Massive & Unexplained Aspen Dieoffs Hitting Utah, Four Corners Region - KSL

The question of what's killing the Aspen trees brought together dozens of experts in Logan this week. They're sorting through significant Aspen die-offs. It may be part of a much larger and very worrisome trend.

The immediate concern is something they're calling "Sudden Aspen Decline". But trees of many species are dying in record numbers, and the trend is getting worse. It's an issue of increasing concern, not just in remote mountain areas, but in places where we live and appreciate the shade.

Photos show something that's alarming people near Cedar City. Reports of similar problems have been coming in from around the Four Corners.

Dr. Paul Rogers, director of the Western Aspen Alliance, said, "Dying off of mature aspen trees in the area, and in some instances no regeneration coming up underneath that." The concern is serious enough that dozens of experts from the U.S. and Canada met at Utah State to assess how widespread the die-offs are for a tree species beloved by many.

EDIT

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4292128&autostart=y

Sorry someone had to say it.

Aspens are very adapted to a certain environment ..... cold winters .... semi dry summers ...
cool nights ... and a snowpack in winter

Those aspens are tightly packed in very specialized niches, at least where I have seen. Packed into canyons or draws in a tight horizontal band.

This means, if I recall Ecology 101, that the species is environment sensitive, otherwisetheir vertical range would be larger and they would displace the pine and doug firs farther up the slopes.

So I do believe my own eyes have seen confirmation of this, at least in a few sections of the N. Rockies.

.... might allow some sort of microbial growth that is lethal to the trees.

...sad because of the way things are obviously and swiftly going.

But then what isn't like that, these days... and doing forest ecology while dealing with what everyone but the ignorant, gullible, and mean, as well as those who mesmerize then and Pied Piper tham, are dealing with as a result of the Bush Occupation, doesn't seem so bad.

But, as I am not a Forest Ecologist, nor have done any reading on the topic...I have absolutely no idea.

you can be who ever you want to be ... Ecology can give you some good
ideas about the trees but thier deaths you might want to have a plant
pathologist to look @ the matter too.

global warming thing?

Massive and unexplained. Yeah. Because NO ONE COULD HAVE FORSEEN THIS.

:sarcasm:

A bit oversimplified and as always is the case, there are numerous exceptions to every rule (Dick Cheney might have known how bad all along, and just laughed his snarling Satan's laugh with glee, and perhaqps Rummy, too)

But yes: YES. I most definitely think you have something there.

AND successful.

It would not surprise me if the amount of monies directed towards the massive front of the Climate Change Denial Industry, if they could be all tracked and totaled up, would probably equal something like enough cash to pay for 300,000 kids to go to college for free at state schools or enough money that it would stretch all the way to the moon and back three times.

Something along those lines.

A Professional Liar could get rich these days. It's BOOM TIMES for Professional Liars of all kinds and occupations.

BOOM TIMES.