dieback
n.— «The team believes that the process, known as dieback, will begin when average global temperatures reach around 15C. Weather system changes will mean less rainfall on the jungle which will result in saplings failing to reach maturity while older trees die and wither away. Once the process begins it will feed on itself as less tree cover will mean less water evaporation to create more rain. Eventually it could have the effect of turning more than a million square miles of the jungle in Brazil into savannah.» —“Amazon rainforest at risk of ecological ‘catastrophe’” by Richard Alleyne Telegraph (United Kingdom) Mar. 12, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Ribbon fall. Gallery forest. You won’t find terms like these in most dictionaries, but they and hundreds like them are discussed by famous writers in the book Home Ground: A Guide to the American Landscape. The book is an intriguing collection...
In White Oleander (Bookshop|Amazon), novelist Janet Fitch touts the value of memorizing poetry with these memorable lines: Always learn poems by heart. They have to become the marrow in your bones. Like fluoride in the water, they’ll make your soul...