Looking up toward redwoods’ crowns in Redwood Regional Park, Oakland, Calif. Gado/Getty Images Coast redwood trees are enduring, adaptable marvels in a warming world Daniel Lewis, California Institute of Technology Coast redwoods – enormous, spectacular trees, some reaching nearly 400 feet, the tallest plants on the planet – thrive mostly in a narrow strip of land … Continue reading Coast Redwood Trees
California’s snowpack was more than twice the average in much of the state in early March 2023. Mario Tama/Getty Images Dan McEvoy, Desert Research Institute After three years of extreme drought, the Western U.S. is finally getting a break. Mountain ranges are covered in deep snow, and water reservoirs in many areas are filling up … Continue reading Is the Western drought finally ending? That depends on where you look
Tools for a prescribed burn conducted in the Sierra Nevada in November 2019. Susan Kocher, CC BY-ND Susan Kocher, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Ryan E. Tompkins, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Californians have been concerned about wildfires for a long time, but the past two … Continue reading MOVING BEYOND AMERICA’S WAR ON WILDFIRE: 4 WAYS TO AVOID FUTURE MEGAFIRES
Trees are dying of thirst in the Western drought – here’s what’s going on inside their veins Juniper trees, common in Arizona’s Prescott National Forest, have been dying with the drought. Benjamin Roe/USDA Forest Service via AP Daniel Johnson, University of Georgia and Raquel Partelli Feltrin, University of British Columbia Like humans, trees need water to … Continue reading Trees are Dying of Thirst in the Western Drought
New studies show how high-intensity fires alter flower pollen, soil health and tree growth. Susan Prichard records data while doing research in an area affected by the Carlton Complex fire near Twisp, Washington. Her team’s research found that tree thinning and prescribed burns can help mature trees survive even extremely big and hot fires. David … Continue reading Extreme Wildfires are Changing Western Forests