Terminal problem: The red, recently dead tree is an Abies grandis or Grand Fir native to the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Other trees surrounding it in this grove in Wallowa County, Oregon, include Douglas fir and ponderosa pine.
Credit: Andrew J. Larson
In fact, he warned, forests could become carbon emitters instead of carbon sinks.
Other experts agree. "This study's important because it shows that systems are already responding to a warmer climate," commented Dave Breshears, who studies natural resources at the University of Arizona in Tucson and was not involved in the study. "These are changes that may not be visibly obvious just walking into the woods."
"This study is clear evidence that our water-limited western forests are
now reacting in a very fundamental way to the changing climate," said Steven Running of the University of Montana's College of Forestry. "I see the western forests of 100 years from now being dramatically different then today."
