{"id":31332,"date":"2025-12-18T17:16:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T07:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=31332"},"modified":"2025-12-18T17:18:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T07:18:30","slug":"drought-turns-southern-israels-forests-gray-as-tree-loss-mounts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/drought-turns-southern-israels-forests-gray-as-tree-loss-mounts\/","title":{"rendered":"Drought Turns Southern Israel\u2019s Forests \u2018Gray\u2019 as Tree Loss Mounts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Large sections of southern Israel\u2019s forests are turning gray as prolonged drought and steep rainfall declines drive unprecedented tree mortality that is according to Ynetnews, one of Israel’s largest and most influential media groups<\/a>, which said the shift has prompted urgent assessments from foresters and growing alarm among local communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For residents like Eli Shashua, a licensed tour guide from the community of Sansana, the change has been impossible to ignore. \u201cThe trees are starting to die,\u201d he said after recent walks through the Sansana Forest in the Yatir region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you step outside the community and look out, you see that most of the tree cover is simply gray,\u201d he said. At this time of year, the forest would usually be green and preparing for the bloom of anemones and irises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, Shashua said he is seeing dead trees, felled trunks and clearings where dense stands once grew. \u201cQuietly, these forests are disappearing \u2014 and it\u2019s as if no one is bothered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Dr Shili Dor\u2011Haim, head of the Forest Management and Information Department at the Jewish National Fund, the observations are accurate. Forests across the south are in measurable decline after years of drought and a dramatic drop in rainfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, just 50% to 67% of the average annual rainfall fell, severely stressing conifer species. \u201cThe phenomenon has led to widespread damage to forests, with unprecedented tree mortality rates,\u201d Dor\u2011Haim said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Damage varies across the region. Sansana Forest has suffered a moderate decline, but Carmim Forest \u2014 dominated by Jerusalem pine \u2014 has experienced extensive die\u2011off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar patterns are emerging in the Shikma, Meitar, Lachish, Yatir, Dudaim, and Gerar forests. A preliminary remote\u2011sensing survey covering 100,000 dunams from the Be\u2019eri region to Yatir Forest found more than 50% mortality among conifers, particularly cypress trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JNF has begun mapping affected areas and preparing rehabilitation plans in line with updated climate\u2011adaptation guidelines. Officials say the new approach reflects Israel\u2019s shifting environmental reality of rising temperatures, declining rainfall intensity, and longer dry seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many southern regions, annual rainfall has dropped below 150 millimetres, far below the historical average of 250 millimetres. The updated policy calls for adapting forest management to climate risk, selecting species suited to arid conditions, and encouraging natural regeneration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental groups have long warned that large\u2011scale afforestation in the Negev carries ecological risks. Some studies suggest that planting forests in bright, reflective desert landscapes can increase local warming and that climate\u2011mitigation benefits take decades to materialise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers also note that some forests were established in areas with challenging ecological conditions. In several regions, plantings have altered local land\u2011use patterns and created friction with nearby communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dor\u2011Haim said the current die\u2011off reflects the cumulative impact of years of water stress. At Shaked Patrol Park, a major research site for desertification prevention, shrubs have collapsed after repeated drought cycles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany years of drought cause plants to become extremely vulnerable due to water shortages and temperature stress,\u201d she said. \u201cEventually, they reach a point of no return and collapse and die.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Large sections of southern Israel\u2019s forests are turning gray as prolonged drought and steep rainfall declines drive unprecedented tree mortality that is according to Ynetnews, one of Israel’s largest and most influential media groups, which said the shift has prompted urgent assessments from foresters and growing alarm among local communities. For residents like Eli Shashua, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"default","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[80,52,53,2,32,45,44],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[69],"class_list":{"0":"post-31332","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa","8":"category-asia","9":"category-europe","10":"category-featured","11":"category-global-news","12":"category-sustainability","13":"category-sustainable-forest-management"},"authors":[{"term_id":69,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"woodcentral","display_name":"Wood Central","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MASTER-BRAND-MARK_POS_RGB-e1676449549955.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MASTER-BRAND-MARK_POS_RGB-e1676449549955.jpg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31332"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31337,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31332\/revisions\/31337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31332"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=31332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}