Nothofagus dombeyi, or coihue, is a large tree that grows in the Andes. In the late 90s, northern Patagonia was hit with a pretty severe drought that killed many of these trees. So what was the difference between the trees that kicked it and the trees that are still going strong?
Some trees constantly live with higher water stress than others. This is usually due to where they’re growing. If a tree is on a particularly steep patch of ground, the water runs off before it can suck it up. If a tree is growing in shallow soil or on a very sunny slope, it’s going to be a lot thirstier than your average tree in the forest.
The authors of this study thought that these trees might be the ones to be hit hardest during the drought since they were already stressed. They also considered the possibility that the trees growing in more water stressed areas are different and better able to cope with drought. The trees used to the good life might have invested more in their tops than their roots, which could be bad news in a drought. A tree with a smaller root system might not be able to suck up enough water to support all its branches in a very dry year.
The authors also wondered if there were a way to look at a tree and use where and how its growing to predict whether or not it will survive a drought.
So, what did they find?
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Nothofagus dombeyi, or coihue, is a large tree that grows in the Andes. In the late 90s, northern Patagonia was hit with a pretty severe drought that killed many of these trees. So what was the difference between the trees that kicked it and the trees that are still going strong?
Some trees constantly live with higher water stress than others. This is usually due to where they're growing. If a tree is on a particularly steep patch of ground, the water runs off before it can suck it up. If a tree is growing in shallow soil or on a very sunny slope, it's going to be a lot thirstier than your average tree in the forest.
The authors of this study thought that these trees might be the ones to be hit hardest during the drought since they were already stressed. They also considered the possibility that the trees growing in more water stressed areas are different and better able to cope with drought. The trees used to the good life might have invested more in their tops than their roots, which could be
The Australian government pays farmers during drought and wants to modify the program to help farmers deal better with climate change.
Agriculture Minister Tony Burke says he supports the payments system but wants it to be improved, with farmers given more help to deal with climate change.
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“What we want to make sure of is that it can be improved so that whenever somebody goes through a period of drought and goes through a period of needing government assistance, by the time that period’s over, they’ve actually got themselves better prepared and better engaged to deal with climate change.”
Sounds good, right? Actually, if you’ve been keeping up with predictions of what climate change is going to do to Australia, this is not a good plan. This phrase – “by the time that period’s over”- demonstrates the problem. The period isn’t going to be over. I’m no expert on climate change, but a quick search shows that likely scenarios aren’t looking good. Here’s what scientists have to say about future moisture in Australia:
Considerable uncertainty remains as to future changes in rainfall, El Niño Southern Oscillation events and tropical cyclone activity. Overall increases in potential evaporation over much of the continent are predicted as well as continued reductions in the extent and duration of snow cover.
“Overall increases in potential evaporation” means that it isn’t going to matter if it starts raining again. When it’s warmer, more water evaporates and less water is available for plants. So while we aren’t entirely sure what’s going to happen with rainfall, it’s going to be a rough life for plants regardless. And what’s already happened is likely to continue happening:
There have been significant regional trends in rainfall with the northern, eastern and southern parts of the continent receiving greater rainfall and the western region receiving less.
Maybe a better idea would be to move farming to regions where more rainfall is expected. Or find something else for the farmers to do.
The Australian government pays farmers during drought and wants to modify the program to help farmers deal better with climate change.
Agriculture Minister Tony Burke says he supports the payments system but wants it to be improved, with farmers given more help to deal with climate change.
...
"What we want to make sure of is that it can be improved so that whenever somebody goes through a period of drought and goes through a period of needing government assistance, by the time that period's over, they've actually got themselves better prepared and better engaged to deal with climate change."
Sounds good, right? Actually, if you've been keeping up with predictions of what climate change is going to do to Australia, this is not a good plan. This phrase - "by the time that period's over"- demonstrates the problem. The period isn't going to be over. I'm no expert on climate change, but a quick search shows that likely scenarios aren't looking good. Here's what scientists have to say about future moi
As of 6:30 this morning, my research proposal is finished. In case you haven’t been keeping track, that’s two this month. The first one was a description of what I was going to do with money I’d already been given. The second is an attempt to convince someone to give me money for what I want to do. I really hope I get it! I really want to do this project. And I need more paid hours in the lab next semester.
Assuming I get this grant, I’ll be working on two related projects involving pinyon pine and drought. Pinyon pine are a foundation species. Unlike the forests where I grew up, there aren’t a ton of tree species out here. Pinyon grow in pinyon-juniper woodlands. There are pinyon pine and juniper. No other trees at all. And the pinyon here are dying out very very quickly. It’s been getting dryer and hotter here since the 90s and most climate models say that trend is only going to continue. In some places 90% of the pinyon have died. We have sites that have experienced 85% mortality. My research will hopefully find better drought adapted pinyon populations and help predict where other drought adapted populations may be found.
As of 6:30 this morning, my research proposal is finished. In case you haven't been keeping track, that's two this month. The first one was a description of what I was going to do with money I'd already been given. The second is an attempt to convince someone to give me money for what I want to do. I really hope I get it! I really want to do this project. And I need more paid hours in the lab next semester.
Assuming I get this grant, I'll be working on two related projects involving pinyon pine and drought. Pinyon pine are a foundation species. Unlike the forests where I grew up, there aren't a ton of tree species out here. Pinyon grow in pinyon-juniper woodlands. There are pinyon pine and juniper. No other trees at all. And the pinyon here are dying out very very quickly. It's been getting dryer and hotter here since the 90s and most climate models say that trend is only going to continue. In some places 90% of the pinyon have died. We have sites that have experienced 85% mortality. My res
I pretended I didn’t have any work to do and went to Red Mountain yesterday. Red Mountain is an old and oddly shaped cinder cone.
I’m helping with some research on pinyon pine, which I’d read were dying quite quickly in great numbers. There were many, many dead pinyon along the trail.
I took lots of pictures, mostly of plants, because that’s just what I notice the most. However, there are a few pictures of the absolutely bizarre rock formations. They are called “hoodoos,” which I think is a fantastic name for such strange things. I was also very pleased with myself for managing to climb up some rocks. Unfortunately, I did not realize going down is much harder than going up.
I pretended I didn't have any work to do and went to Red Mountain yesterday. Red Mountain is an old and oddly shaped cinder cone.
I'm helping with some research on pinyon pine, which I'd read were dying quite quickly in great numbers. There were many, many dead pinyon along the trail.
I took lots of pictures, mostly of plants, because that's just what I notice the most. However, there are a few pictures of the absolutely bizarre rock formations. They are called "hoodoos," which I think is a fantastic name for such strange things. I was also very pleased with myself for managing to climb up some rocks. Unfortunately, I did not realize going down is much harder than going up.
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