The Southeastern U.S. Is Losing Trees Fast

One expert calls it a 'highly degraded ecosystem.'

The southeastern United States is losing trees fast.  Between 2000 and 2012, trees in the region were cut up to four times faster than in South American rainforests.

Smith: “In the southeastern U.S., what’s driving the loss of forest cover is industrial-scale logging.”

That’s Danna Smith of the Dogwood Alliance, a nonprofit organization.  She says that rainforests are often clear-cut for agriculture, whereas trees cut down in the Southeast are usually replanted.

But it can take a sapling decades to grow large enough to absorb and store as much carbon as the tree it replaced.

Smith: “Absolutely, older standing trees have more benefit for the climate.”

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