What's Killing the Trees? 1987 NASA Acid Rain & Deforestation at Camel's Hump Mountain, Vermont

more at http://scitech.quickfound.net/environment/environment_news.html "The possible causes for forest decline are discussed, including acid rain on Camel's Hump Mountain, Vermont." Public domain film from NASA, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation Deforestation, clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use. About half of the world's original forests had been destroyed by 2011, the majority during the previous 50 years. Since 1990 half of the world's rain forests have been destroyed. More than half of the animal and plant species in the world live in tropical forests... Deforestation occurs for many reasons: trees are cut down to be used or sold as fuel (sometimes in the form of charcoal) or timber, while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock, plantations of commodities, and settlements. The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity. It has adverse impacts on biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Deforestation has also been used in war to deprive an enemy of cover for its forces and also vital resources. A modern example of this was the use of Agent Orange by the United States military in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Deforested regions typically incur significant adverse soil erosion and frequently degrade into wasteland. Disregard or ignorance of intrinsic value, lack of ascribed value, lax forest management and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that allow deforestation to occur on a large scale. In many countries, deforestation, both naturally occurring and human induced, is an ongoing issue. Deforestation causes extinction, changes to climatic conditions, desertification, and displacement of populations as observed by current conditions and in the past through the fossil record... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. Governments have made efforts since the 1970s to reduce the release of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere with positive results. Nitrogen oxides can also be produced naturally by lightning strikes and sulfur dioxide is produced by volcanic eruptions. The chemicals in acid rain can cause paint to peel, corrosion of steel structures such as bridges, and erosion of stone statues... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel's_Hump Camel's Hump (alternatively Camels Hump) is Vermont's third-highest mountain and highest undeveloped peak. Because of its distinctive profile, it is perhaps the state's most recognized mountain, featured on the state quarter. It is part of the Green Mountain range. With its neighbor to the north, Mount Mansfield, it borders the notch that the Winooski River has carved through the ridgeline of the Green Mountains over eons. The hiking trails on Camel's Hump were among the first cut in the Long Trail system, and Camel's Hump remains a popular summit for through- and day-hiking. The mountain is part of Camel's Hump State Park... Botany The summit of Camel's Hump is home to 10 acres (4 ha) of alpine tundra vegetation. Plants found in this region include: bigelow sedge, alpine bilberry, mountain sandwort, crowberry, mountain cranberry, Labrador tea. A direct result of glacial formation, these alpine species were once widespread but as the lower elevations warmed, only the very peak of Camel's Hump remained hospitable to the fragile plants. Camel's Hump also supports a significant population of red spruce trees which have been under decline. The Forest Decline Project at the University of Vermont published a study in 1991 citing acid rain as a culprit of the reduced seed production and germination...