It doesn't take a scientist or forester to see that NAmerica's forests are changing rapidly, sometimes in ways never seen before. For #thicktrunktuesday let's review some new terms being used to describe these changes, & take a tour thru America's Forests of the Anthropocene. 🧵 'Ghost forests' are those killed by sea level rise or increased flooding tied to climate change. Bc of rising water tables, once coastal forests die they're unlikely to be replaced. Ghost forests have been ⬆️ rapidly along parts of the eastern seaboard. 2/ washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…

On this chilly #thicktrunktuesday, let's take a mid-winter trip to the warm Southwest desert and, to begin, play a quick guessing game. Which of these two trees do you think is older -- the 200' tall coast redwood or the squat, sprawly guy on the right? 🧵1/8 Yes, that desert ironwood (Olneya tesota) has likely been around longer than many much larger, faster-growing redwoods. Ironwoods may not be the most impressive old-growth tree in terms of size, but often very old & important to the Sonoran desert ecosystems where they grow. 2/8

This summer I've been observing exceptional levels of recent, widespread tree mortality in the eastern Sierra Nevada. These die-offs are happening across multiple landscapes and species -- likely a result of severe drought conditions exacerbated by climate change.🧵 At lower treeline in both the southern Sierra & White/Inyo Mtns, large areas of pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla) have recently died. Although this species is extremely drought resistant, even they have limits to what is survivable. Both older & young trees have succumbed.

...is the role that past logging has played in creating today's forests that are much more prone to large, intense wildfires. This is true not just on pvt and public 'multiple-use' national forests, but also in some cases, national park including Yosemite. 2/n Most ppl walking thru YNP forests think they're in a protected wonderland, but much of the park's low & mid-elevation forests - what were some of the most impressive pine-dominated forests on earth - were extensively logged between 1911-1942 by the Yosemite Lumber Company. 3/n

Last week I toured portions of CA’s Dixie fire (Lassen & Shasta Counties), as well as last year’s Sheep fire & adjacent unburned forestlands. While conditions out there are variable & can see range of fire effects, my overall impressions were disturbing on several levels. 1/12 A large majority of the managed stands/tree plantations burned severely w/near-complete mortality. Not surprising, given that managed stands are often uniformly dense, support high ladder fuel loads, facilitate rapid fire spread & smaller trees have little/no fire resistance 2/12

There’s something inaccurate and potentially misleading about a lot of media coverage on western forests & wildfires. Many articles mention the end of Indigenous mgmt, fire suppression & climate change as factors responsible for recent uptick in fires - all true, but...🧵1/11 What they often fail to mention is the role commercial logging plays in creating today's more fire-vulnerable forests. This is important because if we don’t understand the main factors contributing to undesirable fire effects, we’re unlikely to choose the best path forward. 2/11