Volcano kills trees by toxic gasses.
Volcano kills trees by toxic gasses By Dr. S.M. de Jong . A dormant volcano, Mammoth Mountain, in central California is waking up after 760.000 years of sleeping. The renewed activity causes frequent earth quakes and large volumes of toxic gasses are released by the magma body approximately 5 km beneath the volcano. Gasses such as carbon dioxide and methane drive the oxygen out of the soil and the roots of the trees suffocate. As a result trees are dying over large areas.