High-altitude forests face bleak future here
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The effects of drought are most visible at the tops of our mountains.
Fires that destroyed much of the forest atop Mount Lemmon and the bugs that ate the top of Mount Graham were abetted by hot, dry conditions that scientists predict will recur in the coming years, making it difficult for forests to recover.
Catastrophic fire and insect outbreaks claimed up to 18 percent of the high- altitude forests in Arizona and New Mexico in the past 24 years, according to a report published this week by researchers at the University of Arizona and elsewhere...
To read more, see the article by Tom Beal on AZ Star Online.