18-04-2016 21:00 via phys.org

Study identifies tree traits that may contribute to drought vulnerability

Two hundred-twenty-five million trees dead in the southwest in a 2002 drought. Three hundred million trees in Texas in 2011. Twelve million this past year in California. Throughout the world, large numbers of trees are dying in extreme heat and drought events. Because mass die-offs can have critical consequences for the future of forests and the future of Earth's climate, scientists are trying to understand how a warming climate could affect how often tree mortality events occur - and how severe
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