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The hordes of bark beetles that have bored their way through morethan six billion trees in the western United States and BritishColumbia since the 1990s do more than kill stately pine, spruce andother trees. Results of a new study show that these pests can maketrees release up to 20 times more of the organic substances thatfoster haze and air pollution in forested areas. A paper reporting the findings appears in the journal EnvironmentalScience and Technology, published by the American Chemical Society. Scientists Kara Huff Hartz of Southern Illinois UniversityCarbondale, Gannet Hallar of the Desert Research Institute's StormPeak Laboratory in Steamboat Springs, Colo., and colleagues saythat western North America is experiencing a population explosionof mountain pine beetles, a type of bark beetle that damages andkills pines and other trees. The beetles bore into the bark of pine trees to lay eggs. Gases called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are released fromthe bore holes, which act as defense mechanisms against thebeetles. VOCs, however, also contribute to the smog and haze that obscuresviews of natural landscapes in U.S. national parks and othernatural areas where tourists flock in summer. "These results highlight one of the many potential feedbacks due toaerosols, which continue to be the greatest challenge to improvingpredictive models for air quality, visibility and climate," saysAlex Pszenny, program director in the National Science Foundation'sDivision of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, which funded theresearch. To determine how beetle attacks affect the atmosphere, theresearchers measured VOC levels in the air near healthy andinfected pine trees. They found that beetle-infested trees release up to 20 times moreVOCs than healthy trees near the ground surface. The predominant type of VOC released by trees was calledB-phellandrene. The data suggest that the bark beetle epidemic in the westernUnited States could have led to higher concentrations of organiccompounds in the air, which may contribute to haze. The haze, say the scientists, may in turn harm human health, reducevisibility and affect climate. Other authors of the paper are Hardik Amin and Aaron Brown ofSouthern Illinois University Carbondale; P. Tyson Atkins of theDesert Research Institute; Rachel Russo of the University of NewHampshire; and Barkley Sive of Appalachian State University inBoone, N.C. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Hunting Face Mask , Camo Hunting Backpack, and more. For more , please visit Hunting Camo Clothing today!
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