Due to climate change and attacking beetles western forests in North America where the pine trees populate may disappear in the coming decades, according to a study by US and Canadian researchers.

By year 2020, the trees in the Pacific Northwest will decline by 8 percent and by 2080, it is projected to be almost absent from Oregon, Washington and Idaho, it said.

Pine trees are tough in bitter cold and wildfires but susceptible to warmer, dryer seasons in combination with pests, they will kill off the trees in growing numbers, it said.

Continued climate change from cooler to warmer weather conditions will accelerate the pine trees’ demise, according to the journal climatic change.

Pine trees are sources of wood materials, building poles and fences and it has also been providing habitat for larger animals in the wild.

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