Earlier, a study outlined effects of worsening drought on forests in California and stated that conditions are not good for trees. Now, a survey by US Forest Service found that the Californian drought has been doing more damage than the area’s ecosystems can handle.

Conditions of forests in California are worsening where the drought has been causing a spiral of death, the service announced on Monday. It released a report of 300 pages highlighting the effects of the drought. According to the report, Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the United States, weather is becoming hotter and drier. It could be lead to massive insect outbreaks, bigger wildfires, the report added.

Toral Patel-Weynand, director of sustainable forest research at US Forest Service and an author of the study, said current weather conditions in California and throughout the West suggest that warmer temperatures and worsening drought could trigger mass death of trees. In addition, timber, water and recreational activities will be impacted due to the extreme weather, the author noted.

The new survey by more than 70 researchers from the Forest Service, private organizations, universities and labs in the US used data collected over many years and observed how the drought could impact the 193 million acres of national forest. California has 18 national forests in 21 million acres.

“Our forests and rangelands are national treasures, and because they are threatened, we are threatened. Every region of the country is impacted by the direct and indirect effects of drought conditions and volatile weather patterns”, said Tom Vilsack, the United States Secretary of Agriculture.

The Forest Service’s report stated that the Southeast has experience severe problems due to drought, but the West has suffered the most. Wildfires, dying trees and increases in invasive plants are some of the problems the West has faced, it added.