Post

Avatar
For your Things That Used to Be Worse and Got Better files: Much of the Eastern U.S. was deforested in the 18th & 19th centuries. European settlers cut down every tree they could reach. Now forests have regrown and eased global warming 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/succ...
Successful Reforestation Is Keeping the Eastern U.S. Coolerwww.scientificamerican.com Parts of the southeastern and central U.S. haven’t warmed as much as the rest of the country. Reforestation could be partially responsible for this “warming hole”
Avatar
This is what Canaan Valley in Tucker County, WV looked like in 1932. Now it's full of state parks and wildlife reserves, and a brewery in Davis called "Stumptown" because that used to be the town's nickname
Avatar
Was in Canaan valley for a holiday last year, it's absolutely beautiful for hiking (and skiing in the winter).
Avatar
Avatar
still ain't where it needs to be tho a healthy old growth forest takes hundreds of years to build up but we keep letting the logging companies manage our forests, harvesting what are essentially adolescents part of why the fires are so bad out west
Avatar
🎯 Cornell will send out junk mail fliers to advertise their logging program but refuses to respond to any request for rewilding info- ask me how I know.
Avatar
Avatar
Forests look very different now. All the chestnuts are gone, and invasive earthworms affect the soil and undergrowth
Avatar
To be clear: this was caused by agricultural abandonment, not forest restoration.
Avatar
Especially in the south, the entire region was depressed for many decades after the civil war so a lot of land was left vacant (and grew trees). Many crops weren't that profitable either - when I moved to Georgia in the 60s there were cotton fields that weren't even harvested, didnt pay apparently.
Avatar
Definitely needed this reminder today. THX 🌲
Avatar
bsky.app/profile/jnxo...
I keep seeing this info going around but there's zero mention of the NE mass die off that's speeding up bc of the climate crisis. It's currently mostly conifers and younger (~30) red and sugar maples but that should be enough to at least get recognition. Been going on 15+ yrs now. Yet, nothing.
Avatar
there any patches that are faring better? wondering if it's a realignment like the pines that survived the little ice age on the out west that are less adapted for drought conditions
Avatar
I know that I see the same accelerating signs of death and disease no matter where I go in NYS, PA, CT, and MA
Avatar
I'm surrounded by hemlock forest so I understand. Try to treat as much as I can on my property to avoid extreme die off, but it doesnt look good long term. An area that was literally rain forest 50 years ago is now seeing large forest fires 😕
Avatar
I've been rewilding for about 25yrs, somewhere between 40 and 50 acres of overlogged/clearcut woods total, depending on progress points- I make a point to look at trees/woodlots whenever I travel, and what I see terrifies me- the NE is in trouble.
Avatar
It sounds like we need to help tree species migrate north, the climate is changing too quickly for it to happen naturally. Also stop burning fossil fuel yesterday.
Avatar
Avatar
Arguably the ash borer is a result of the climate crisis- it's an umbrella term that covers dozens of factors leading to the die off, there are both direct and indirect effects of warming temps and less predictable seasons.
Avatar
Doing my small part 😊
Avatar
I'm all for cooler forests. Especially in the summers. When things that took hundreds of years to grow get cut down to make some developers' pockets bigger, it really makes me question the humans. I should know, I used to help make these guys' pockets bigger. One of my big regrets.
Avatar
I like trees more than I like most people.
Avatar
Something I have learned lately, a lot of the deep south had more savanna type habitat rather than forests, before European settlement. Whether it was natural fire or set by native people, there were more grasslands, which are now endangered. Apparently they can store more carbon than forests...
Avatar
Adding for more info, if I can embed this somehow (guy who works on restoring grasslands in AL does lots of short videos) youtube.com/shorts/wykPX...
Lightning caused wildfires! #rxfire #conservation #fire #outdoors #fireecologyyoutube.com
Avatar
yea replant sum leafy trees and you get fire protection and better air . most citys dont know it yet but its coming
Avatar
Avatar
Avatar