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June 6, 2005
Claryville – With the look of a troubled parent, Michael
Larison lists the problems facing this out-of-the-way oasis
in the Catskill Mountains of northern Ulster County.
Most are local, like insects, deer and
overzealous loggers – hardly the stuff of big-city headlines.
But there is one problem Larison says
urbanites to the south should take note of: acid rain, and
its potential threat to New York City's drinking-water supply.
"Acid deposition isn't good for the trees,"
says Larison, the director of natural resources here at
the Frost Valley YMCA, as he points to a plot of sick and
stunted maples. "And an unhealthy forest may result in poor
water quality."
It may take years for the effects to show,
but scientists say acid rain is likely slowing the growth
of upstate forests, a trend that could reduce trees' ability
to filter pollutants.
Most of New York City's drinking water
is filtered naturally by the trees and plants of northern
climes.
"If the forest is not healthy and is not
growing well, it's not going to retain nutrients," said
Greg Lawrence, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist in Troy
who is studying the issue. "If you have more nutrients going
into surface water, that could cause a (pollution) problem
for New York City."
Acid rain is causing other problems as
well, especially for those who rely on woodlands for logging,
maple sugaring and recreation.
"The biggest concern right now is probably
not with surface water, but with the actual health of the
trees," Lawrence said.
For one, Lawrence said, studies suggest
the sugar maple is dying a slow death from acid rain deposits.
Large swaths of the Allegheny Forest in
Pennsylvania have already experienced die-offs, and there's
evidence that New York's sugar maples are in danger of following
suit.
"They are what makes the fall foliage
so colorful. They're high-quality wood for furniture," Lawrence
said. "(They're) probably one of the most important trees
in the Northeast."
But Lawrence isn't sitting idle as acid
rain – formed when sulfur and nitrogen oxides from vehicles
and power plants mix with precipitation – eats away at upstate
timbers.
Earlier this year, the USGS released a
study of trees in Russia – where soils are similar to those
in the Catskills – that hinted at a reason for the indiscriminate
killing.
By comparing preserved soil samples with
cores taken from living trees near St. Petersburg, Russia,
Lawrence and his team determined that acid rain reduces
calcium, a vital element of healthy growth.
Without calcium, trees die.
"We've known that acid rain acidifies
surface waters, but this is the first time we've been able
to compare and track tree growth in forests that include
soil changes due to acid rain," Lawrence said.
Andrei Lapenis, an expert in climate change
at SUNY Albany and a co-author of the study, said the findings
translate to big problems for New York's forests.
"What we're finding for Russia is very
disturbing," Lapenis said. "We're finding 50 to 70 percent
losses of calcium, and we can see significant suppression
in the rate of tree growth over the last 20 or 30 years."
Given the forecast, Lawrence, Lapenis
and Larison are working to find a solution to the acid rain
problem, before forest health and water quality decline
beyond repair.
The USGS is studying plots of maples in
the 5,000-acre Frost Valley to determine whether adding
calcium – in the form of a limestone fertilizer – might
improve tree growth.
Larison says he hopes the effort will
pay dividends, especially with what's at stake.
"The water in the Neversink Reservoir
is the highest quality of any public water supply in the
country," Larison says. It's the "champagne" of New York
City's drinking water.
"Researchers just want to maintain that."
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