A Tree That Could Stop Wildfires
Cypress Trees Roberto Bertoli/Flickr Mediterranean cypress trees are resistant to wildfires. Wildfires are devastating North American forests this summer. Dry, hot weather has pushed millions of acres of trees past their breaking (burning?) point. And while firefighters from around the globe do all they can to save both forests and people, in another part of the world, the trees are fighting back. In a recent study published in the Journal of Environmental Management researchers found that Mediterranean Cypress trees were resistant to wildfires, and could be a potential deterrent to wildfires in the future. It all started in the 1980's, when researchers planted varieties of Mediterranean cypress trees (Cupressus sempervirens) in Spain, testing how the different varieties of the species would handle exposure to a deadly pathogen....