In 2023 the forest fires in Western Canada were so extensive that they burnt 37 million acres of forest lands, which is ten times the total area of forestry in the UK.  The carbon emissions were so great that they alone had a carbon footprint bigger than every country apart from the US, China and India.  Canada does not include emissions from wildfires in its carbon budget so the impact of its forest fires is in addition to its industrial and domestic carbon footprint. Although the total area burnt the next year - in 2024 - was smaller, the 2024 fires were particularly intense and destroyed 50% of the buildings in the city of Jasper. Forest fires affected infrastructure so badly that tourists were excluded from the whole of Jasper National Park in Alberta for many weeks.  This new intensity can also destroy trees that have been growing for hundreds of years and may have survived many other other fires.  This would have been the case for the King Arthur tree in California which had been the 9th largest Giant Redwood in the world: this huge and ancient Sequoia was destroyed in the 2020 Castle Fire. It is uncertain what is causing these intense infernos beyond climate change, to which the fires are themselves contributing. Many people believe that allowing too much dry and dead wood to build up creates the conditions for particularly hot fires which will easily jump fire breaks and natural circuit breakers, such as rivers   It may be that the First Nations [as Canadians call the native peoples who inhabited the country for thousands of years before European settlers arrived] were better at managing the land and would have reduced the fuel load in the forests, and there would have been a greater variety of tree species. Another paradox is that when the National Park authorities are most effective at putting out fires this allows a greater fuel load to build up so that there can be fewer fires but much bigger ones. To counter this, some Canadian Park managers are deliberately starting fires which they believe will be controllable - this is evident in the forests next to Lake Minnewanka. These are done in the off-season when large conflagrations are unlikely. In the past, forestry companies tried to extinguish fires by using float planes, such as the Hawaii Martin Mars dropping water.  This was put in an air museum in August 2024. The seaplane's water deposits were less well-targeted than today's helicopter drops.   Nowadays, forest blazes are usually left to run their natural course and this can take a long time.  Sometimes a fire will continue smouldering underground and it can be 18 months before a forest fire is confirmed to be finished. In cases where buildings, main roads or railway lines are threatened there will often be efforts to extinguish the fire using helicopters.  Drones are also used to survey the progress of fires. One measure which might reduce the issue is to replant burnt-out areas with  species that occur naturally and are  less flammable and better as surviving such as Eucalyptus.  However, the hotter, drier summers are creating conditions where we are in a new age of more intense forest fires and the Canadians are adjusting as fast as they can.  This means short term measures such as evacuation plans and more firefighting equipment, as well as longer term plans such as working on a better mix of trees and combating climate change more widely.

Since its formation, the earth has undergone change.  Life forms have come and gone.  There have been five major extinctions, the last being at the end of the Cretaceous Period; it killed off the dinosaurs and many other species.  This particular extinction event is thought to have been particularly rapid, due to an asteroid impact.  It caused a series of cataclysmic events and a rapid cooling of the Earth’s climate. Other changes, such as intense volcanic activity and tectonic uplift, may have pre-dated the asteroid impact but the event saw the elimination of many, many life forms. We are witnessing significant global change, that is also rapid in geological terms. Changes in the Earth’s climate and species composition usually take place over millennia, indeed over millions of years.  However, recent years have been very warm.  Global temperatures have changed noticeably. The warming that has been recorded “is exceptional relative to any period since before the last ice age, about 125,000 years ago”.  This warming has resulted in extreme and severe weather events in this country and across the world.  This year a record breaking January temperature of 19.9oC was recorded at Achfary, with storms Henk, Isha, and Jocelyn in the same month. The Earth’s warmest year on record (between 1850 to 2023) was 2023.  In early September 2023, the UK experienced a significant heatwave when daily maximum temperatures exceeded 30°C [somewhere in the UK] for seven consecutive days. [caption id="attachment_35526" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Drought![/caption] Such changes are not without effect. Phenology observations indicate that trees are producing their leaves earlier, woodland plants are coming into flower earlier. See the woodlands blog “Spring is on the move”.  A concern with these changing phenologies is that ‘mismatches’ can occur.  When trees come into leaf determines when caterpillars can feed and that, in turn, affects when birds can feed on the caterpillars and raise their young.  If these events do not occur in synchrony then the ‘functioning of the ecosystem’ is disturbed.  [caption id="attachment_25123" align="alignleft" width="300"] Leaf 'unfolding'[/caption] The agricultural and horticultural ecosystems that we have created are also affected by climate change. This year, heavy rainfall has meant that farmers in many parts of the UK have been unable to plant certain crops [such as potatoes, wheat and vegetables] during the key spring months. Some crops have rotted in the soil. In April, there was 111.4mm of rain, [the average for April is 71.9mm]; the sixth wettest April of the last 189 years.  Persistent wet weather also affects lambing, and can mean it is not possible to turn dairy cattle out onto grass / pasture, which in turn affects milk production. Monthly temperatures are more likely to be above average than below as climate change take effect.  This was true for the first three months of the year.  Warmer air holds more moisture and it can evaporate more water from the seas / oceans. A one degree (Celsius) rise in temperature adds 7% more moisture in the air.  Woodlands are affected by heavy rain as soil becomes waterlogged, which affects woodland flowers, and wet winters do no favours for animals that hibernate. The UK is not the only place to be affected by extremes of weather, be it rainfall and flooding, or high temperatures and drought.  India has recently experienced a period of extreme temperature, with temperatures approaching 50oC.  Such temperatures push human physiology to its limits.  Just as extreme rain is a problem for farmers, so is extreme heat and / or drought.  Brazil has been the main exporter of oranges for producing orange juice, but its recent crop has been substantially reduced as a result of flooding and drought; resulting in the worst harvest in decades. Spanish orange production has also been reduced due to drought. Like California, large parts of Florida ‘the Sunshine State’’ has seen its once-famous citrus industry reduced over the past two decades. Two diseases, greening and citrus canker have taken their toll, and then Hurricane Ian in September 2023, hit the citrus industry at the beginning of its growing season.  Large parts of the one famous citrus industry (oranges and grapefruit) have been lost and farmers are turning to the PONGAMIA tree to repurpose fallow land. [caption id="attachment_41381" align="alignleft" width="650"] Pongamia  : image thanks to Sarangib on Pixabay[/caption] This is a climate-resilient tree from India. They do not need fertiliser or pesticides.   It has been grown as a shade tree. As a member of the Fabaceae, it produces small, brown beans.  These are so bitter than not even wild hogs will eat them.  However, the beans are easily harvested by a machine that shakes the tree.  A San Francisco based company has found a way to remove the bitter tasting chemicals and use the beans in food production, as they yield a high quality protein and also an oil.  The bean (a legume) has been used to make a table oil, protein bars and a biofuel.   Orange juice production is not the only drink to be affected by changing climate.  Drought affects coffee plants and damages the quality of the soil, and excessive rainfall ‘favours’ fungal disease [e.g.coffee leaf rust and cherry rot], all of which will impact the yield and quality of the beans harvested.  Similarly, chocolate production is threatened. Cacao trees are impacted by global warming,  they can only grow and thrive within 10 degrees of the Equator, needing stable temperatures, high humidity, and ample rain.  However, temperatures are rising while rainfall has decreased. These changes lower the humidity. The trees are also under attack by a virus - cacao swollen shoot virus disease (CSSVD). Changing temperatures and rainfall patterns will influence what crops can be grown and where, it will also influence their cultivation and the working patterns associated with those crops.  Climate change is thus a factor contributing to food inflation and insecurity across the world.    

There are eleven thousand trees in Kew Gardens.  Each year, a few trees are lost due to natural causes, old age, disease etc.   In 2002, a drought resulted in the loss of  some 400 trees.  Such a prolonged dry spell is  likely to occur again and again as global temperatures rise, and climate change takes a hold. Modelling of future climate scenarios by Kew scientists suggests that towards the end of this century between a third and a half of Kew’s trees could be lost.  Trees like the English oak, beech, birch and holly could be vulnerable to warmer temperatures and extended dry spells.  There is a plan at Kew to replace gradually trees with species currently found in warmer areas, such the Mediterranean, Asia and Central America. Examples might include species such as the iberian alder, cherry hackberry and Montezuma’s pine.  Many of the plants in the gardens will survive, [including Kew’s ‘Old Lions’] as they were collected from in and around the Mediterranean; some of these date back to the victorian era or earlier. The ‘old lions’ of Kew are trees from the original grounds / garden that still survive. Examples include : Japanese pagoda tree (Styphnolobium japonica) Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) Oriental plane (Platanus orientalis) Caucasian elm (Zelkova carpinifolia) Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) The Caucasian elm dates from 1762, when an arboretum was planted.  It is thought that it might have been in a batch of plants from the Caucasus, planted in what is now the herbarium paddock.  In 1905, the height of the tree was recorded as 60 feet (18M), though they can grow to 100 feet.  A larger caucasian elm can be seen at  Tortworth. One species of oak that is common at Kew is the holly or holm oak (Quercus ilex).  This is a common, naturalised oak that was probably introduced into the country in the sixteenth century.  It is a hardy, slow growing tree and many new holm oaks were planted in 2008 to redefine the Syon Vista.  The wood of the tree is strong and, in the past, it was used in carts and farming equipment. Its acorns start off green in colour but turn a reddish brown; they are a tasty treat for pigs. The threat to Kew's trees is not unique, parks and urban spaces across the country need to plan for the future, to ensure that their trees can offer some resilience to changing weather patterns. Full details of Kew's planning here.  

With global temperatures rising and many places facing extremes of temperature, cities and urban environments often face the brunt of these climate extremes.  Cities absorb and hold onto the energy of the sun, creating ‘urban heat islands’. Recently, the temperature in New Delhi soared to a record high of 126.1oF (52.3oC), and other areas of India also suffered from the heat wave that claimed lives.  At a personal level, the shade of a tree can offer a place of refuge on a blisteringly hot day but a neighbourhood can benefit from the careful and strategic planting of trees.  Greater tree cover can mean that neighbourhoods are measurably cooler than those with few trees. If a heat wave is prolonged, then the physiological stress that people experience builds, affecting the old and young particularly.  Extreme heat / temperatures can also result in elevated levels of ozone, which affects people with asthma.  High temperatures may also be accompanied by high humidity and if the air has a high level of water vapour this makes it difficult for people to lose heat through sweating.  As water evaporates from the skin, its change of state (liquid to vapour) takes heat from the body. Researchers at UCLA analysed the ‘effects’ of four heat waves that occurred in the early years of the 21st century in Los Angeles, they focused on areas that varied in tree cover and pavements and road cover (essentially impermeable surfaces).  They also gathered information on ‘heat related’ visits to medical facilities.  They found that greater tree cover (and more reflective surfaces) reduced the number of heat-related medical interventions.   Whilst it might be agreed that increasing tree cover in urban settings is a good idea, there are practical problems.   Firstly, which trees to plant?  Ideally, the trees planted should be able to cope with the changing climate.  We don’t know what the climate will be like in 20 or 50 years but ideally the trees planted now should be able to cope with what nature might ‘throw at them’. Secondly, caring for the trees.  After planting, trees are vulnerable.  They need care and protection.  They need water - which is becoming an increasingly scarce resource in some parts of the world. Planting more trees needs to be coupled with increasing ‘green areas’ where water can permeate after rainfall into natural aquifers or water storage systems. Community involvement is also needed so that the trees are not only planted in areas where they will give the greatest benefit, but where people want them and will nurture them.   Los Angeles now has an Urban Forest Management Plan.  It aims to increase tree canopy in particular areas, locating areas to plant trees and collaborating with the residents of the areas.

At present, our forests and many across much of Europe have a medley of different species, and this has been the case for many hundreds of years.  They have survived minor fluctuations in climate and weather.  However, now climate and weather are changing in significant ways.  There are more extreme weather events, ranging from unprecedented rainfall to drought and periods of very high temperatures.  Winters seem to be be warmer and wetter, summers hotter and drier. Consequently, there is concern that many tree species being planted today will not be able to survive in the conditions that they are likely to experience in 50 or a 100 years time.  Species like the European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) are likely to struggle (like many did in the heat wave of 1976).  The root system of the beech is shallow, and though it has large roots spreading out in many directions, it cannot access water that may be present at deeper levels in the soil.   Though it is not known how native trees might adapt or be able to respond to a changing climate, it is possible that the number of tree species per km2 able to survive through to the next century may well fall by a third to a half in a warmer climate (depending on how quickly the warming occurs). Examination of some 60 plus European trees species at University of Vienna by Johannes Wessely et al suggested that the English or Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur) may be a species that could cope with changing climatic conditions. It seems that native UK Oaks are genetically diverse, and this gives rise to variation and the potential to adapt to changing conditions.  Oak is wind pollinated and its light pollen can be dispersed over long distances, which promotes outbreeding and genetic diversity. Whilst the oak has always been valuable as a species for :- Timber production : it is used in furniture making and in the past thousands of oaks were used in the building of ships such as the Mary Rose. Carbon sequestration / storage - it is long lived and has a large above ground biomass Biodiversity : it provides a ‘home’ for many species of animals, plants and fungi. It offers food and shelter for many invertebrate species, numerous insects and spiders); its leaves often show the ‘scars’ of their feeding activities. Its bark is an ideal substrate for many lichen and bryophyte species (epiphytes). The roots of the trees establish mycorrhizal associations with various fungi. Now, the Oak may prove to be valuable in a warmer world as a species for timber production and reforestation projects.  The Oak’s ability to support other plant, animal and fungal species would also be important in terms of biodiversity and resilience..   Forests with a smaller number of tree species are thought to be less resilient to climate change and less biodiverse.   [caption id="attachment_41217" align="aligncenter" width="675"] A solitary oak[/caption]

Many natural ecosystems are periodically exposed to fire.  After a fire, there is often reduced competition and increased nutrient availability (from ash etc.).  The plants and flowers that grow after a fire are visited more often by pollinators, such as bees and other insects.  This can result in increased production of fruits and seeds. Bushfires have been part of certain australian ecosystems for thousands of years and some native species are ‘fire adapted’.  They have come to 'rely' on fires as a means of reproduction and / or  dispersal. Whilst no one fire can be attributed to climate change alone, rising temperatures and aridity, lengthening of the ‘fire season’, combined with bursts of extreme ‘fire weather’, all combine to suggest climate change is implicated. As the frequency of fires increases, the possible benefits of fire to such ecosystems / species are being lost. Fire can help with the physical dispersal of seeds from the parent plant.  In some parts of the world, such as South Africa and Australia, fire and / or smoke can be the stimulus for seed dispersal and subsequent germination.  Plants such as some species of Protea, Banksia, certain members of the myrtle family (e.g. some Eucalypts), and some Pines and Sequoias 'make use' of fire to disperse their seeds. Seed dispersal involving fire is termed serotiny.  Many of these plants produce woody fruits or cones in which the seeds are held.  The mechanism underlying seed release varies but can be due to a resin that ‘seals’ the seeds inside the fruit or cone.  The resin ‘melts’ / liquefies on exposure to heat releasing the seed or there may be a structure called a seed separator (as in Banksia).  Serotinous conifers (like lodgepole pine), have mature cones in which the cone scales are naturally sealed shut with resin.   Most of the seeds stay in the canopy until the cones reach 122-140o F  (i.e 50 to 60oC).  At these temperatures, heat / fire  melts the resin and  the cone scales open to expose the seed. The seed can then drop or drift to a burned but cooling ash-rich soil bed. The seeds do well on the burnt soil available to them as the site offers reduced competition, more light, warmth plus the nutrients from the burning of leaves and litter.  Some species align their germination to immediate post-fire conditions - stimulated by chemicals present in the smoke.  The organic compounds karrikins,  products of the degradation of cellulose are  a germination ‘cue’ for some species.  Karrikins are thought to be present on the soil surface after a fire.  When it rains,  the karrikins are 'washed' into the soil, and seeds present in the soil seed bank are then stimulated to germinate. Thanks to Steve Sangster and John Cameron for images of woodland fire.  

Forests, woodlands, trees are vital to life.  They absorb carbon dioxide, they release oxygen, they offer food and shelter to countless species (including us).  The global forests (equatorial to boreal) play an important role in mitigating climate change due to fossil fuel emissions.  However, many forests and their particular tree species are being  threatened by the world’s warming climate.  Recent years have seen catastrophic fires in many parts of the world, from Canada, Siberia, Sweden to Australia. In 2019/20, intense fires caused extensive damage to the Eucalypt forests in Australia.  Eucalypt rich woodland / forest is likely candidate for fire because the leaves of Eucalypts produce volatile and highly combustible oils.  The litter underneath such trees is rich in organic compounds such as phenols, which slow down the microbial breakdown of the dead leaves.   Consequently,  a layer of dry, eminently burnable material builds up. In Eastern Australia, some 40+% of the native eucalypt forests suffered severe canopy damage.   Trees on the west coast of America have also been subject to intense fires.  Their susceptibility to fire has been accentuated by drought across the region.  Analysis of the growth rings of trees, such as the Red Cedar (in areas such as Oregon) show that trees suffered reduced growth in the years prior to their death.  Drought stress increases the probability of attack by bark beetles and pathogens.  In California, many native species such as white fir, red fir and ponderosa pine have died and provided material for the fires that were to follow.  Fires in 2020/21 swept across the region, destroying vast swathes of forest.  The fires were of such an intensity that even Giant Sequoias were killed.   [caption id="attachment_40596" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Forest Fire in Canada[/caption] Sequoias had been thought ‘indestructible’ as they have a thick bark, which protects the inner living tissue, plus their canopy is usually well above the flames on the forest floor.  In the past, the fires burned litter on the ground, removing competitors, and releasing nutrients.  The heat would also open up the cones of the Sequoias releasing their seeds, so young trees could establish. Some of the Sequoias that died in these recent fires had stood for centuries and survived many wildfires.   In the past, the amount of litter / dead material was limited.  Indigenous people managed these forests (reducing the fuel load) to create forage for game animals, so that wildfires were of mild to moderate intensity.  Now, the fires are different - they are intense. There is more material to burn - including the trees that have already died from drought and disease. The fires can now reach into the canopies of the Sequoias. One of the Sequoias that died was the King Arthur tree - the 8th largest giant redwood in the world; it died in the Castle Fire of 2020. The drought driven deaths of many tree species is probably the start of a longer lasting shift in the growing range of the affected trees.  Temperature and water availability are two of the major determinants of the range of a given species.  It is possible that trees may ‘move’ northward and upward (grow at higher elevations).  Trees will begin to ‘die off’ at the edge of their range / lower elevations as drought / warming increases.  Die offs may also affect commercial plantations of species such as Douglas fir.

A lot of research work now focuses on the resilience of woodlands and forests in the light of climate change, that is their ability to cope with conditions like drier, hotter summers and/or  warmer/wetter winters. It has generally been assumed that trees at the limit of their range in dry regions would be most affected by climate change (with rising temperatures and less water).  However, a major study of some six million tree annual ring samples, (involving 120+ species) coupled with analysis of historical climate data has shown that trees in drier regions show a certain resilience to drought.  Trees seemingly become less sensitive to drought as they approach the edge of their range.  Trees in wetter climates are less resilient when they experience drier conditions or drought.  It seems probable that many species in wetter woodland and forest ecosystems will face significant challenges if the climate does move to a drier and warmer state. Assisted migration may be needed.  One idea is to ‘exploit’ the genetic diversity found at the edge of a species range.  The slow natural migration of trees may not be able to keep pace with the speed of climate change. Full details of this study by the University of California can be found here : Drought sensitivity in mesic forests heightens their vulnerability to climate change The effects of climate change have become very clear in recent times.  This last year witnessed:- Record breaking wild fires in Canada, with the smoke extending across to the East coast of the States. [caption id="attachment_40597" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Canadian forest fire[/caption] Heat waves in parts of America , for example, Phoenix (Arizona) suffers the best part of a month with temperatures of 43oC. Parts of the North Atlantic Ocean saw unprecedented temperatures The global temperature in July was 1.5oC above the pre-industrial average, September saw temperatures 1.8oC above the pre-industrial average. Parts of Chile and Argentina saw a ‘heatwave’ in the middle of their winter. It is clear that ‘unchartered waters’ lie ahead.