Saturday, 18 January 2020

Bringing Down the Giants

Giant redwood or Sequoia are supposed to live for thousands of years in the parks around the Sierra Nevada on the west coast of the USA but, recently, a number have been dying prematurely (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/18/this-is-not-how-sequoias-die-its-supposed-to-stand-for-another-500-years-aoe). It appears that this might be related to climate change (reducing water provision and increasing fire damage), which makes the trees less resistant to boring beetles that infest their tissues. Under more normal conditions, the trees are resistant to these pests.

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Birder's Bonus 241

Noted a Curlew ( Numenius arquata ) on the Loughor estuary at Bynea.