More than 36 mln trees die in U.S. California in 2022

More than 36 million trees died in the western U.S. state of California last year due to the cumulative impacts of extended drought, overstocked forest conditions, insect outbreaks, and disease, said a new report released by the U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday.

The report revealed that an estimated 36.3 million trees across 2.6 million acres (around 1.05 million square kilometers) of federal, state and private land died in California in 2022. The report noted that total tree mortality increased significantly both in acres affected and particularly in estimated trees killed from 2021 in which an estimated 9.5 million trees died in the state.

"Since 2020, California has experienced the driest and warmest years on record causing serious drought conditions. Without enough water, trees are susceptible to bark beetle attacks and disease," said the U.S. Forest Service in a news release, adding that "their susceptibility rises when trees are crowded and temperatures are abnormally high."

"Even with the recent storms from atmospheric rivers, increased tree mortality should be expected in forests until precipitation returns to normal or above normal for a few years," the agency said.

The U.S. Forest Service said the agency and its partners throughout the state are working together to remove dead trees and increase forest health.

"Working together, we can mitigate the risks of tree mortality and high-intensity wildfire by reducing the overabundance of living trees on the landscape," Jennifer Eberlien, Regional Forester for the Pacific Southwest Region, said in the news release.

California has proposed 1.2 billion U.S. dollars as part of a 2.7-billion-dollar multi-year package to accelerate wildfire resilience and forest health. Current and future actions include thinning dense forests in strategic areas, spraying insecticide on barks of high-value trees, removing trees hazardous to public safety, and ongoing monitoring of landscape conditions, according to the news release.