'Dead forests' can lead to climate change

Millions of acres of lodgepole and ponderosa pines in the western U.S., Canada and Alaska are being killed by literally billions of tiny bark beetles, wood-eating 'monsters.'

Scien-tists at the National Atmospheric Research Center in Boulder, Colo., believe that the impact of dead or dying forests may actually be changing rainfall patterns, especially across the Intermountain regions from Montana and Wyoming southward into northern Arizona and northern New Mexico.

Changes in tree and plant populations likewise are suspected in raising temperatures as cloudcover levels and rainfall amounts diminish leading to drought and fire problems. Drought this year in Arizona and New Mexico resulted in 'MEGAFIRES' of historic proportions.

Live trees, healthy ones that is, absorb carbon dioxide from atmosphere. Dead trees, by extreme contrast, give off carbon dioxide as they decompose. This, of course, has a drastic effect, at least in a given area, on the climate.

As Alex Guenther, a National Atmospheric Research Center scientist, says, "Forests help control the atmosphere. There is a big difference between the impacts of a live, healthy forest and a dead one."

The main reason for the enormous beetle infestation in the western U.S. and elsewhere is the uniformity in age of the region's forests which, in many cases, haven't been allowed to burn for much of the last century. Forest fires are nature's way of controlling bark beetles and other infestations.

The result is that, in some regions, the death rate of lodgepole pines has approached 100 percent. This "kindling effect" in the forests has led to a record number of large-sized 'megafires' in the past several years.

Some forestry scientists with the U.S. Forest Service believe that this bark beetle will reach as far east as the Great Lakes in the coming decades. The loss of habitat for the forest animal life could be "devastating."

Most forestry experts recommend cutting down any tree with even "a smattering of yellow" that will eventually turn to a "rust color" and finally a "dead brown."

As far as our trees in the yard, I have 33 of them, mostly ponderosa. I've been told that there are two specific insecticides that we can use to destroy bark beetles before they produce destruction. These treatments are quite expensive, but the alternative is even more costly if nothing is done. Dead trees also crash during high winds, sometimes onto houses and people.

I would call my friend, Tim Kastning, one of our Coeur d'Alene Press columnists and tree expert, at 762-2173 for details. Don't wait too long. Time is money.

NORTH IDAHO WEATHER REVIEW AND LONG-RANGE OUTLOOKS

Since 'La Nina' died in the waters of the Pacific Ocean nearly two months ago, we've seen a much HOTTER and DRIER weather pattern across most of the country.

Corn, soybeans, wheat, milo, cotton and a host of other crops have been killed, mainly east of the Rockies, by the deadly combination of triple-digit temperatures and severe drought conditions. More global famines are likely, mirroring the one currently affecting the Horn of Africa.

Just this past week, we saw Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C., soar above the century mark. On Friday, July 22, Newark, N.J., hit a scorching 108 degrees, the city's highest reading ever observed, at least during the last two centuries.

This warmer and drier weather pattern, associated with a new 'La Nada' (in between El Nino and La Nina) sea-surface temperature event in the Pacific, has finally spread to the Inland Northwest, including North Idaho.

The month of July, for the first time since last September, will actually end up with below normal moisture at just 0.77 inches compared with the July normal precipitation since 1895 of 0.92 inches and last July's total in 2010 of 0.70 inches. July is normally the driest month of the entire year. This July was no exception.

July of 2011 was cooler than normal, but had a 'boatload of sunshine.' The average maximum reading was 6 degrees below normal at 78.4 degrees compared to the 116-year normal high since 1895 in July of 84.4 degrees in town. Cooler than normal Julys have been the rule in North Idaho since the hot July of 2006, when the mercury soared above 100 degrees for four days straight between July 21 and July 24.

The 'good news' is that Randy Mann and I are still expecting both August and September to be warmer and drier than usual for the second half of the summer season. This should help our gardens ripen along with the much-delayed raspberries, blueberries and huckleberries in the region.

The 2011 edition of the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo should have great weather. Afternoon highs will likely be in the mid 80s to lower 90s with only a slight threat of a scattered afternoon or evening thunderstorm, mostly over the mountains to the east of Coeur d'Alene.

Next week in 'Gems,' I'll give the predictions of myself and others as to how much snow to expect this upcoming winter of 2011-12. You may be surprised by the differences of opinion.

Cliff Harris is a climatologist who writes a weekly column for The Press. His opinions are his own. Email sfharris@roadrunner.com