Swiss trees swelter as climate warms
22 Aug 2017
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The silver fir is likely to prove the best bet for Switzerland’s forests |
By PAUL BROWN | The most important tree for Switzerland’s forestry industry, the Norway spruce, is in danger of dying out in much of the country because it cannot adapt fast enough as Swiss trees swelter in the rising temperatures.
Caroline Heiri, the lead scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, described the findings as “astonishing” and said urgent action was needed to save Switzerland’s forests by planting saplings that can survive the conditions which will occur later this century as the trees grow to maturity.
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