![]() THE THREAT HUMAN-CAUSED global warming poses to the Northwest’s forests was evident long before the 2021 heat dome: Oregon and Washington’s most common conifer species are all dying in alarming numbers, many because of drought. “The heat spells we’re talking about, like the heat dome, are so intense that I don’t think that’s really a tenable assumption anymore.”Ĭourtesy of Daniel DePinte/U.S. Given that extreme heat and drought are both becoming more common and intense - and won’t always coincide - foresters and tree farmers will need tools to prepare for each. Still’s own research, including a new study on the heat dome, is part of a growing body of work focused on untangling the effects of both conditions. But it turns out that trees respond quite differently to extreme heat versus prolonged drought. After all, nearly all of the research on climate-related stress in trees has focused only on the impact of insufficient water. Simply watering trees during extreme heat makes intuitive and practical sense, but that idea is based largely on knowledge about droughts. “But the heat spells we’re talking about, like the heat dome, are so intense that I don’t think that’s really a tenable assumption anymore.” ![]() “There’s a misconception out there that a lot of people have that, if things are just watered enough, they can get through these events,” said Chris Still, an Oregon State University tree ecologist and expert in tree heat physiology. Many lost branches, leaves and entire trees anyway. Some farmers and homeowners had tried to prepare, dumping water on their orchards and yards before and during the heat wave. Swaths of the landscape were so scorched it looked like a wildfire had torn through. Drivers, homeowners and tree experts alike called or sent photos of damaged redcedars, hemlocks and spruce, particularly in coastal forests. The damage was obvious even to those who weren’t tasked with looking for it. Timber plantations reported massive losses among their youngest trees, with some losing nearly all of that year’s plantings. Willamette Valley Christmas tree farmers had lost up to 60% of their popular noble firs, while caretakers at Portland’s Hoyt Arboretum said Douglas firs, their state tree, dropped more needles than ever seen before. In the days after a record-breaking heat wave baked the Pacific Northwest in 2021, state and federal foresters heard reports of damaged and dying trees across Oregon and Washington. ![]()
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