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lburners
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# Posted: 13 Jan 2022 18:11
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I dont see this talked about too much but thought this was an interesting video on how worms are impacting the forests in the U.S.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xvkIDs3zQk
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 13 Jan 2022 20:29
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Yes, that is lost in the hub-bub of everything else. I read about it somewhere several years ago and then nothing more.
Here, for people who like to read instead of watching videos
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/invasive-earthworms-harm-forests-near-grea t-lakes/
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jan 2022 07:44
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learn something new everyday. Interesting stuff.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jan 2022 15:01
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I have no earthworms, but do have some western barkbeetle killing my ponderosas, not at an alarming rate, but I see a dozen or 2 saplings dead but seems I may find 4 or 5 larger trees a year killed by the beetles. I just mark them for harvest, take them down, skid them to a log deck, let the ants have it for a year, them all bark falls off and I end up with nice peeled logs which was the reason I build the log shelter. Life hands you lemons, I made lemonade.
Good news, we have had an ultra cold winter over there with deep snows, hope it takes out the beetles and throttles back on the ticks.
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lburners
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jan 2022 16:32
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Yeah there is a lot of talk here about the emerald ash borer. Its one thing if it just affects one species but based on that video this has the capability to change the entire forest makeup. I guess a lot of the ecosystem depends on that duff layer.
Doesnt sound like there is much that can be done but something to be aware of I guess.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jan 2022 17:56
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One major difference between the western bark beetle and the earthworms is that the earthworms are not native to the area mentioned but the western bark beetles are considered native to the western forests in the US. The beetles can be very damaging to forests but they were always here in the Rockies.
The worms were imported; accidentally, not intentionally, but they are still not native to the great lakes area forests. Similarly here in NM, we have plant species that are non-native.
Salt cedar is endemic on most riverbanks and use excessive amounts of water. Russian Olive was introduced by people who at the time (19th century) did not conceive of potential problems. It spread and has also invaded riparian systems where it chokes out native species.
Salt cedar was originally imported as a solution to land erosion. It did that but we got more than we bargained for. The spread of Salt Cedar has been exacerbated by the high level of water management here in the west. Read that as all the dams we have built have altered the flows and that has changed the ecosystem.
There is very little that we people do that does not have some unintended consequence. Sometimes though, the actual outcome may bring an unexpected positive. However, the negative ones sure stick in the memory. Our history of extinguishing all forest fires in the western US has been severely harmful to us in recent years.
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