A new study shows warming temperatures could increase forest growth in the Northwest.
Rising temperatures that result from climate change could actually benefit Northwest forest growth at higher elevations, a new study says.
The bulk of the gains from climate change will be seen at higher elevations — above 3,000 feet – and in forests east of the Cascade Mountains, according to researchers at Oregon State University. Lower-elevation forests, where most of the commercial timber is harvested, could see reduced growth as a result of drier conditions.
The study, published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management, is one of the first to look at a variety of climate change models and predict what might happen to the signature forests that are an economic and ecological mainstay of the West as the climate warms.
Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times.
{biztweet}Northwest forest global warming{/biztweet}
