Paper birch trees: a (mixed) success story

摘要

The white-barked paper birch tree, which American Indians turned into canoes and Robert Frost weaved into poetry, is slowly disappearing from some northern woods -- and humans' success in protecting the forest may be partly to blame. Paper birch thrives in areas stripped by forest fires or cut over for timber, and New York's Adirondack Mountains are seeing less of both these days. The result: Birches cannot compete in the dense woods for the sun they need to flourish, foresters say. According to the Forest Service, paper birch declined an average of 22 percent in New York from 2007 to 2014. Absent large wildfires or other disturbances, that trend is likely to continue, giving the storied species a dwindling role in the state's forests, the Forest Service said in its 2014 inventory -- the most recent available -- and analysis of New York forests.