Atlanta Drought is Trial by Fire for Trees
After months of little rain, trees around the Atlanta area are beginning to look a little parched. The weakest trees are the ones that succumb to moisture stress first. Sometimes its the trees that have been damaged from soil disturbance, such as on construction sites or even on lawns that have been over-manicured. Construction sites may have compacted soil that drives out pore space in the soil. Over manicured lawns may have been over-watered in the past or been graded by machinery that destroyed fine roots in the upper strata of the soil profile. Trees growing in regions that are already dry may be on the edge of critical moisture stress. A casual drive through south DeKalb County reveals Loblolly pines dying on the rock outcrops. These trees functioned under normal rainfall conditions, but this year has been especially hard on them. Perhaps, the stronger trees will re-populate the area. Once called "The most massive and longest lived organisms on Earth" by the late A
