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The Dry Summer...
By Dorothy MacFarlane
Posted Friday, September 28, 2007
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This summer, the lack of rain has had quite an effect on plants and animals. Ecosystems are very complicated, and not everything in a given area responds in the same way to a certain set of circumstances. For instance, yellow jackets have thrived because their underground nests have not been flooded. Other insects may be in trouble from lack of water. Butterflies are not finding as many flowers in my yard. The dry weather (and the fact that I spread the seeds) did lead to a bumper crop of milk weed, with lots of leaves for monarch butterflies to lay their eggs on. Once the caterpillars became butterflies, though, there wasn't a lot of nectar available for them to feed on.
I've been through dry summers before, but I have never seen so many mature trees in trouble. Swamp maples, sugar maples, dogwoods, and birches have all started to dry up and drop their leaves. Some of them are turning intensely red or yellow first, but this is not normal fall color; this is a tree is severe distress. It is quite possible that some of these trees will not leaf out next year.
Many oaks are already dead due to last year's caterpillar damage. They are not bad this year, but the last few years brought voracious caterpillars that stripped trees of their leaves. Leaves are factories that make the food trees need to grow. At the end of summer, excess food is stored over winter in the roots. This food is used by the roots and other parts of the tree that don't manufacture food, and is also important in the spring to fuel new leaves and flowers.
Years of bad conditions has depleted this supply in many trees, so this summers heat and dryness was just too much to overcome. One of the perks of living 60 plus years is that you get to observe nature long term. You can see trends, cause and effect, and wonder what the next year will bring. I hope the sugar maples come back next spring in good shape, and I hope that monarchs come back in large numbers, and yellow jackets don't.
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