A 20-year study of aspen tree growth has revealed some alarming results. The critical tree species is remarkably adaptable when mature, but the same is not true for younger aspens.
What's happening?
As the climate becomes warmer and drier, suitable conditions for aspen trees are becoming less common. A recent study spanning decades found "significant aspen mortality especially in young and lower-elevation trees."
The Northern Arizona University team, which looked at tree mortality rates in northern Arizona, sought to understand how local tree species were coping with a changing climate. Rising temperatures have made drought and wildfires more common. They also cause shifts in the ecosystem, bringing insect infestations and animal migrations that result in more vegetation being consumed by herbivores in certain areas.
These factors can impact trees negatively. While the study found that mature aspen trees are resilient and adaptable to shifting conditions, it also showed that they "struggled to mature into full-sized trees," according to a write-up in The NAU Review.
Why is aspen tree growth important?
Trees are critical to the ecosystems they inhabit. They provide shade, food, water filtration, habitats, soil stability, temperature regulation, and, perhaps most importantly, oxygen.
Aspens offer all these things while also helping break up wildfires. These hearty trees are thick and retain water, making them less likely to burn up.
The issue with the mortality rates found in the study is a simple numbers game: Fewer mature trees now mean fewer mature trees in another 20 years and so on.
"Without a balanced age structure, the forest lacks resilience," the study's first author, Michael Stoddard, said in the write-up. "Mature trees provide stability, but they won't last forever, and there are not enough younger trees to replace them over time."
A lack of tree diversity can impact plants and wildlife, reducing pollinators and jeopardizing our food supply.
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What's being done about aspen tree mortality rates?
While this study is disheartening, hope remains. In fact, the study itself provides hope by highlighting the issue.
It's now understood that aspen tree populations are in decline and that something must be done about it. Studies such as this one can galvanize ecologists to seek solutions, and that's exactly what's happening, according to Stoddard.
"By working together, we can implement effective management practices that balance ecological health with the needs of local communities and wildlife," Stoddard said, per The NAU Review.
Many other tree conservation efforts are currently underway too. For instance, volunteers are working with camels to preserve Joshua trees in the United States, and an environmental group has planted over 300,000 trees and counting in the United Kingdom.
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