Yellow cedar may be a victim of climate change in the next 50 years, according to a study published in the journal Global Change Biology and reported on by The Seattle Times.
Researchers discovered death due to root freeze on 7 percent of the tree’s range between Alaska and Northern California. The shallow-rooted trees are dying because snow cover is decreasing and soil temperature, without snow-cover to act as an insulator, is edging below the point the tree’s roots can survive.
Winter temperatures in about 50 percent of the area currently suitable for yellow cedar are predicted to increase, and “additional mortality is likely as the climate warms,” according to The Seattle Times.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently determining if the yellow cedar should be listed as endangered or threatened. Its decision is expected in September 2019.
Alaska Forest Association Executive Director Owen Graham told The Seattle Times he is opposed to a listing.
“The whole thing is just a stupid effort to try to tangle up the timber supply some more,” he said. “It’s ludicrous.”
