Their lush stands provide refuge for wildlife and their golden autumn foliage illuminates mountains. But the West’s aspens are dying–and scientists don’t know why. Aspens, however, aren’t the only native tree threatened by a host of problems from climate change to invasive pests. Says Deborah Gangloff, executive director of the nonprofit American Forests, “A lot of species are under siege right now.”
CORRECTION: “Troubled Time for Trees” (Periscope, Aug. 28) stated that American chestnut trees were decimated by Dutch elm disease. In fact, it was the chestnut blight fungus. And hemlocks are being killed by an organism called woolly adelgid, not woody adelgid. NEWSWEEK regrets the errors.
