Environmental Trouble

[Marc St Louis]

I cut a few Paper Birch this Winter for firewood, all of them had very thin bark.  I've cut many Birch in the past and the usual bark thickness ranged around 1/8", not anymore.  All the Birch I cut this Winter had bark no more than 1/16" thick.  I also noticed that there were more dead Birch trees than there were live ones.  Does not bode well.

[bow101]

Could it be the colder winter..?  I remember in the 90's the furnace was always shut off by Mid April.
It still comes now a few times in the morning and late evening.  This has been the norm for the last 10-18 years.

[Parnell]

The world is changing, Marc, and there ain't a damn thing that is going to stop it.  By the way, your bow you posted up has a spectacular tiller.

[Marc St Louis]

Trees don't put on layers of bark in the Winter and I can't see why a colder Winter would kill them off.  White Birch can tolerate longer, colder, Winters than other species of trees that grow up here, their range extends further North.

Thanks Parnell

[Badger]

  That is strange Mark, have your spring and summer temps been warmer than usual?

[Marc St Louis]

Just the opposite Steve.  Last Summer was cool and wet and this past Winter was positively unpleasant. 

[Peacebow_Coos]

I think this is a perfect example of why climate science is so hard to grasp, no one knows what will happen it's just a bunch of educated guesses.  Too many bizarre feedback loops and relationships we don't know about.  I read an interesting article about bark beetles http://www.climatecentral.org/news/why-bark-beetles-are-chewing-their-way-through-americas-forests-15429 .  Who knows how this will effect trees of all types through adaptive mechanisms?  Environmental trouble for sure.

[PatM]

Marc, domestic birch species are notoriously plagued with problems and I wonder if some of the ailments that afflict them have been introduced into the wild populations.

[Marc St Louis]

The one thing about White Birch is the wood stays sound for nearly a year after it dies so it's still good firewood, then the decay really accelerates.  The wood ferments after it dies, slightly unpleasant smell when you cut it, and that probably protects the wood from bugs and bacteria.  Then the decay starts from the top and works its way down