Posted on 01/20/2018 6:12:05 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
Climate change could threaten breakfast. According to a new study, sugar maples that provide sap for syrup may not survive the hot and dry climate caused by global warming.
Sugar maples in the northern hardwood forests across eastern North America are particularly drought-sensitive. As global temperatures rise, the lack of enough water could stunt their growth, a new, decades-long study found. The number of sugar maple trees will decrease, diminishing the amount of maple syrup available and eliminating the stunning colors of these forests during autumn.
"This is probably the most striking species in these forests," Inés Ibáñez, forest ecology professor at the University of Michigan, told Newsweek. "When people go to see the foliage, they pretty much go to see the sugar maples because they are the ones that have these incredible colors—almost like the forest is in flames."
Ibáñez was the lead author of the study, which was published in Ecology on Wednesday. She and her colleagues analyzed nearly 20 years' worth of data from four forest sites in Michigan, totaling 1,016 trees between 1994 and 2013.
The researchers were specifically hunting down the effects of two factors. They wanted to know how a warmer and drier climate would affect the trees and how excess nitrogen from human activities could curb the negative effects from a warming climate.
Understanding how forests react to a changing climate helps illuminate how, or even whether, future forests will soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. "That, in turn, will have a feedback effect on global temperatures," Donald Zak, the study's co-author and ecology professor at the university, said in a statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Good to know I can continue to have my maple syrup.
ROTFL. The climate changers are losing it. Now it’s maple syrple.
Yes, Hitler had his liars too.
Bite me suckers!
Such hysteria among supposedly “learned” scientists is entertaining to observe.
I love my syrup on pancakes and french toast.
No watermelon is going to take those away.
I have bees gather my maple sap.
Since they no longer make honey.
i believe at this moment most of the sugar maples are covered with snow
And the sky might fall too. Seems like it was only this past Wednesday that all 50 states had a snow cover somewhere in their borders. Not convenient to mention that.
Excess nitrogen? The air is already 78% N2, what are they talking about? Will future forests soak up CO2? Well if they don’t they won’t be much of a forest as that’s where the carbon comes from. Is Newsweaks target reader a complete moron?
I’m convinced that Newsweak is written by a bunch of DACA kids.
Fake news
Simply amazing how insane they’ve become.
Warmer air holds more water.
There are so many holes in this hypothetical threat that it might as well be a colander.
Climate change is happening, has happened, and has always been happening.
It is as likely to bring conditions favorable to Sugar Maples as not.
These folks are pretty far behind the curve. The new threat is ‘global cooling’.
At Latitude 36° 30’, my maple tree produces large quantities of sap. A single tree easily produces 10 gallons of sap each 24 hour period.
That sap when boiled down makes delicious maple syrup.
I am way south of vermont and my sugar maples not only thrive but produce magnificent fall color and February syrup
May, may, may.....
OTOH - Another mini ice age may change the whole dynamic! Well, it could.....
Plenty of high fructose corn syrup available to replace it if need be.
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