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No More Pancake Syrup? Climate Change Could Bring an End To Sugar Maples (sciencemag.org)
An anonymous reader shares a research report: Savor that sticky, slightly nutty sweetness drenching your Sunday morning pancakes now. The trees that make maple syrup will struggle to survive climate change, a new study reveals. Researchers had thought that pollution from cars, factories, and agriculture might buffer sugar maples against an increasingly warm and dry climate by supplying soils with fertilizing nitrogen. But the new analysis, which examined 20 years of tree and soil data in four Michigan locations, finds that extra boost of nitrogen won't be enough. Instead, the researchers report today in Ecology, a lack of water will stunt the trees' growth.
But there's still that liquid-abortion that is artificial syrup.
For the love of God, won't somebody please think of the pancakes?!?
Don't worry, we will soon invent the replicator and you can make all you want. Of course, it will be powered by a coal fired electrical plant.
I dare you to find real maple syrup from anywhere that's serving pancakes. Even high end restaurants just carry the high-fructose corn syrup this days. Just like many things in this world, cheap and fast are the wave of the *future*.
A lot less calories and I like the taste better. It's a pain to find the ones that are more fruit than cane sugar though.
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Well no shit, Sherlock.
If you eat pancakes for breakfast then I have news for you, its not the lack of syrup that will kill you, its CHD.
A lack of water will stunt the growth of trees... What exactly are the qualifications for being an ecologist again? Are they hiring?
Seriously though. Why is it that every time climate change gets brought up it's 30 or 40 assumptions deep into a chain of cold-sweat fever dreams about shit that people can totally live without anyway?
Another garbage post by mstrash. Good job.
Most consumers will never notice, most of the pancake syrups in the supermarket are just manufactured sugar with some coloring.
And well, another corporate cartel with price fixing experiences bad karma, let me shed a tear for you. As for the trees, I do feel bad for them.
I believe that human caused climate change is occurring considering everything else we've changed on earth (we literally move mountains now) but I don't think it means the end of the world. Folks who are predicting the end of the world are likely being overly alarmist but that's not to say we should sit back and do nothing. I've seen increasingly worse local flooding in recent years and weather's becoming more unstable. The worry isn't so much that the world will end but that it is going to be more difficult to make a living as the things we've been use to (relatively stable climate and weather for close to a millennium) might be going away. Change is expensive.
I live in Canada, I like maple syrup and it makes sense that if it warms on average that trees might not do so well. Trees are rooted and take decades to mature so I imagine to compensate it's going to take a few decades to move them north to more appropriate climates. So saying there's no more maple syrup seems silly, saying that there might be shortage and it'll get more expensive makes more sense.
I'm pretty sure some new locations further north will now be able to grow these maple trees if Michigan can no longer grow then due to climate change.
There are these things called pipes and technology called agriculture. The same processes we use to do the studies are the same processes we use to fix the problems the studies uncover.
it's what makes preserves... well... preserve. But cheap jellies that are mostly sugar end up tasking like cheap candy because, well, that's what they are.
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Let's be clear on terminology. "Pancake syrup" contains little or no maple. Maybe distilled smoke extract from a tiny amount of maple wood, but probably not even that. It's high fructose corn syrup & caramel color.
Only 100% pure maple syrup is made from actual tree sap. As a New Yorker living on the Vermont border, I can assure you there's a difference between the good stuff and that crap they put in the clear plastic bottles.
Just have Nestle give it all back.
Why is this on /. ? Seriously? I don't come to this site for these types of articles.
Do you really believe that even now, anything natural goes into that shit anymore?
Most maple syrup is produced in Quebec. Outside of Canada, Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup, and they make 5 times more than Michigan on an annual basis. Who cares if Michigan can't make maple syrup?
I make maple syrup on a *very* small scale in a major city. This "scientific" article is all bunk. 1) First, large scale maple producers already know that watering the trees while tapping helps production. If global warming from politicians hot air continues towards long term winter droughts,, Maple bushes can be irrigated. 2) There are over 3000 variety of maples right now and the sugar industry is growing out hybrids that can produce close to a 10% sugar content sap ( normal is 2%) Nature will provide drought tolerant if needed. 3) no-one uses pails. Maple syrup production is hi-tech: reverse osmosis is amazing 4) North America has an over-abundance of maple trees and syrup production 5) What is not mentioned that is serious potential for maple blight like oak wilt to destroy a lot trees 6) Canada 's political socialized maple syrup production does more harm to producers that climate change ever will Sure I only make about 7 gallons a year but I know more than these blowhards
I make syrup every year and I can promise our trees aint going nowhere any time soon. They are doing just fine.
The excerpt is somewhat less than explanatory.
Michigan is literally surrounded by fresh water and that doesn't seem to be changing. If " that extra boost of nitrogen won't be enough" because water, then why do you think the trees won't have enough water?
Maybe there's a reason, but the excerpt provided does not give it or even hint at it. (And I won't break tradition by actually reading TFA.)
I'm shorting the Canadian economy. See you later suckers.
... less maple syrup means more usage of corn syrup. Since corn-growing states tend to have a lot of climate change deniers, this will be viewed as a feature.
This is so much BS I am not even going to address it other than to call it by it's rightful name, BS.
No need to panic.
will be lost
http://www.acetonestudio.com
or, it 'could' cause them to proliferate to the point where there are way too many, and maple syrup becomes our main energy source.
The best maple syrup (due to a colder climate...) comes from eastern Canada, so I'd like to see a similar study done in Ontario and Quebec. This may just be another case of climate change preferentially destroying a US crop. Fortunately, it is produced mostly in blue states, so Real Americans can just keep pouring on that flavourless HFC-based slime.
(BTW, I grew up in NH, so I'm not shilling for the Canadian co-ops...)
You will not drink with us, but you would taste our steel? - Walter Matthau, The Pirates
Lack of water in Michigan? We're fucked.
Canada (and Russia) should have sugar maples by 2070
Michigan can switch to cotton and, eventually, sugarcane.
More leftist propaganda.
This is why we have a strategic maple syrup reserve in Canada:
https://www.theglobeandmail.co...
First off, Michigan? Really?! It's a maple tree. It declares its nationality with thousands and thousands of national flags on each and every tree. Maple trees were always just-visiting Michigan. If you want maple, know that they'll always be alive and well in their home country.
Second, maple was always arbitrary. Personally, I enjoy the less-sweet, sharper taste of birch syrup even more. You'll find them combined quite often -- that's a good stepping-stone if you need such a device.
Pfffff. Michigan maples. I mean, really. What are you thinking? What's next? British wine? Australian tea? I know: Texas tofu.
Because the climate has been utterly static and changeless for millions of years until the evil oil companies snapped their fingers. Or maybe everything changes over time, and species adapt? It's almost as if the global warming climate alarmists disbelieve in natural selection, isn't it?
I see so many jokes on this thread. Think of the children.
Let me get this straight... we were banking on extra pollution to counter the effects of global warming?! Oh OK, I'm sure that study wasn't industry sponsored!
Are they just talking about the ones in Vermont or in Canada, too ?
Are there places in Europe that produce maple syrup ?
Get a hand cranked, solar powered radio/flashlight/iPhone charger for when the maple syrup goes sideways..
link
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
My dad has several trees up on the farm that he taps to make his own. If you have time & patience, it's free, and you know there's no cane sugar in it. ;-)
"Free"? Only if you don't count the cost of the fuel you'll burn reducing the sap down to syrup or assign any value to your time. There also is the cost of the taps, buckets, and other gear in the process which aren't expensive but not free either. The process of making the syrup from sap takes many many hours. It takes about 40 parts sap to make 1 part syrup. I suppose you could do it over a wood fire outdoors but that's harder to control and you still need a large supply of wood.
All to get something you can buy from the store for a few dollars. It's an interesting thing to do (I've done it) but not really practical from an economic point of view. The opportunity cost is pretty high to make maple syrup unless you do it industrial scale.
If the average temperature does rise, that means more water in the atmosphere due to greater evaporation of the oceans. How anyone can make the claim there will be "less water" with absolutely zero data to back that up nor any historical precedent for changing climate zones, is beyond me,
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Belief == opinion without evidence.
Like evolution and gravity, human caused climate change is a fact.
Belief is irrelevant.
No, it won't be the end of pancake syrup. There are an almost infinite number of sources for sugar with which to make pancake syrup.
I personally prefer pancake syrup made from sugar cane. It tastes way better than maple syrup.
There's a brand at my local store that is made with real sugar, at least. The price isn't significantly higher than the HFCS stuff.
Who cares? Neither one has any flavor worth bothering with. It's a false economy. It seems cheap but still is somehow overpriced.
Pure maple syrup is $20 for a tiny little bottle. Too expensive for my tastes.
Then you have no taste. Pancake syrup (artificially colored sugary sludge) doesn't even remotely resemble real maple syrup in flavor. I don't regard them as being even in the same food group much less substitutes. If your local store charges that much then shop online. You can get awesome burbon barrel aged maple syrup for $30 and that's a specialty item. (not affiliated in any way but I've bought this stuff and it's great) A small bottle of normal maple syrup in my grocery store costs $8-12. You can get a gallon for less than $50 and that will last a year or more for most people.
If this article is anything to go by it got a lot less real. What all these sorts of articles (there was one about coffee being wiped out a year or so ago) completely fail to take account of is that if one area is becoming less hospitable to a particular plant another area is almost certainly becoming more hospitable. The regions where certain crops will grow changes over time even without human-made climate change: the Romans used to have vineyards in the UK, something which is only recently again becoming feasible with rising temperatures.
Having to move to another region will be disruptive but that is nowhere near the same as claiming that maple production will be wiped out. It will just move further north to colder, wetter climes. Human-induced climate change is a serious problem and we have to act to curb it but I do wish we could "keep it real" when discussing the problems it will cause: these are bad enough without stupid articles like this gratuitously inflating them and making it easier for the deniers to ignore all warnings because some are so ridiculously wrong.
I'm not able to opine on whether there is a difference or not.
Then you've never actually tasted the real thing. The difference isn't subtle.
But, the vast majority of consumers don't seem able to tell. Or they prefer the HFCS version :(
They can tell the difference. The reason they buy the cheap crap is because it is cheap. You can buy a gallon of Ms Butterworth for less than $5. A gallon of real maple syrup will cost you $40-60. And yes it is worth the cost unless you are really tight for cash. And if you can't afford the real stuff you probably shouldn't be wasting money on crappy colored sugar sludge anyway.
Maybe there's a reason, but the excerpt provided does not give it or even hint at it.
Well there is the fact that to make maple sap move in quantity you need freeze thaw cycles. If temperatures warm sufficiently such that the temperature doesn't dip below freezing then you cannot make maple syrup in meaningful quantities.
There is something about Maple Syrup that is really off-putting to me. I can't stand to be in the same room as anyone who is using it. Vinegar has a similar reaction to me. Something about being in a room with someone pouring vinegar on their chips, or maple syrup on their pancakes makes my stomach churn and completely kills my appetite
To each their own but you understand that this is very weird? We're talking six standard deviations from normal here. Not being judgemental - I have some foods I can't stand in certain preparations. But that sounds like you have something wildly unusual about your taste/smell receptors.
I'm not a picky eater- but anything with either of those smells is going to turn my stomach.
Based on your previous statement I gently disagree about you claiming to not be being a picky eater.
Instead, the researchers report today in Ecology, a lack of water will stunt the trees' growth.
So, life on the planet will become unbearable due to global warming/climate change causing the seas to rise, whilst simultaneously maple sugar trees will go away for lack of water?
What's next, increased CO2 levels will lead to a mass extinction of all pigs, cutting off our only source of truly delicious bacon? (I do NOT consider so-called "Turkey Bacon" either delicious OR bacon.)
Ken
Hmmm ... over a wood fire outdoors is the only way I've ever seen it made, and it's the traditional way of doing it, and, oddly, by the time you own a maple forest you might also have a large supply of wood. It's been made that way for a couple of hundred years.
I have a friend whose uncle makes it. He has a custom made (by him) boiler system with a series of vessels, which is over a big giant fire chamber. He makes several hundred gallons of it at a time.
It's labour intensive, but once you have your startup costs for the hoses, taps, and buckets, the actual material cost is pretty low each year since he owns the land. But he can nicely supplement his income by selling some of it off once he's given a jug of it to his family members (who usually stand around and help tend the fire anyway).
Sugaring season is as much a social event as anything. This was something traditionally done by farmers, and much of it still is -- so the labour isn't something they're afraid of, and it's happening in a season when the ground is covered in snow anyway since it's early spring.
Throughout the history of maple syrup, that was anything but true.
Humans have just become lazy and detached from how actual food gets made. Time was, much of your time was spent doing these things.
But, I assure you, the best maple syrup is still made by old men on farms standing outside in the snow putting wood on the fire -- and that stuff you don't just walk into a supermarket and grab off the shelf.
Humans don't need maple syrup.
There are lots of things we don't technically need that are still worth having. Maple syrup falls into this category. I can live without it but the world would be a poorer place.
There are many synthetic syrups on store shelves ...
And they are terrible and have nothing even close to the flavor of real maple syrup.
It's like a guy at work telling me that I would not want any of the pork sausage he just made. I tried it and he was right.
Sounds like he wasn't very good at making sausage.
I was raised on store-bought sausage and fresh sausage tastes nasty.
To each their own but that's decidedly weird. That's like preferring Kraft Mac-N-Cheese to the real deal. Some store brand sausages are quite good but hand made sausages by someone who knows what they are doing are usually notably better. Not everyone knows what they are doing obviously.
Humans can migrate and adjust to changes and adapt to life, perhaps, without maple syrup.
Perhaps it's past time top get the human race away from moderately to highly sugary foods completely. Humans evolved to use practically every sense for survival. Taste was used to know if it was safe to eat or not. Sugar of any kind, much like alkalis and alkaloids, are toxic and will kill someone in due time. Most health problems can be traced to the consumption of simple carbs, sugars most of all. Our ancestors found out early on that if it tastes good or if it is bitter to spit it out. The best food for humans to eat are plants that are quite a bit closer to bland in flavor than what most are used to today while being rich in the very nutrients we need. Today the human race eats nothing but sugary and processed crap just because it tastes good. Then the morons wonder why they are so fat, have heart disease, hypertension, constipation, and/or any other issues that comes with consuming toxins. When maple syrup is gone that will bring the human race one step closer to getting away from such toxins and more toward a healthy diet. Perhaps that would be one of the very few positive aspects of AGW.
Don't get me started on smoking, that was the dumbest idea any moron could have come up with, no matter the time period the person lived in.
USAmericans never tired of navel gazing. Your syrup is for shit. Love, Quebec.
I am no scientist, but I am a hobby maple syrup producer. We make maple syrup from a variety of trees that are available locally to us Red, Silver, Norway and Sugar. The difference is Red and Silver have lower sugar content and subsequently take more energy to convert to syrup. According to the abstract, this study focused on Acer saccharum (Sugar maple). I wonder for the short-term (20-50 years) the other species might out last sugar and what you see is a spike in real maple syrup sales. Just my thoughts.
Many people would have no idea because they just buy that wretched, caramel colored, artificial maple flavored bottle of high fructose corn syrup. Real, actually, maple syrup is usually quite a bit more money.
the problem is how we'd respond to the changes. For example, if the trend keeps up large parts of the Middle East will become uninhabitable. There will be massive numbers of refugees forced to migrate. After all, even small changes in temperature can have big impacts on crop yields. We're already experiencing some large scale migration of Muslims. Since these folks are being forced to leave they're not integrating into their new host societies. This is creating tensions which autocrats, dictators and Strongmen are quick to capitalize one.
If all humans were rational climate change would be no big deal. But they're not. So those of us who _are_ rational need to head these kinds of problems off at the pass.
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Says someone who has never had freshly boiled, light maple syrup. The stuff you get in the store is typically Grade A Medium or Dark. That's fine, and better than any artificial syrup product, but it's not like Vermont Fancy Light. In my experience, the only way you can get that unless you live in Vermont is to boil it yourself. If you have it available on your grocery store shelf, consider yourself very, very, lucky. And send me some, pls!
Said no Canadian ever.
Pancake syrup and maple syrup are two very different things. You can certainly put maple syrup on your pancakes and waffles. But you can also put blackberry syrup on them as well. And you can use maple syrup to make candies, top icecream, or glaze donuts. But pancake syrup has no use outside of putting on pancakes, especially when feeding to children who don't know any better.
My parents used to make simple syrup from brown sugar instead of paying for the usual colored sludgy pancake syrups. I found it too thin for my liking, but not everyone could afford maple syrup at the time. (it's much cheaper now than it used to be)
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Yet the Michigan Wolverines are named for an animal that is doesn't appear in Michigan anymore.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
If you already have the trees, taps, and buckets, then collection is free.
40 to 1? Are you trying to make maple bouillon cubes?
And it's not hard to control at all. A simple double boiler will do for any small batch. Periodically check on it for the desired consistency and to make sure the bottom pot still has water in it.
What next? No one should bother making jam because picking fruit off the trees, cutting it up, and boiling it down is too labor intensive and too hard to control?
I'm really not interested in your 'coulds' or 'mights', particularly from the millennial 'scientific' community. If half of your gripes came with actual proposed solutions, then maybe I'd give a shit. You are not whining to mom and dad anymore, please just go away, you aren't helping. And, pancakes? Really? Fuck off.
This is crap. The sugar maples are doing just fine, and every year the yield is different based on the spring melt.
"Free"? Only if you don't count the cost of the fuel you'll burn reducing the sap down to syrup or assign any value to your time. There also is the cost of the taps, buckets, and other gear in the process which aren't expensive but not free either. The process of making the syrup from sap takes many many hours. It takes about 40 parts sap to make 1 part syrup. I suppose you could do it over a wood fire outdoors but that's harder to control and you still need a large supply of wood.
He's retired, he's had the gear for years, and he's got tons of wood from dead-falls.
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
Try 2 tablespoons of real maple syrup on 2 cups corn flakes and 1 glass of skim milk for breakfast or dinner. Maple syrup is only 52 calories per tablespoon and tastes much better than sugary cereals' sweetness.
I am not saying their data is wrong, but if you are buying maple syrup from producers in Michigan...well that's your first mistake. Not that Michigan is a desert, but New England, Upstate New York, Quebec, and Ontario all have significantly more water and are not predicted to to suffer the water woes Michigan may in the future.
... climate change deniers will soon be out with an advertising campaign telling us all that petro-chemically flavored High Fructose Corn Syrup will actually taste better than maple syrup. Besides when there is no more maple syrup, eventually, nobody will remember what it tasted like so you'll have to like the artificial stuff.
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
If you already have the trees, taps, and buckets, then collection is free.
That's like saying owning a house is free once you've made all the payments.
40 to 1? Are you trying to make maple bouillon cubes?
Yes 40 to 1. I'm just the messenger here and you don't have to take my word for it.
A simple double boiler will do for any small batch.
Small batch? You need 10 gallons of sap to make a single quart of syrup so that isn't exactly a tiny double boiler.
They make maple syrup in Michigan? Not seeing any issues in Vermont. 2016 was a record 1.99 million gallons and 2017 was just below that with 1.98 million. Tent caterpillars are a bigger threat to the Maple trees than warm weather. As long as it is below freezing at night and above freezing during the day during sugaring season, the syrup will flow very well.
Good thing most people don't know the taste of maple syrup as most pour brown HFCS over their pancakes
Your facts don't coincide with the groupthink and are unacceptable. Racist!!!!
We don't have high temporal resolution data for a meaningful timeframe to make any claims about climatic rates of change.
I noticed crappy US pancake syrup a while back....
I only bother to make waffles at home a couple times a year maybe.
And I'm ~50 years old, so I remember when I was a kid that most of the name-brand syrups sold in the midwest-US had maple syrup in them.
And I remember as a kid that I didn't like Karo (corn) syrup, because it didn't taste as good as the real maple syrup stuff....
So I'm eating and pondering the Hungry Jack syrup bottle and I noticed that it said that the ingredients was just corn syrup, colorings and flavorings.
It tasted good enough, but I thought "well that sucks? I thought it was maple syrup?"...(I only do this rarely, and I want real syrup dammit)
So the next time I went to the store I looked through them all to see what ones were still made with maple syrup.
NONE of the nationally-known brands were. They were all just corn syrup. A dead giveaway is when they say that they need no refrigeration, and real syrup had to be kept in the refrigerator after opening. All of the REAL maple syrup said that it must be refrigerated after opening....
So then I paid $15 for a bottle of organic maple syrup (Wild Harvest) that was about 80% as big as the Hungry Jack bottle was that cost $5. The ingredients said just "maple syrup". And went another round of waffles.
The Wild Harvest did taste significantly better , but it was very watery. It was not at all the way I recall from my youth.
And when I returned to the store and looked at all the other real-maple-syrup brands, they all appeared to be about as watery as the Wild Harvest stuff was.
The cheaper brands like Hungry jack and Mrs Butterworth are the correct thickness, but they don't taste like real maple does. And all of the gorumet/organic real maple syrup brands are too watery.
So I expect that (at least in the US?) if you wanted good-quality syrup these days, you'd have to buy the 100% maple syrup stuff, and then boil it down yourself to get rid of the excess water.
This article shows a fundamental lack of understanding about maple sugaring. The reality is that maple sugar is produced over a broad season across a broad range of geographic areas and even with large variations on altitude and what side of the mountain your sugar bush is located on. On top of that, for millions of years the winters and springs have varied year to year and sugar maples still survive. This article is just scary fake news, FUD.
If these people writing the scary FUD news would actually do the real work of maple sugaring they would understand this.
Unfortunately fake news like this will get picked up in the press and spread around while the truth gets ignored.
Fortunately, those of us who really do maple sugaring know better than to listen to idiots like this.
There was a story about how insiders, trusted to safeguard the stored maple syrup, instead looted it and sold it bootleg. They filled the barrels with water to make it seem like they still had syrup in them.
The Maple Syrup commission said that such criminal activity was "beyond imagination", and said they had taken steps to prevent recurrence.
Then the whole scandal happened all over again! We're talking about an exact, step-by-step repeat.
The Maple Syrup commission said that such criminal activity was "inconceivable", and said they had taken steps to prevent recurrence.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-police-conduct-2nd-maple-syrup-raid-1.1184637
Sure, Quebec doesn't have systematic problems with crime!
...to find a lack of water will stunt tree growth?
I see Kochsucker denialism.
Nothing more or less
Yeah, but it's Canadian Maple syrup. It's got the rather bland polite taste as compared to the American Maple syrup that punches your taste buds awake.
Seriously, they are predicting 'doom & gloom' for maple trees & the 'simple' solution is to use irrigation/water the trees....wow. Perhaps if the representation of these 'studies' wasn't 'doom & gloom' but rather something like 'Our study showed that with simple irrigation the impact on maple trees from climate change will be negligible' people might start taking them more seriously & the powers that be could work on plans based on that...e.g. start running water pipelines to where it might be needed for irrigation etc.
That shit is nasty. Why would you suck jizz from a tree when you can get better stuff in jars from the store?
Lack of water??? But all of the crazed liberals have been saying cities are going to flood as the sea levels rise from ice melting. Make up your minds!
-==- Buy a Mac and leave me alone!
if it gets 1 degree warmer, all the maple trees will explode.
Slashdot, this is the third we-are-all-gonna-die-due-to-climate-change post I've scrolled past today. Fuck you. Just fuck you.
Maple syrup costs $20 a pint.
Maybe you rich tech hipsters -- who drop $40 on a quart of "raw" water -- can afford it, but most of the rest of us can't.
So, as long as it only affects arrogant asses, who cares?
Nothing grows well in Michigan.
You must be using some type of weird glasses. And you missed.
Euch! No wonder American dentists and diabetes doctors are so rich.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
It seems these researchers don't know anything about actual maple syrup production.
Most of the world's maple syrup is produced within 100km around where I live and I have visited multiple production sites.
There is an accumulation of >100cm of snow every winter in the forests here.
In the spring, the snow melts slowly and keeps the soil drenched for weeks.
This is the time when maple water is collected and also the time when tree growth happens.
Even with a warming of multiple degrees and a reduction in precipitation, there will still be snow accumulation and drenched soil in the spring.
Anyway, a mature maple tree has roots deep enough to be able to catch water below the water table, even during a summer drought.
It can take as much as 80 years for a maple tree to be mature enough to be a good producer of maple water.
Starting a new plantation takes decades, stunted growth or not.
Whether it takes 80 or 120 years will not affect the market.
The important is the production levels of the existing trees.
What could affect maple syrup production is if gets hot quicker in the spring.
The maple trees produce only during the period in the spring when it freezes during the night and it
If, due to global warming, the spring weather goes quickly from "winter-like" to hot enough that it does not freeze at night, then the maple season would be shortened.
There is already a huge variation in production levels from year to year caused by the differences in spring temperature.
Well, except for the facts documented in 99.91% of all formal accepted and peer reviewed journal articles in Climatology for, oh FORTY YEARS!!
The Roanoke Colony disappeared from the North American continent hundreds of years ago. Perhaps, because back then, there was an unusual THREE YEAR DROUGHT ! I'm glad the Maple Trees (syrup) and Yaupon Holly's (caffeine) survived ! Hint: Climate change has been occurring on this planet for hundreds of thousands of years or more....