Posted by Mark Aultman on July 19, 2006 at 7:52 PM
The Denver Post ran this story on their front page today. Thought some of you might find it interesting. Seems like this, coupled with all the beetle kill, means bad news for the trees everywhere.
Maybe its drought thats killing them. The trees go nuts sending up runners and wasting energy in droughts from what I've seen. They also tend to be outcompeted by pine after a short time (20 years) and this keeps them from being the only tree in the western US.
Posted by Chuck Peacock on July 19, 2006 at 10:33 PM
Interesting.
It's no secret that the Aspen have been in decline for well over 100 years but the abruptness of the die off lately is sure discouraging (as the article points out).
I think the last line in the article is particularly interesting - "a re-setting of the table".
May be!
Most of the Aspen forest we see is quite mature - might just be a die off of the old timers. The article said that they were dying regardless of moisture status.
One thing we do know is that fire helps Aspen regeneration. More and bigger controlled burns might help. Of course in drought conditions that's a big no-no...or is it?
As Mel points out, the conifers will out compete Aspen in fairly short order and if allowed to stay (not burn) the conifers will start changing the soil conditions making it more difficult for Aspen to regenerate.
Yes, I've seen an amazing amount of Aspen die off this year compared to years past. I was around Sneffels a few weeks back, and there were many dead Aspens in some classic shots. It concerned me.
I read this last night as well and was very concerned. Both backpacking trips I have taken this year have shown more and more beetle kill starting to rear its ugly head. The areas near Granby, on the way to Walden - absolutely horrible. I wonder how long before RMNP (no not us - the park ) shows higher signs of kill.
A little depressing to see whole ranges of pine being killed, and now this.
Posted by Mark Aultman on July 20, 2006 at 3:09 PM
Michael,
tell me about it. I have a small place in Grand Lake and the beetle kill all over that area is simply devestating. 2 years ago it was relatively isolated, but now the southwestern part of RMNP is getting hammered, and it's reaching its way south well past Granby and west, from what I've seen, almost to Steamboat. there's nothing that can be done, and sooner or later there's going to be a fire of massive proportions because of it...not to mention how ugly it is.
now, to read this and to see the Aspen going as well, I'm very sad. heat waves, drought, tree die-offs, tourists from Texas...when's it all going to end?!
Posted by David A Bliss on July 21, 2006 at 12:45 PM
Mark, that was my first thought as well. I know it does us no good in the short term, but with all of the dead trees, forest fires will not be easily contained, and they will burn out of control. While no one wishes for lose of life and property, it will be good for the ecosystem in the long run.
I go back and forth in my opinions of selective logging. I know, the logging industry has not been a good friend to the conservationists, but the way the trees have become overgrown, and with the amount of disease and parasites, we will soon have either a very unhealthy forest, or no forest at all.
Posted by Denise Symes on July 21, 2006 at 3:09 PM
We had several around our property die a few years ago during the worst of the drought. Then this summer a nice big one in front of our house died. And it had the best color of all of them last year. Interesting to read that the roots are actually dying. This might be bad news for the entire cluster in my front yard. There are plenty of new trees popping up, but if they're all part of the same dying root system, I guess that won't help!
This is depressing. I live for the fall and all the wonderful color these great trees give to our mountainous areas. I hope that this is only temporary, but Brians comment about the area around Ridgway is really disheartening.
Brian, care to be more specific about the dieing areas?
Discussion
8 replieshttp://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_4067886
It's no secret that the Aspen have been in decline for well over 100 years but the abruptness of the die off lately is sure discouraging (as the article points out).
I think the last line in the article is particularly interesting - "a re-setting of the table".
May be!
Most of the Aspen forest we see is quite mature - might just be a die off of the old timers. The article said that they were dying regardless of moisture status.
One thing we do know is that fire helps Aspen regeneration. More and bigger controlled burns might help. Of course in drought conditions that's a big no-no...or is it?
As Mel points out, the conifers will out compete Aspen in fairly short order and if allowed to stay (not burn) the conifers will start changing the soil conditions making it more difficult for Aspen to regenerate.
Thanks for the post Mark.
A little depressing to see whole ranges of pine being killed, and now this.
tell me about it. I have a small place in Grand Lake and the beetle kill all over that area is simply devestating. 2 years ago it was relatively isolated, but now the southwestern part of RMNP is getting hammered, and it's reaching its way south well past Granby and west, from what I've seen, almost to Steamboat. there's nothing that can be done, and sooner or later there's going to be a fire of massive proportions because of it...not to mention how ugly it is.
now, to read this and to see the Aspen going as well, I'm very sad. heat waves, drought, tree die-offs, tourists from Texas...when's it all going to end?!
I go back and forth in my opinions of selective logging. I know, the logging industry has not been a good friend to the conservationists, but the way the trees have become overgrown, and with the amount of disease and parasites, we will soon have either a very unhealthy forest, or no forest at all.
Thanks for the link,
Denise
Brian, care to be more specific about the dieing areas?
Craig