Historic Joshua Tree Bloom

[panamint_patty]

Historic Joshua Tree Bloom: What's the Cause?
A couple interesting theories to explain the unusually prolific bloom are proposed in this short news clip. Can two dryer than normal years actually trigger a stronger than normal bloom? Extremely interesting!!!

[BallaratBob]

Interesting post Panamint_Patty. I wonder if there are any blooming around these parts. I'll make a point of maybe driving out to Lee Flat to see what's blooming out there!

[wildrose]

MOJAVE DESERT: Blooming Joshua Trees
This guy talks about what factors contribute to a remarkable Joshua Tree bloom. This video was shot at Cima Dome.

[mrfish]

Missing Sloths, Modern Pollution, and the Fate of the Joshua Tree
This is an interesting article. The part about the giant sloths is especially fascinating! Maybe they can be replaced with giant robot sloths!

Across the southwest, an unprecedented natural event is taking place. The endangered Joshua Tree has come into full bloom across its entire range. Typically, only a small percentage of the trees flower at a time, and of those only a few of their branches hold flowers. Right now though, nearly every branch of every tree is in full bloom.

LINK: Read entire article at National Geographic website!

[mrfish]

Joshua Tree Bloom Due To Climate Change? Not So Fast
Apparently there are those suggesting that climate change triggered this bloom. The second of the two videos already posted stated that the bloom was triggered by late summer rain and a colder than normal winter. Other articles push the climate change hypothesis. This article does a good job of debunking the climate change hypothesis by presenting lots of data.

Articles on the extraordinary bloom have seen "print" on websites ranging from National Geographic to the New Scientist. The actual scientists quoted in the coverage really do try to convey just how much we don't know about what's going on here, Cameron Barrows of UC Riverside being an excellent and circumspect example. Nonetheless most of the writers come down solidly on the conclusion that the bloom is probably a result of global warming.

It seems that it is the writers and not the scientists who push the climate change hypothesis. I noticed the same thing when I watched Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth. The facts didn't really support Gore's claims. It's really annoying when advocates take information out of context and use it to push their pet cause!
LINK: CLIMATE CHANGE: Not So Fast!!!

[wildrose]

Drought blossoms into spectacular bloom of Joshua trees
Here's the article from New Scientist. It's an extremely short article, but it does contain some interesting info:

Joshua trees are a central component of the Mojave ecosystem. The trees rely on one species of moth almost exclusively for pollination, and the moth relies completely on the Joshua tree flowers as a nursery to for its larvae. After big blooms like this, rodent populations boom on an abundance of seeds.

LINK: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2013/04/drought-blossoms-into-spectacu.html

[wildrose]

Joshua trees in record bloom out West
There's also this article from USA Today. Joshua trees are blooming like crazy from Joshua Tree National Park to Tonopah, Nev., and Wickenburg, Ariz. according to the article. The idea that the Joshua trees are blooming in response to two years of drought doesn't really add up to me. I think it's the timing of the rain and the cold winter. That makes a lot more sense to me. The survival mechanism theory assumes that somehow the Joshua trees have genetic instructions to bloom when stressed and the problem is that most observers report that the plants don't appear to be stressed and so that theory just falls short of what I'd call a reasonable explanation.

Other theories about factors that could help set off bigger blooms include a cold snap in the winter or summer thunderstorms. But Cornett said those theories seem less likely in this case because drought is the common factor seen throughout the range of the Joshua trees lately.

LINK: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/11/joshua-trees-record-bloom/2075773/

[blackturtle.us]

Yucca Blooms in Argus Range
A couple of weeks ago I encountered a lot of yucca blooms while hiking near Shepherd Canyon in the Argus Range. I didn't realize that it was part of a regional and historic event. I just thought there were an awful lot of flower clusters on the yuccas (or Joshua trees) in that particular area!
Road's End (April 2013): http://www.dvplants.com/SITES/REILLY/index.html

[panamint_patty]

Joshua Trees In Rare Bloom, Possibly In An Attempt To Survive Climate Change
The Huffington Post is spinning this as a climate change story, but that doesn't seem like the best theory to account for what's happening. When the press pushes too hard to present "evidence" for climate change not only do they reduce their own credibility, but they also get people wondering if this whole climate change thing is nothing but a hoax. That's why news organizations should just report the news and stay away from advocating for pet causes!

Some biologists think the blooms are a stress response by the trees to climate change -- specifically, to much less rain. Joshua Tree national park typically receives between two to five inches of rain a year but this year only received 7/10 of an inch, the Los Angeles Times reports.

LINK: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/joshua-trees-bloom-video_n_3070822.html

[cactuspete]

Mojave Desert Joshua trees in unusual bloom
The late summer rain combined with cool winter weather seems to be the most viable theory in my opinion. The drought theory seems a bit of a stretch and intended to bolster belief in global warming more than anything else!

Some biologists have suggested that the trees benefited from late-summer thunderstorms last year or cool winter weather, said David Lamfrom, California desert manager for the National Parks Conservation Association.

LINK: http://www.xploreutah.net/story/mojave-desert-joshua-trees-unusual-bloom