Between 2016 and 2021, Seattle lost 1.7% of its tree canopy, about 255 acres of trees, according to a city report blaming climate change in part.
driest summerIt was the latest in a string of Seattle summers in the last decade, including a record-breaking heat dome in 2021, to feature drier conditions and hotter temperatures that have left many trees with premature brown leaves and needles, bald branches and excessive seeding –- all signs of stress.
Cities worldwide have promised to plant more carbon-absorbing trees to help fight climate change. Research has shown the shade of mature trees also helps reduce unhealthful “heat islands,” especially in poor neighborhoods. President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act infused $1.5 billion into the Forest Service’s urban tree program — money for cities to do even more planting and maintenance.
Human-caused climate change also fuels more extreme weather such as intense wind, rain and freezing temperatures. Cities are familiar with large scale tree loss, but usually one kind of tree is affected, such as birches killed by a borer pest. With climate change, researchers are concerned canopy loss will outpace the rate of newly planted trees reaching maturity, which takes 10 to 20 years.
“Once these trees are established, they grow incredibly fast,” said Rick Bailey, supervisor of the city’s forest management program. Native trees still make up about 70% of new trees planted.
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