skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: Drought Impacts Rocky Mountain Forests' Rebound After Fire

play audio
Play

Tuesday, March 29, 2016   

CHEYENNE, Wy. - Climate change is affecting how Rocky Mountain forests bounce back after wildfires, according to a new study.

Brian Harvey, lead author and a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Colorado, says overall, fewer trees grew back in drought years compared with the number of seedlings sprouting up in cooler, wetter conditions.

"Those seedlings can get really hammered by those warm, dry conditions," says Harvey. "And so we're starting to really see the beginning of what climate change might look like in these forests that are otherwise really well adapted to these disturbances like fire."

Harvey notes lodgepole pines fared better than other species because each tree has cones that release thousands of seeds after a fire. He says the size of wildfires can also be a factor, and forests closer to seed sources were more likely to rebound.

Harvey's team studied multiple wildfires in Colorado's Rockies as well as Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, and he says the findings were consistent: seedlings in moist, cool conditions did well and others facing drought did not.

Harvey adds the goal of the research is to be able to predict how mountain forests in the future can absorb climate pollution, provide habitat for wildlife and outdoor recreation opportunities.

"A lot of our economy is driven by forest ecosystems," he says. "Wildlife, tourism, recreation depend on healthy forest ecosystems. And so, understanding what climate change is going to mean for those ecosystems is really critical for us to get some answers on."

He hopes the findings will be useful for land managers who work with wildfires, which often leave behind a mosaic of burned and unburned trees.

He notes these surviving "islands" of trees could serve as valuable seed sources for forest recovery.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021