The emerald ash borer has rampaged through 30 states,
killing trees in parks, homes and forests. Five of the six species of ash are
now critically endangered.
The green, black, white, pumpkin, and blue ash—the bulk of
the more than eight billion ash trees in the U.S.—are critically endangered.
City officials have had to clear entire parks of dead ash, which can cause
hazards once dry and brittle. “Here in Chicago you can see whole city blocks
where the trees have had to be removed,” says Murphy Westwood, whose team at
the Morton Arboretum teamed up with the IUCN to study the endangered trees.
This isn’t the first time a catastrophic disease has
decimated a U.S. tree species. Humans have a knack for deigning one species
supreme—think of wheat, corn or pigs—and using it pretty much exclusively. We
do this for our arboreal species, as well. Before ash trees were en vogue, elm
trees were ubiquitous. Then American Dutch elm disease swept across the U.S. in
the 1930s and 40s, devastating native populations. “In the earlier part of the
20th century, American elm lined the city streets and they created a cathedral
canopy,” says Smith. “Ash trees were used to repopulate American cities after
the dutch elm disease epidemic.”
http://www.popsci.com/florida-ash-tree
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