Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Earth

Experts Puzzled as Finland Pine Trees Die Off (www.muser.press) 62

Staggering numbers of dead pine trees have been reported in southern Finland this summer, with researchers linking the phenomenon to climate change. From a report: Over 1,350 patches of dead pine trees have been reported in southwestern Finland since April, when researchers started collecting observations from the public. "Every day we receive more in our mapping service," Turku University geography professor Risto Kalliola told AFP. He described the phenomenon as a "local mass-death of patches of pine trees." Most affected were rocky coastal areas with barren soil easily exposed to drought, he said.

Browned groups of dead pines suddenly started to appear along Finland's southern coast a few years ago, and researchers are now trying to find out the cause of the phenomenon. "Something is happening in our nature and we have to take it seriously," Kalliola said. Similar deaths of pine trees have also occurred in other northern European countries, including neighbouring Sweden. "What is new in Finland is that this phenomenon has quite recently begun to be common," he said. He believed several factors could be causing the local die-offs, such as insect pests and fungal diseases -- all exacerbated by global warming.

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Experts Puzzled as Finland Pine Trees Die Off

Comments Filter:
  • by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Tuesday August 27, 2024 @01:55PM (#64740578)

    Finnish experts not finished with pining for pine patches in peril.

    This could have been our headline but you just let is slip away.

    • by Roger W Moore ( 538166 ) on Tuesday August 27, 2024 @02:17PM (#64740684) Journal
      I'd have just gone for: "Finnish experts pining for finished Finnish pines" .
    • Pardon me for intruding, but I have an old story, and the word 'Peril' caught my eye too.

      Firstly, on 'Peril' - One of my all-time favorite movies is Death In a French Garden, which I saw once or twice in the '80s. It is apparently also known as 'Peril', and some years ago I bought a copy of 'Peril' online on a Blu Ray disc. Unfortunately my efforts to view this have so far been thwarted by technology and circumstances, and I have not yet found an online streaming service that has it. Long ago I rented a c

      • I previously wrote:

        > ...some text...
        > ...
        > What if the patches of dead forest in Finland's West are Putin's test
        > of some bio-weapon intended for eventual, or possibly imminent,
        > threat to attack along Finland's Eastern border?
        >
        > Finally: Has anyone ever heard Putin pronounce the word 'Lebensraum'?
        > Does he do it with a proper German accent?

        Grammar error in previous: remove "threat to".

        Tesseractic.

  • California for years (Score:4, Informative)

    by awwshit ( 6214476 ) on Tuesday August 27, 2024 @01:55PM (#64740582)

    We've seen this in California for years. I think its mainly drought related in California.

    https://www.nature.com/article... [nature.com]

    • We've always had trouble with the western bark beetle and our pine forest in California. Drought tends to weakened the trees and spur the population of beetles. We also have a canker fungus that impacts a broad range of evergreen species. But trees have spontaneously developed resistance from the fungus in the past that slows or stops the progression of the disease.

      We also have Sudden Oak Death because Phytophthora ramorum is hosted and transported by the California bay laurel. Where I live we cut down bay

      • This is why the "Just plant trees" push in CO2 sequestration is so misguided.

        Trees are only temporary storage...and vulnerable while it's stored.

    • by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Tuesday August 27, 2024 @03:51PM (#64741044)

      No, it was all that nibbling by Euell Gibbons that killed the pines.

      • Personally, I prefer Bugs & Twigs breakfast cereal, scrapped fresh from the forest floor and right into the box.

        • Personally, I prefer Bugs & Twigs breakfast cereal, scrapped fresh from the forest floor and right into the box.

          ... NOW with 50% more guano!

    • Maybe they just need more raking.

      A very stable genius made this suggestion.

      • Bug & Twigs Cereal Co. would like to provide free boxes for you to collect your rakings. We'll even take the full boxes away for you.

  • You know things have gotten bad when we're marking Finland off the list of places where a pine tree can live.
  • If it is not cold enough, the dormant trees are just rotting away.
    No idea what the "mystery" is about.

  • by Pravetz-82 ( 1259458 ) on Tuesday August 27, 2024 @02:52PM (#64740850)
    This was happening on the Balkans for the past several years. Due to mild winters pests don't die off. Reduced snowfall is probably also a factor.
  • No one has yet mentioned the hostile neighbor to Finland. I blame them for killing trees. After all, we have proof beyond reasonable doubt that they kill innocent people. So it is not a stretch to find them liable for tree killing.

    Of course I can't mention that hostile neighbor's name. They are known to be very aggressive and vengeful. But anyone not living in a cave knows who I mean.


    And even some living in a cave have internet, thus know current events. Like ME! Have not seen sunshine in years! (Well,
  • "Experts are puzzled!"
    But know the reason and it's climate change.

    *facepalm*

    I think it's high time y'all stop trying to use the 'follow the science' line.

  • Anecdotal science isn't very good science. The article states:

    Over 1,350 patches of dead pine trees have been reported in southwestern Finland since April, when researchers started collecting observations from the public.

    Why depend on the unreliable public? Buy some multispectral satellite imagery and count the dead spots with a computer. Texas A&M used to do this in the late 80's for the U.S. forest service. The tech has improved significantly, the imagery is better and less expensive.

  • The person at Muser Press who wrote the title did not RTFA. It even says:

    During warm summers with heatwaves and weeks without rain, those trees which are growing in vulnerable places start to suffer and their ability to defend themselves against pathogens weaken

    All of which shouldn't sound very mysterious even to climate change deniers.

  • Whatever is causing it, its not global warming. Its something specific to the region where the dying is happening.

    The thing that is missing from the article (as usual) is an account of what is happening to temperatures in Finland. Are they rising, and if so how? Is it minimums, is it warmer winter temps, is it higher summer temps? And what is the causal link between temps and pine death?

    It could be warmer winters (if they are warmer) allowing predator insects to over-winter. What coldness is needed to

    • by kackle ( 910159 )
      I saw a documentary that showed that fungus or bugs (I can't remember) was massively killing certain trees here in the US likely because they were able to live longer due to the longer warm seasons.

The gent who wakes up and finds himself a success hasn't been asleep.

Working...