Rowland 
Drought is defined as an exceptional & prolonged deficit of water between demand & supply. Hence, in simpler terms, long-term conditions of low supply & high demand for water lead to drought. Most people out there are unaware of how damaging drought can be for trees – both in domestic as well as natural settings.
Thus, in this extensive guide, we’ll be covering the various ways how drought can affect trees and what you can do about the same.
How Drought Affects Trees In Natural Settings?
According to a well-known service provider for tree removal in North Shore, trees that are in natural settings include trees in the mountains, deserts, and natives. These trees not only have to obtain nutrients for growth but also to defend themselves from external elements.
When there isn’t enough water for the trees to survive, they use the energy that they’ve allocated for the defense to apply it towards survival. As a result, the defense mechanism of trees becomes lowered or weak, and thus external elements easily succeed in attacking the trees.
One of the common external agents that attack weak trees is bark beetles. These are small insects ranging from 1/8-inch to 3/8-inch and they team up together when they attack. The beetles first damage the vascular system of the tree, so that the nutrient flow to the upper part of the tree is cut down. And since the tree cannot further distribute its nutrients throughout its entire canopy, it starts to die from starvation causing the entire tree to die.
How Drought Affects Trees In Urban Settings?
When drought becomes a prolonged urban event, multiple cities impose water restrictions in certain non-essential areas which can include landscaping. And to comply with such restrictions, people stop or barely water their plants & trees.
At first, it might seem that the trees aren’t affected much by the reduction in water supply, but internally, they will go through the same process as the trees did in the natural settings. As a result, you’ll start seeing the following symptoms:
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Small-sized leaf production.
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Fewer leaf production.
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Leaves fall off easily.
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Dieback or interior thinning.
And once the trees become weak, you’ll see a similar effect of bark beetles attacking the trees and killing the weak trees slowly.
So, What Can Be Done?
When trees start to get damaged in urban settings, they’ll start falling over our urban living areas, leading to damage to our homes, cars and even loved ones.
Your ideal step would be to contact an arborist right away and get them to look at your trees. And any suggestion or recommendation must be fully carried out so that you can save your trees.
For more information, contact us today.
