Predicting the future of western forests, which are under increasing assault from various forces, presents a challenge.
“Uncertainty may mean that not all news is good news, but we’re not certain about that,” said Daniel Tinker, associate botany professor at the University of Wyoming. He spoke about the forests’ fate during UW’s Saturday University on Oct. 28 at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
Wildfire and bark beetles, for example, are two critical impacts on forests, Tinker explained.
“Climate change complicates all this,” he added. “We know the climate is changing” and can exacerbate the repercussions from fires and beetles.