United States could be hit hard by projected global warming impacts, including temperature increases of 5 to 7 degrees across the region, according to the Department of Interior, which this week released a new report assessing how climate change could affect water operations, hydropower, flood control, and fish and wildlife.

The report to Congress was prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation and represents the first consistent and coordinated assessment of risks to future water supplies across eight major Reclamation river basins, including the Colorado, Rio Grande and Missouri river basins.

The report forecasts an 8 to 20 percent decrease in average annual stream flow in several river basins, including the Colorado, the Rio Grande, and the San Joaquin. Big changes in the timing and volume of spring runoff are likely to have impacts on agriculture and hydropower operations. (more…)

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

Ancient raindrops help clarify geology of West

Posted on December 20, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Mew research tracking isotopes left by raindrops offers clues about geologic history of western mountains. IMAGE COURTEST LANDSAT.

Isotope studies identify a wave of western mountain-building

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Ancient raindrops have helped shed light on how the mountains of the West were formed, showing that a wave of mountain building started in what is now British Columbia and swept south and east for 22 million years reaching all the way to Mexico and Nebraska.

The result of the new research by Stanford geochemists helps put to rest the theory that the mountains of the region developed from a vast, Tibet-like plateau that rose up across most of the western U.S. simultaneously, then subsequently collapsed and eroded to form the landscapes we see today.

The data for the study came from isotopic residue in raindrops, which left ancient fingerprints used to track precipitation that rained down on the region between 65 and 28 million years ago. (more…)

Filed under: Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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