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Warming temperatures are creating 'zombie forests' in California

A fifth of conifer forests in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains are now in places that are too hot for them – meaning they may not regrow if wiped out by wildfire or disease

By Lois Parshley

3 March 2023

New Ů��С��Ƶ. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine. — Conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California may be on borrowed time due to climate change
Wasim Muklashy/Shutterstock

Climate change is creating “zombie forests” in California. One-fifth of the conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada mountains are in areas that are no longer suitable for them – meaning they may not be able to regrow if wiped out by wildfire or disease – and that number is expected to double by the end of the century.

at the California Academy of Sciences first began investigating the relationship between climate change and forest fires several years ago, exploring…

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