Randerson study quantifies tree losses

AirUCI faculty James Randerson has released a study of California tree loss, research marking the first time scientists have been able to measure tree population declines in California as well as attribute the changes to such pressures as wildfires, drought stress, and logging. His research team, including AirUCI postdoc Jonathan Wang, utilized satellite data from the USGS and NASA’s Landsat mission to study vegetation changes between 1985 and 2021. One of the starkest declines in tree cover they documented was in Southern California, where 14% of the tree population in local mountain ranges has vanished.  Read the article    Read the Earth.com article