Twisted Sisters: of Whitebark Pine and Macbeth
Upon reading last week's finding by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that whitebark pine is so threatened it warrants endangered species protections, somehow I found myself reflecting on the witches in Macbeth. Three witches kick off Shakespeare's epic tragedy, with prophesies of the bloody rise and fall of general, then king, Macbeth. The witches have been compared to the three fates of Greek tragedy, who together spin the thread of each human's life—and cut it at the end.
Thinking about whitebark pine, it seemed to me that the three witches in this context are white pine blisterrust, mountain pine beetles and climate change. Just like the witches in Macbeth, these forces work together to cook up a brew that is even more deadly than what each could do on her own. (Remember their famous line: "Double, double toil and trouble…"—which Shakespeare apparently lifted from an actual witch curse of his day.)
Although the FWS finding doesn't read like Shakespeare, it is worth reading nonetheless. It's a good, plain prose too, not rife with jargon and scientese; and it summarizes an amazing amount of important information on whitebark pine and its threats. Following is a short recap. I will number the witches listed below, as Shakespeare did his.
Witch #1. White pine blisterrust is a deadly invasive disease that was introduced into the U.S. from Eurasia over 100 years ago, when it tagged along on imported wood. Blisterrust results in the mortality of an overwhelming majority of infected trees, and all age classes of trees are susceptible. Blisterrust kills trees within an average of 20 years after infection, according to one recent study. Infestation rates are increasing, and the disease is now found throughout almost the entire range of whitebark pine, including the northern tip of the tree's range in Canada. If climate conditions become wetter, infestation rates will further escalate. Currently, colder, drier areas of the range that originally were thought to be less susceptible to the disease are now showing considerable rates of infection. Observing the trends in blisterrust, Forest Service expert Bob Keane is quoted in the FWS finding saying: "While whitebark pine will continue to persist on the landscape, these forests may become functionally extinct."
Witch #2. Climate change is expected to significantly decrease the prospect of survival of whitebark pine throughout its range. One Forest Service model, referenced in the FWS finding, shows that by the end of the century, only 3% of whitebark pine is anticipated to remain on the landscape in the U.S. (The U.S. which constitutes half of the tree's range; the rest of the tree's range is in Canada.) The whitebark pine has little ability to adapt to climate change, given its long, 60-year interval between generation. The ability of these trees to migrate north is also very limited because the current and anticipated rate of climate change is too great—unfortunately, trees can't walk, like the Ents of the Lord of the Rings. The ability of the tree to migrate to the north is further limited by, blisterrust, (Witch # 1) which is found at the northern end of the tree's range.
Witch #3. Mountain pine beetles: Due to warming temperatures and drier conditions brought on by climate change (Witch #2), mountain pine beetles have been able to flourish in whitebark pine at unprecedented levels, in areas previously thought to be "immune" from beetles. Mountain pine beetles have killed millions of acres of whitebark pine in what was previously thought to be inhospitable habitat. There is no way to stop beetle epidemics once they have started: epidemics typically subside when the availability of host trees is exhausted—i.e., when beetles have eaten all trees larger than roughly 6 inches in diameter. The numbers of whitebark pine hit by beetles continues to increase range-wide. Mountain pine beetles attacks are facilitated by blisterrust (Witch #1 and Witch #2), which weakens whitebark pine, making them more vulnerable to beetles (Witch #3).
These witches work together to drive a dynamic that is pushing whitebark pine to the very brink of ecological extinction.
To quote from the FWS document:
…"The interaction between white pine blisterrust and mountain pine beetle further intensifies the impact of both threats. White pine blisterrust and mountain pine beetle are impacting whitebark pine equally in both Canada and the U.S. portion of the range. In other words, there is currently no refuge from these threats. There is no way to control or reduce or eliminate either threat at this time, particularly at the landscape level needed to effectively conserve these species." (Bold added)
That's FWS' way of saying that the fates are, together, cutting the thread of life of whitebark pine, a tree that is vital to the high elevation ecosystems where they live. It's like the witches' curse that has now become a deadly reality.
As the witches say at the beginning of Macbeth, "When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning or in rain? When the hurly-burly's done....When the battle is lost and won."
For whitebark, the battle has been lost, in the short term anyway—and it is nothing short of a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions. The fact that we have "won" a "warranted but precluded" funding is a positive step, but it fails to stem the tide of this epic loss of a unique forest ecosystem.
At one point in Skakespeare's play (called the "Scottish play" by thespians fearful of the Witches' curse), one of the witches talks to Macbeth about "the deed that hath no name". But the deed had a name. She was referring to his plans for the murder of a man, Macduff, who Macbeth considered a threat. Here, in the context of whitebark, the deed is ecological extinction, or murder, if you want to go that far. For it is we, humans, who killed this tree.
There is one significant difference between watching the play Macbeth at your local theater, and watching the current whitebark tragedy playing out in the real world. The blood is not on Macbeth's or Lady Macbeth's hands, it's on ours. Because blisterrust would not be a problem, except that we humans accidently imported it to North America. And climate change and the related mountain pine beetle epidemic are the direct result of our use of fossil fuels. We may not be able to wash the blood off our hands—as Lady Macbeth could not, in her famous sleepwalking scene. But we should be able to make a commitment to turn the thermostat down, so that what's left of these beleaguered forests have a fighting chance—along with the rest of us on this fragile planet.
Although the FWS finding doesn't read like Shakespeare, it is worth reading nonetheless. It's a good, plain prose too, not rife with jargon and scientese; and it summarizes an amazing amount of important information on whitebark pine and its threats. Following is a short recap. I will number the witches listed below, as Shakespeare did his.
Witch #1. White pine blisterrust is a deadly invasive disease that was introduced into the U.S. from Eurasia over 100 years ago, when it tagged along on imported wood. Blisterrust results in the mortality of an overwhelming majority of infected trees, and all age classes of trees are susceptible. Blisterrust kills trees within an average of 20 years after infection, according to one recent study. Infestation rates are increasing, and the disease is now found throughout almost the entire range of whitebark pine, including the northern tip of the tree's range in Canada. If climate conditions become wetter, infestation rates will further escalate. Currently, colder, drier areas of the range that originally were thought to be less susceptible to the disease are now showing considerable rates of infection. Observing the trends in blisterrust, Forest Service expert Bob Keane is quoted in the FWS finding saying: "While whitebark pine will continue to persist on the landscape, these forests may become functionally extinct."
Witch #2. Climate change is expected to significantly decrease the prospect of survival of whitebark pine throughout its range. One Forest Service model, referenced in the FWS finding, shows that by the end of the century, only 3% of whitebark pine is anticipated to remain on the landscape in the U.S. (The U.S. which constitutes half of the tree's range; the rest of the tree's range is in Canada.) The whitebark pine has little ability to adapt to climate change, given its long, 60-year interval between generation. The ability of these trees to migrate north is also very limited because the current and anticipated rate of climate change is too great—unfortunately, trees can't walk, like the Ents of the Lord of the Rings. The ability of the tree to migrate to the north is further limited by, blisterrust, (Witch # 1) which is found at the northern end of the tree's range.
Witch #3. Mountain pine beetles: Due to warming temperatures and drier conditions brought on by climate change (Witch #2), mountain pine beetles have been able to flourish in whitebark pine at unprecedented levels, in areas previously thought to be "immune" from beetles. Mountain pine beetles have killed millions of acres of whitebark pine in what was previously thought to be inhospitable habitat. There is no way to stop beetle epidemics once they have started: epidemics typically subside when the availability of host trees is exhausted—i.e., when beetles have eaten all trees larger than roughly 6 inches in diameter. The numbers of whitebark pine hit by beetles continues to increase range-wide. Mountain pine beetles attacks are facilitated by blisterrust (Witch #1 and Witch #2), which weakens whitebark pine, making them more vulnerable to beetles (Witch #3).
These witches work together to drive a dynamic that is pushing whitebark pine to the very brink of ecological extinction.
To quote from the FWS document:
…"The interaction between white pine blisterrust and mountain pine beetle further intensifies the impact of both threats. White pine blisterrust and mountain pine beetle are impacting whitebark pine equally in both Canada and the U.S. portion of the range. In other words, there is currently no refuge from these threats. There is no way to control or reduce or eliminate either threat at this time, particularly at the landscape level needed to effectively conserve these species." (Bold added)
That's FWS' way of saying that the fates are, together, cutting the thread of life of whitebark pine, a tree that is vital to the high elevation ecosystems where they live. It's like the witches' curse that has now become a deadly reality.
As the witches say at the beginning of Macbeth, "When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning or in rain? When the hurly-burly's done....When the battle is lost and won."
For whitebark, the battle has been lost, in the short term anyway—and it is nothing short of a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions. The fact that we have "won" a "warranted but precluded" funding is a positive step, but it fails to stem the tide of this epic loss of a unique forest ecosystem.
At one point in Skakespeare's play (called the "Scottish play" by thespians fearful of the Witches' curse), one of the witches talks to Macbeth about "the deed that hath no name". But the deed had a name. She was referring to his plans for the murder of a man, Macduff, who Macbeth considered a threat. Here, in the context of whitebark, the deed is ecological extinction, or murder, if you want to go that far. For it is we, humans, who killed this tree.
There is one significant difference between watching the play Macbeth at your local theater, and watching the current whitebark tragedy playing out in the real world. The blood is not on Macbeth's or Lady Macbeth's hands, it's on ours. Because blisterrust would not be a problem, except that we humans accidently imported it to North America. And climate change and the related mountain pine beetle epidemic are the direct result of our use of fossil fuels. We may not be able to wash the blood off our hands—as Lady Macbeth could not, in her famous sleepwalking scene. But we should be able to make a commitment to turn the thermostat down, so that what's left of these beleaguered forests have a fighting chance—along with the rest of us on this fragile planet.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment