Thriving amid harshness, old trees may soon meet match

A grove of bristlecone pine trees in the Rocky Mountain region where some trees may be up to 1100 years old, in Northern Colorado, in this undated handout
For millenniums, the twisted, wind-scoured bristlecone pines that grow at the roof of western North America have survived everything nature could throw at them, from bitter cold to lightning to increased solar radiation.

Living in extreme conditions about two miles above sea level, they have become the oldest trees on the planet. The oldest living bristlecone, named Methuselah, has lived more than 4,800 years.

Now, however, scientists say these ancient trees may soon meet their match in the form of a one-two punch, from white pine blister rust, an Asian fungus that came to the United States from Asia, via Europe, a century ago, and the native pine bark beetle, which is in the midst of a virulent outbreak bolstered by warming in the high-elevation West.

Read more: http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010151258712