Drought, Wildfires Takes Toll On Trees

EAST TEXAS - Texas trees had a rough year in 2011.

Estimates from the Texas Forest Service (TFS) show “5.6 million trees now are dead as a result of last year’s unrelenting drought.” Those figures are based on a study conducted by the TFS urban foresters, who have spent the last few months surveying tree mortality in cities and towns across the state.

Information provided by TFS staff forester and lead researcher Pete Smith revealed, “This estimate is preliminary because trees are continuing to die from the drought. This means we may be significantly undercounting the number of trees that ultimately will succumb to the drought. That number may not be known until the end of 2012, if ever.”

The TFS report states, “Much like the drought, tree mortality isn’t always uniform and can vary from one yard to another. The study conducted by Texas Forest Service — a member of the Texas A&M University System — focuses on tree mortality in the urban forest. The trees that line your street, shade your home and give you a quiet place to relax at your local park are all considered to be part of the urban forest. Foresters studied satellite imagery taken before and during the drought, counting both live and dead trees in randomly selected plots on both public and private land. All cities and towns in Texas were included in the study with the exception of the Trans Pecos region, where tree mortality was determined to be a result of a February 2011 cold snap, not the drought.”

The estimated 5.6 million trees killed as a result of the drought may represent as much as 10 percent of the total number of trees that make up the urban forest. Because these dead trees are in populated areas, many are a safety issue and will need to be removed. The estimated cost to remove these trees is $560 million.

The drought wasn’t the only issue affecting trees last year. More than 2,400 wildfires scorched the East Texas countryside, including Houston County, destroying well over 150,000 acres of forests.

The TFS estimates “more than 175 million cubic feet of East Texas timber - enough to build a six foot, wooden fence stretching 1.5 times around the equator - was destroyed during the fire season. Had that wood made it to the mill, it would’ve fetched $208 million. That volume of timber could have produced $1.6 billion worth of forest products such as homes, furniture and paper. It would have resulted in a $3.4 billion total economic impact in East Texas.”

Will Johnson may be reached via e-mail at wjohnson@messenger-news.com