[MCN] Tree mortality in the West: Forests not at risk from fire alone

[Lance Olsen]

"Tree mortality in relatively undisturbed old-growth forests across 
the West has risen even when not triggered by wildfires or insect 
infestations."

"Human-caused global warming is driving these detrimental effects by 
bringing hotter and drier conditions, which not only cause their own 
effects but amplify those of other stresses. An exceptionally hot and 
dry stretch from 1999 to 2003 produced unusually severe impacts on 
the region's forests. If these trends continue, even hotter and drier 
conditions could become commonplace, leading to even greater effects 
on Rocky Mountain forests."

http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/09/Rocky-Mountain-Forests-at-Risk-Full-Report.pdf



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"Mammals in the study region face an uncertain future. The negative 
impact of drought, the short-lived nature of post-drought recovery 
and, now, the possibility of a new drought beginning forewarn of 
further declines."

Susannah Hale et al. Fire and climatic extremes shape mammal 
distributions in a fire-prone landscape, Diversity and Distributions, 
Early View - Online Version of Record before inclusion in an issue. 
August 24, 2016   
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ddi.12471/full
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"Climate change is not a new topic in biology. The study of 
biological impacts of climate change has a rich history in the 
scientific literature, since long before there were political 
ramifications   ..... Observations of range shifts in parallel with 
climate change ... date back to the mid-1700s."

"A surprising result is the high proportion of species responding to 
recent, relatively mild climate change (global average warming of 
0.6C). The proportion of wild species impacted by climate change was 
estimated at 41% of all species (655 of 1598)."

Parmesan, Camille. "Ecological and Evolutionary Responses to Recent 
Climate Change." 
Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and  Systematics.  2006.  37: 637-69
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