The effects of climate change are taking a toll on Christmas tree farms in British Columbia and beyond.
The festive trees take eight to 12 years to reach the size most people look for, and young seedlings are particularly vulnerable to climate risks, said Richard Hamelin, head of the forest conservation sciences department at the University of B.C.Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Calgary Herald, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Record-breaking atmospheric rivers of rain caused extensive flooding throughout southwestern B.C. in November 2021, but Shirley Brennan, the executive director of the Canadian Christmas Trees Association, said farmers in the province reported their seedlings mostly appeared fine and the extreme heat had been much harder on the trees.“Right now the seedlings look OK, but it’s whether or not the root system is strong enough to grow into that tree, and that’s what we don’t know,” Brennan said.
The difference, Brennan said, is the extreme, unseasonable nature of recent droughts and other climate-related events, including intense late-spring frosts in Nova Scotia in 2018 followed by eastern Ontario and western Quebec in 2020. “Just like humans, when we are stressed or when we’re more tired, we’re more susceptible to diseases. Well, trees are the same way,” he said. “All this added stress from all this heat and flooding make the trees more susceptible to pests and pathogens.”
The closures have continued since then. Data from Statistics Canada shows the total area of Christmas tree farms shrunk by nearly 20,000 acres between 2011 and 2021.tap here to see other videos from our teamThe average age of a tree farmer is between 65 and 85 years old, and younger generations aren’t entering the sector as longtime farmers retire, Brennan noted.
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Climate change affecting Christmas trees in B.C. and beyond: expertThe effects of climate change are taking a toll on Christmas tree farms in British Columbia and beyond, with one forestry expert saying the sector that's already shrinking and shifting will need to adapt in the coming years.
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Climate change affecting Christmas trees in B.C. and beyond: expertThe effects of climate change are taking a toll on Christmas tree farms in British Columbia and beyond, with one forestry expert saying the sector that's already shrinking and shifting will need to adapt in the coming years.
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Climate change affecting Christmas trees in B.C. and beyond: expertSuccessive extreme weather events in B.C. will contribute to an ongoing shortage for years to come, says UBC\u0027s head of the forest conservation sciences…
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Climate change affecting Christmas trees in B.C. and beyond: expertThe effects of climate change are taking a toll on Christmas tree farms in British Columbia and beyond.
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Climate change affecting Christmas trees in B.C. and beyond: ExpertThe effects of climate change are taking a toll on Christmas tree farms in British Columbia and beyond.
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Climate change affecting Christmas trees in B.C. and beyond, expert saysChristmas tree seedlings particularly vulnerable to climate risks
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