More than 30 whitebark pines up to 5,900 years old discovered in Wyo – Buckrail
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Jackson Hole’s Community News Stream JACKSON, Wyo. — On Dec. 20, 2024, new research was published that reveals scientists discovered more than 30 dead whitebark pine trees that were entombed in ice for millennia on the Beartooth Plateau in northwest Wyoming.The groundbreaking discovery was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and can be found here. According to the research, the whitebark pines were lying down with “extraordinary quality of wood preservation.” The authors of the peer-reviewed paper write that recent warming has decreased snow and ice cover of most subalpine treelines around the world, so that the whitebark pine trees have become visible after up to 5,900 years. This discovery provides insights into past climate change and ecosystem dynamics in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). According to the paper, the whitebark pines found show that the Mid-Holocene treeline expanded roughly 590 feet above the elevation their treeline is today, at 10,140 feet above sea level. Treeline elevation then lowered due to periods of cooling related to increased volcanism in the region; volcanic activity caused a decrease in summer insolation, or the amount of solar energy the Earth receives in the summer, during the late Holocene. Because the warm-season average temperatures fell dramatically, the paper confirms a lack of tree growth and tree mortality occurred. Today, current ice-patch temperatures are exceeding the warmest mid-Holocene conditions, with ice patches and glaciers across the GYE shrinking.“With continued warming in the coming decades, most will disappear along with the paleoarchives they preserve,” the authors of the paper write. “Treeline elevation may rise again across the high elevations; however, the current rate and magnitude of projected future warming may also limit moisture and increase ecological disturbances that ultimately restrict future treeline expansion.”In addition to those challenges, whitebark pines are currently also facing threats from wildfire, pine beetles and blister rust. Luckily, volcanic eruptions are unlikely to impact them again any time soon.River Stingray is a news reporter with a passion for wildlife, history and local lenses. She holds a Master’s degree in environmental archaeology from the University of Cambridge and is also a published poet, dog mom and outdoor enthusiast.
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Source: http://buckrail.com/more-than-30-whitebark-pines-up-to-5900-years-old-discovered-in-wyo/
