Researchers race to climate-proof Christmas tree production: ‘We’re up to the task’
Like all crops, Christmas trees are vulnerable to a changing climate, as the United States continues to experience warmer temperatures, more frequent and severe heat, increased rainfall, droughts, wildfires and hurricanes, as a result of global warming and the climate crisis – primarily driven by humans’ burning of fossil fuels.
A recent report from the National Centers for Environmental Information, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), highlights how dire the climate crisis is and how it will continue to affect Christmas trees.
The report states that high temperatures and drought can stress Christmas trees, making them more vulnerable to pests and diseases, that excessive rainfall can cause flooding and root rot, and that extreme cold can cause frost damage, drying out buds and shoots.
In 2021, severe drought in Oregon led to the death of over 70% of Christmas tree seedlings in the state that year, the report states, due to extreme temperatures and very dry conditions that also completely dried out the needles of more mature trees.
