Aerial images show decades of foothill forest growth erased due to California's extreme drought
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 - 07:50
in Earth & Climate
During the summer of 2015, survey flights conducted by the United States Forest Service (USFS) showed vast areas of dead and dying trees in the Sierra Nevada foothills and lower-elevation mountain areas of California. Aircraft flew over four million acres of forested land and found that roughly 20 percent of stands had a distinct reddish-brownish coloration instead of a bright green, healthy leaf canopy. The toll was more than 10 million dead trees, region-wide.