YAMAGATA, Nov 15 (Information On Japan) –
Zao’s iconic snow monsters, the frost-covered timber generally known as ‘juhyo,’ face an existential risk. These towering, snow-laden timber have lengthy been a winter spotlight within the area, famously resembling monstrous figures lined in snow. Nevertheless, their survival is now below extreme risk.
A specialist in juhyo, Yamagata College Professor Emeritus Fumitaka Yanagisawa, warns of the upcoming threat: “If issues proceed this fashion, the snow monsters will finally stop to kind.”
Evaluating the identical interval in 2012 and 2023, latest juhyo formations seem noticeably thinner. Opposite to what one would possibly count on, the trigger shouldn’t be a scarcity of snowfall.
Yanagisawa explains, “What we’re seeing is an entire die-off. When the leaves disappear, solely the branches are left. Then, because the branches snap off, all that continues to be is the trunk.”
The branches, important for accumulating and retaining snow, have been dying off, rendering them incapable of forming juhyo.
Pictures evaluating the identical timber from 13 years in the past reveal that most of the branches have vanished, leaving solely the tree trunks. The offender behind the die-off seems to be a pest infestation, influenced by local weather change.
Yanagisawa notes, “With rising temperatures, bugs discover it simpler to outlive and reproduce, seemingly contributing to what we’re seeing now.”
As world warming permits pest populations to thrive, the timber that kind juhyo are extra susceptible than ever. Nonetheless, Yanagisawa believes that there could also be options to revive these snow monsters, similar to replanting younger timber on the mountainside and cultivating seeds to encourage future development.
Supply: ANN
