The numbers are ugly. A whopping 301 million trees have died across state forestlands as a result of the 2011 drought, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported Tuesday.
The latest count was determined after a three-month, on-the-ground study of hundreds of forested plots, as well as satellite imagery from before and after the drought. It includes trees killed directly by the drought and those so weakened that they succumbed to insects and disease. The 301 million count falls about midway of the forest service’s previous estimates of 100 to 500 million drought-related tree deaths. To read the article in the Houston Chronicle, visit http://bit.ly/RxrUjM.
