Get ready for some great stories in the latest Forest Digest!

  • Long-term changes in dead wood reveal new forest dynamicsPhys.org
    Dead wood has been accumulating in many forests, and while it does provide vital habitat for many different species of birds and mammals, it also poses a risk by providing fuel for forest fires. Many forests are now accumulating more, small- and intermediate-sized dead wood that is rather hazardous, a problem that can be solved by better forest management.
The spruce beetle could be the next big destroyer of forests out west, but thanks to programs through American Forests some landscapes will be reforested. Photo credit: Aaron/Flickr
The spruce beetle could be the next big destroyer of forests out west, but thanks to programs through American Forests some landscapes will be reforested. Photo credit: Aaron/Flickr
  • Forest officials change tactics as beetle epidemic wanesCasper Star Tribune
    Good news for pine trees in Colorado and Wyoming as mountain pine beetle outbreaks wane. The infestation has reached record lows since the boom of the attacks in the late 2000s. But other species in the region are not out of the water just yet, as spruce beetle outbreaks have popped up in 250,000 acres in Colorado and 60,000 acres in Wyoming.
  • High-Altitude Forests in the Himalayas Harder Hit by DourghtsScientific American
    Many expect conifer trees to retreat to the north as the climate warms, but scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute are finding a very different trend in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. The timberline species are instead moving to lower altitudes or just dying off as the climate warms and the precipitation patterns change forcing drought conditions in the area.
  • 6 companies doing the most to stop deforestationTreehugger
    Want to be an informed consumer? Well check out the Global Canopy Programme’s Forest 500, a list ranking companies and organizations that are trying to end global deforestation. The list was created by a UK think tank that took into consideration reporting and transparency, operations, commodity policies and forest policies of make the comprehensive list of forest do-gooders.
  • In China, a fight to save a forest tests toughened environmental lawsReuters
    New environmental laws went into effect at the start of the new year in China and two local environmental groups, Friends of Nature and Fujian Green Home, are taking advantage of it by suing a small group of miners that destroyed a five-acre forest on Hulu Mountain in the southern Fujian forest. The environmental groups are hoping that this lawsuit will spark others to take action against the Chinese government and lead to the recovery of the country’s ecosystems.
  • To Save Coral Reefs, First Save the MangrovesNational Geographic
    Coral reefs have been in a dire situation for years because of climate change and ocean acidification. Yet, some reefs are managing to hold on by forming a very unique relationship with mangrove trees.