Maple Syrup in the Adirondacks

Every year, as the winter's landscape begins to thaw, the maple sugaring season begins. New York State, with the Sugar Maple as its official state tree, is the second largest producer in the United States, and the Adirondacks produce almost one third of New York's total production. However, as the climate continues to change, the consequences are shown in the Sugar Maple trees. Although maple syrup production plays a major role in the Adirondacks' culture and history, the warming climate, acid rain, and demanding production process may force maple syrup production to decline in the future, impacting the Adirondacks both socially and culturally. 

http://www.adirondackvic.org/Trees-of-the-Adirondacks-Sugar-Maple-Acer-saccharum.html 

The warming climate has affected many of the trees in the Adirondacks, and will continue affecting the forests in the future. Maple sugar production is based on sapflow caused by positive internal pressures, which are mostly a physically process “caused by expansion of gas compressed in air-filled cells during the freezing process and stabilization of the compressed gas by osmotic pressures due to accumulation of sucrose in xylem.” Because sapflow is largely based on the physical relations between temperature and internal pressure, a warming climate has a strong influence on sap production. Sap will run if there numerous nights in a row that are below freezing with days above 40 degrees. With warm weather, there may not be nights below freezing. The maple syrup production is highly dependent on climate conditions, and under the shifting climate, maple syrup may become permanently altered. 

In addition to the warming climate impacting the sugar maple trees, acid rain is a major threat to the trees. Recently, the decline of the Sugar Maple tree populations in the Adirondacks has been observed by the State University of New York of Environmental Science and Forestry. There has been a negative growth trend of sugar maples, referred to as decline disease. There has been branch dieback, foliar discoloration, poor tissue nutrition, regeneration failure, and elevated mortality. One potential reason for the decline in sugar maples is the lasting effects of the acid rain that the Adirondacks faced in the past. According to Jenkins, the Adirondack region was "one of the most heavily affected regions in the United States." In the 1960's, as a result of the acid rain caused by Midwestern factory emissions, the soil was at a maximum pH of 4.0. Since the reduction of sulfur emissions, the soil has become less acidic at pH levels of .2-.3. Clearly, acid rain leads to the acidification of soil, which can have detrimental effects on the surrounding ecosystems. Acid rain alters the chemistry of the soil, leading to a loss of calcium and increased aluminium. Changing levels of calcium can lead to alterations of photosynthesis, growth, and shade tolerance. High levels of aluminium can become toxic and kill the tree or reduce intake of calcium.

Not only are current environmental factors impacting the trees, the production process itself for maple syrup is extremely demanding. The fresh sap flowing out of mape trees usually contains about 2% sugar and finished maple syrup contains about 66-67% sugar. Consequently, it takes more than 40 gallons of sap from a sugar maple tree to make one gallon of pure maple syrup. Many gallons of water have to be removed from the sap to produce maple syrup. Sap from Red and Silver Maple trees can be used to make maple syrup, however, these trees have even higher water-to-sugar ratios.

Looking into the future, it will be interesting to see the levels of production of maple syrup in the Adirondacks. Currently, maple syrup and the production of it are important to the culture and economy of the park. Historically, Native Americans and early European settlers produced the syrup. And today, it is still equally as important. Every year, there are weekend festivals dedicated to maple syrup production.  For the festivals, producers open up their sugarhouses for free tours, tastings, and demonstrations. The changing climate, environmental pollution, and demanding production process may lead to a future with less maple syrup. 

Sources:

http://www.adirondackvic.org/Trees-of-the-Adirondacks-Sugar-Maple-Acer-saccharum.html

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-009-9685-0#/page-1

https://cuintegrator.wordpress.com/2016/01/31/sugar-maple-acer-saccharum-in-the-adirondacks-facing-decline-disease/