Climate change is ruining maple syrup
shows that, by 2100, maple syrup season may begin one month earlier than it did between the years 1950 and 2017.
Maple syrup production is contingent upon two climate-sensitive characteristics: its sugar content and sap flow. Sugar content depends on the amount of carbohydrates the tree has stored after a year of photosynthesizing and taking up nutrients from the surrounding soil through its roots. Sap flow depends on the local area’s freeze-thaw cycle. Specifically, sap begins to flow in sugar maple trees during a very specific window: when freezing temperatures occur at night but warm up during the day.
A team of scientists spanning universities across Canada and the United States surveyed six sugar maple groves between the state of Virginia and Québec, Canada over the course of six years to see how sugar content and sap flow related to monthly and yearly temperatures as well as the prior year’s temperatures.
Using this information and historical temperature data, the researchers were able to develop a model that predicted how warming may impact maple syrup production if we continue to produce greenhouse gas emissions at the current rate. In addition to determining that sap production will occur earlier in the year by the end of the century, the team also found that syrup production will likely decline in Virginia and Indiana, but increase considerably in sugar maple groves further north.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Wall Street Week Ahead: Data will show damage of tariffs, strong dollar on U.S. goods exportersIt's no longer a probability, it's a reality: the escalating U.S.-Chin...
Read more »
Prince Harry & Prince William Focus on Climate Crisis: “It’s a Race Against Time”They may lead very different lives, but the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex will always come together on this one issue.
Read more »
Joy Behar says climate change deniers 'don't care about their grandchildren''The View' co-hosts Joy Behar and Abby Huntsman sparred over climate change on Tuesday's show after Greta Thunberg's impassioned plea to world leaders made headlines.
Read more »
Luxury leader LVMH, in green mode, laments Thunberg's pessimismEnvironmental activist Greta Thunberg's discourse on climate change was ove...
Read more »
If Keeping a Journal Stresses You Out, Here's the Low-Key Way I Do It That Makes It Self-CareIf writing 'Dear Diary' every day stresses you out, it's time to change the rules — or maybe remove them altogether.
Read more »