Mainebiz interviews Lilley on maple adaptation to climate change

Jason Lilley, a maple industry educator with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, was interviewed by Mainebiz for a story on how farmers are adapting to land changes brought on by climate change. Lilley, focusing on how the maple industry is being affected, said sugar maples have shallow, sensitive roots that are protected by snowpack. “We’re not getting as cold as we have historically, which means we’re having more winter rainfall events, fewer winter snowfall events,” he said. “We aren’t having enough of a protective layer over the soil like we’ve had in the past.”