Study: Insect attacks on forests will surge 30% by 2050 as climate warms
A Nature Ecology & Evolution analysis of one million trees finds mild winters are allowing pests to survive and reproduce faster, threatening forests across North America.
What to know
- A study of one million North American trees projects 60% will face 30% more insect pressure by 2050 as milder winters allow pests to survive and reproduce faster.
- Invasive adelgids and native spruce beetles are already decimating forests across regions, with dead trees accumulating as wildfire fuel.
- The transformation is underway now, not a future threat—researchers say the current status quo is unsustainable.
- Online discussion reflects frustration over both the accelerating feedback loops and perceived gaps between reporting and action by policymakers.
The dispute Whether future solutions should involve large-scale intervention (chemical sprays, controlled burning, forest management) or whether past mismanagement makes such approaches risky and ineffective. · positions read across 31 posts and comments
The crisis is accelerating with interconnected feedback loops already underway and will have severe financial and environmental consequences.
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“the tree mortality caused by adelgid creates a substantial buildup of fuel for forest fires, and the feedback loop accelerates. There are thousands of these little feedback loops in action now.”
alienbeach.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
Policymakers and media are failing to take sufficient action; reporting alone is inadequate without concrete emergency measures and legislation.
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“Please stop talking YOU AREN'T REPORTERS YOUR JOB IS ACTION - you people are the worst, you report problems, say someone has to do something & walk away STEP UP YOU'RE LAWMAKERS MAKE LAWS & TAKE ACTION IN EMERGENCY SUPPORT”
broekn.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
Forest management practices and past interventions have been ineffective or counterproductive; past mistakes like toxic aerial sprays should not be repeated.
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“they began cutting the wrong trees when so called thinning was auctioned off by that same group”
johnperschino.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
Jonathan Davies Senior author, University of British ColumbiaNature Ecology & Evolution study team Research authors
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments
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Commenter warns of accelerating feedback loops as tree mortality fuels wildfires
A Bluesky commenter highlighted how adelgid-caused tree mortality creates fuel buildup for forest fires, which in turn accelerates the cycle—one of thousands of feedback loops already in action.
“the tree mortality caused by adelgid creates a substantial buildup of fuel for forest fires, and the feedback loop accelerates…”
— alienbeach.bsky.social -
Just the beginning: the tree mortality caused by adelgid creates a substantial buildup of fuel for forest fires, and the feedback loop accelerates. There are thousands of these little feedback loops in action now.
2 more of the top 3 · 23 posts in this stretch
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I'm in the PNW and The Cedars on my property are showing stress and I've lost a few already. I grew up here and since about 2010, I've seen a dramatic change in climate. "By the time you admit you have a problem you're too far down the back side of the curve to stop it."
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This has been going on for 20 years, and the direct climate change causation is also well known. It's not a future crisis, it's here. Millions of acres are dead in the Rockies throughout the US and Canada, and it all burns.
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Forest service veteran describes mismanagement in tree-thinning auctions
A retired forest service Southwest regional head cited poor forest management practices in which the wrong trees were cut during thinning operations auctioned by the same agency, leading to his retirement after conflict with leadership.
“they began cutting the wrong trees when so called thinning was auctioned off by that same group…”
— johnperschino.bsky.social -
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Climate dangers: In the Rockies it’s impossible to miss the grey belts of what were green forest, killed by pine beetles. Wildfire fodder now.
2 more of the top 3 · 8 posts in this stretch
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According to a retired forest service SW head, they began cutting the wrong trees when so called thinning was auctioned off by that same group. The fight he had with the powers that were, caused him to retire.
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Climate disasters are going to get much, much worse. If people need a reason, outside of any emotionally or politically charged issue, human beings will not be able to afford the massive and continual clean up in currently habitable areas. Climate change will not be financially sustainable.
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background
Invasive adelgid and native spruce beetle already decimating North American forests — The woolly adelgid, introduced from Asia in the 1920s, attacks hemlock and spruce trees unchecked in the eastern U.S. after surviving milder winters. Similarly, native spruce beetles in Alaska and western Canada are completing life cycles faster and surviving winters at higher rates, leaving dead forests that become wildfire fuel.
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background
Study finds 60% of North American trees face 30% surge in insect pressure by 2050 — A Nature Ecology & Evolution study analyzing one million tree records across the U.S. and Canada projected that 60 percent of trees will experience a 30 percent increase in insect pressure by 2050. Warmer temperatures and milder winters enable insects to survive longer and reproduce faster, particularly threatening forests in colder, wetter regions.
What people are saying 18 voices from 1 site · best of 31 · verbatim
- What forest management and prevention strategies can be deployed without repeating past mistakes like toxic aerial spraying?
- What specific emergency policies or legislation should lawmakers enact to address the crisis?
- How can communities prepare for and manage the wildfire fuel buildup from dead trees?
- Sep 15
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This is also wiping out the tall pines of Northern California, and creating greater fire danger for the people who live among those trees. The US Forest Service is operating with far fewer rangers and entemologists on this problem which is spreading rapidly through the pines in the US and Canada
- Sep 11
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I mean its nature, its not deliberate but maybe some biodiversity could act as a buffer or something block the pine beetles by planting waves of something they hate?
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This is why we need these government programs to turn out ways to control pests. Rabies, screw worm, pine Beatles…. We shouldn’t be shutting down these programs they are needed. Along with an environmental conscience!!!
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maybe it’s not a good idea to have vast areas covered in genetically identical trees.
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Nature verses trump who wins first as he deregulates and is selling out forests
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I know for one thing we need to get Mclintock and his corporate interests out and support democrat @michaelmasuda.bsky.social he’s an engineer not a politician he wants to find solutions not steal our money and hide from constituents
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Came out Banff a few year back, heading to Idaho, and it was so sad. Miles and miles of kill.
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Vermont has a surge in tree loss from insects too. Most of the trees I saw last month were infected. They lined the streets of Manchester, Burlington etc
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Unless we aggressively embrace, climate change, we will die.
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I was there last fall. It is truly heartbreaking and tragic to see.
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Remember how well-meaning Fifties/Sixties New Brunswick battled Spruce Budworm with toxic aerial sprays and ruined the salmon fishery? Just a thought. I know which industry employs more.
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Climate change was triggering a surge in forests in the New York and New England areas... Right up until the insect surge started taking hold this year.
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Please stop talking YOU AREN'T REPORTERS YOUR JOB IS ACTION - you people are the worst, you report problems, say someone has to do something & walk away STEP UP YOU'RE LAWMAKERS MAKE LAWS & TAKE ACTION IN EMERGENCY SUPPORT of CLIMATE REMEDIATION for the Rockies & elsewhere @booker.senate.gov
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Same in The Sangre de Cristos in Santa Fe New Mexico.
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We know. And yes it's getting worse. Colorado Front Range, 2020
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I read an article about the beetles caught a storefront in B.C. and rode it over the Rockies to rain down on Alberta's forests,frozen but viable once they thawed...?
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We live in a large meadow next to the forest. We burn wood to supplement our solar heat and have friends in the forest begging us to come help clear downed trees before the inevitable fires come.
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Hiking a forested trail in Mount Rainier NP this spring, I saw so many of these beetles crawling underfoot.