NEWS RELEASES
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through The Weather Channel's website.
California's giant sequoia trees are being taken down by tiny beetles whose proliferation has been fueled by climate change. Preliminary results from a joint study by the National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey showed that a combination of drought, fire damage and bark beetle infestation were to blame, the Guardian reported. Though the number of dead sequoia trees is small portion of the park's trees, it could be an ominous sign for the tree's ability to defend itself against climate change. Jan Wesner Childs, writer for The Weather Channel, covers in her article, "Research has shown that bark beetles reproduce faster in warmer temperatures, according to the U.S. Forest Service, and trees that are stressed by things like drought and fire exposure are more susceptible to infestations. California has been stricken by all three of those factors in recent years." Sequoias can live up to 3,000 years and usually only die when they become too big to support themselves. A record 1.3 million people visited Sequoia in 2017, while nearly 700,000 visited the adjacent King's Canyon. To read more on California's giant sequoia trees, click here.
California, Environmental Issues, National Parks, News, Open Road