Maple Syrup
Maple syrup production is increasingly impacted by climate change.[1] Canada produces most of the world’s supply of maple syrup, but syrup makers in the northeastern and midwestern US also collect sap in late winter and early spring. The flow of maple sap, which is eventually boiled down to create maple syrup, hinges on alternating freezing and thawing cycles at the end of winter. [2] The geographic range for profitable maple syrup production is expected to shift northward in the coming years. To adapt, producers will need to tap trees earlier in the Northeast.[3] Warmer March temperatures have already pushed tree-tapping earlier, and warmer spring and summer temperatures lower sugar content the following tapping season. Scientists predict that future sap collection will be about one month earlier than currently and that the best sap flow will be about 250 mi. (400 km) further north by 2100.[4]
References:
[1] “Changing Climate May Substantially Alter Maple Syrup Production,” https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/09/11/changing-climate-may-substantially-alter-maple-syrup-production.[2] Christopher B. Skinner, Arthur T. DeGaetano, and Brian F. Chabot, “Implications of Twenty-First Century Climate Change on Northeastern United States Maple Syrup Production: Impacts and Adaptations,” Climatic Change 100, no. 3 (June 1, 2010): 685–702, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-009-9685-0.
[3] Kristina Stinson and Toni Lynne Morelli, “Climate Effects on the Culture and Ecology of Sugar Maple," Northeast Climate Adaptation Center, 2018, https://necsc.umass.edu/projects/climate-effects-culture-and-ecology-sugar-maple.
[4] Joshua M. Rapp et al., “Finding the Sweet Spot: Shifting Optimal Climate for Maple Syrup Production in North America,” Forest Ecology and Management 448 (September 2019): 187, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2019.05.045.
