Researchers in New Hampshire have buried almost 2½ miles of heating cables in the Hubbard Brook Experimental forest to study the effects of climate change on New England forests, according to an article from Scientific American's Climatewire.
Pamela Templer is using the 4-inch-wide cables to simulate the effect of hotter summers on the region's iconic maple trees. While studies of this kind have been done before, Templer's experiment varies in that the cables will not be left on all year. Instead, she will turn off the heat during winter and shovel away any insulating snow cover. This will provide data not only on the effects of high summer temperatures, but also the effects of reduced snow accumulation.
Templer theorizes that without the insulating layer of snow, the soil will get colder, damaging tree roots and hindering their ability to draw in nutrients in spring.
