Global warming and droughts are having an effect on the life span of trees. The life of trees in western America and Canada has reduced to half as compared to their life 30 years before.

A team of scientists from the US and Canada warn that the loss of trees could have serious affect on the ecology. Thinner and weaker forests will mean more wildfires. This would mean that the forests would not be able to soak more carbon dioxide, in turn speeding up global warming. This would begin a vicious cycle with the global warming leading to lesser trees and lesser forests leading to global warming.

Thinning of the forest cover could also have another hazard, with an increase in the numbers of decaying trees, more carbon that had been locked inside the trees would be released in the atmosphere.

After considering a variety of other possible factors, including insect attacks and air pollution, the researchers concluded that regional warming and water deficit were the main culprits. Both these are also interdependent and lead to one another. Thus the summer droughts seem to be getting longer.

Warmer temperatures might also increase the number and prevalence of insects and diseases that attack trees.