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New Study Rings Alarm for Sugar Maple in Adirondacks
http://www.esf.edu/communications/view.asp?newsID=3883[font face=Serif][font size=5]New Study Rings Alarm for Sugar Maple in Adirondacks[/font]
[font size=4]Scientists find unexplained decline in growth rate[/font]
10/21/2015
[font size=3]The iconic sugar maple, one of the most economically and ecologically important trees in the eastern United States and Canada, shows signs of being in a significant decline, according to research results published today (Oct. 21, 2015) in the open-access journal "Ecosphere."
The research led by ESF scientists involved analysis of growth rings from hundreds of trees across the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York state. It showed that a decline in the growth rate began for a majority of sugar maple trees after 1970. The reasons for the decline are unclear.
"Given their relatively young age and favorable competitive status in these forests, these sugar maples should be experiencing the best growth rates of their lives. It was a complete surprise to see their growth slow down like this," said Daniel Bishop, who conducted the study as part of his master's thesis at ESF. "But our data tells a clear story. We can detect the start of a region-wide downturn after 1970, with a large proportion of the trees continuing this trend over recent years."
Sugar maple is arguably one of the most culturally important species in eastern North America. Prized for its high-quality wood and spectacular fall colors, sugar maple gets its Latin name - Acer saccharum - from its remarkably sweet sap ("saccharum" translates to "sweet"
. This sweetness fuels a multibillion dollar syrup industry. Sugar maple is also an ecologically vital foundation of the region's northern hardwood forests, where it fosters more fertile soils, provides nutritious browse for wildlife, and supports a higher biodiversity of plants and soil organisms.
...[/font][/font]
[font size=4]Scientists find unexplained decline in growth rate[/font]
10/21/2015
[font size=3]The iconic sugar maple, one of the most economically and ecologically important trees in the eastern United States and Canada, shows signs of being in a significant decline, according to research results published today (Oct. 21, 2015) in the open-access journal "Ecosphere."
The research led by ESF scientists involved analysis of growth rings from hundreds of trees across the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York state. It showed that a decline in the growth rate began for a majority of sugar maple trees after 1970. The reasons for the decline are unclear.
"Given their relatively young age and favorable competitive status in these forests, these sugar maples should be experiencing the best growth rates of their lives. It was a complete surprise to see their growth slow down like this," said Daniel Bishop, who conducted the study as part of his master's thesis at ESF. "But our data tells a clear story. We can detect the start of a region-wide downturn after 1970, with a large proportion of the trees continuing this trend over recent years."
Sugar maple is arguably one of the most culturally important species in eastern North America. Prized for its high-quality wood and spectacular fall colors, sugar maple gets its Latin name - Acer saccharum - from its remarkably sweet sap ("saccharum" translates to "sweet"
. This sweetness fuels a multibillion dollar syrup industry. Sugar maple is also an ecologically vital foundation of the region's northern hardwood forests, where it fosters more fertile soils, provides nutritious browse for wildlife, and supports a higher biodiversity of plants and soil organisms.
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