Friday, November 27, 2015
Where are the Boreal Forests of Canada located?
Boreal Forest." Boreal Forest. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/forests/boreal/13071>.
What do Boreal Forests look like? (past and present)
- Hume, George Sherwood. Abasand Plant. 1940s. IMAGINING THE TAR SANDS 1880-1967 AND BEYOND. <http://imaginations.csj.ualberta.ca/?p=3600>, Canada.
What is the historical state of Boreal Forests?
At the surmise of the last Ice Age, the boreal forests of Canada began to form and as of around 5,000 years ago has resembled the current biodiversity composition. As of today, there are around 1,400 communities and these residents rely heavily on the boreal zone for economic stability. In 2014, the boreal forests contributed 6% of all of Canada’s exports coming in at about $31 billion. This would lead one to believe the current lands be desolate and destroyed, yet only 0.02% of the total forest land is left deforested. Ever since the early 1990s, Canada has focused on maintaining their forest legacy and enforce sustainable practices to ensure a long-lasting ecosystem. The government mandated that any timber harvesting on public land must be reforested through replanting or natural regeneration. Currently, 94% of Canada’s forests lay on public land keeping the deforestation acreage at a minimum. The largest contributors to deforestation have been the creation of logging roads and the conversion of the forest land to agricultural land. Yet millions of acres remain on Canada’s vast expanse of forestry and are open to timber harvesting, recreational activities, and hunting. The number of species at risk for extinction has remained very low, as well, yet the major concern is targeted at the decreasing population of the Woodland Caribou. Due to the hundreds of thousands of acres of protected land, though, the species are at minimal threat from human disturbance. The vast wetlands of Canada’s forest also provide a wildlife habitat and one of the largest carbon reservoirs. Canada has invested endless effort to guarantee the preservation of the central aspect to their community and be a model for the world to follow in regenerating and preserving our lands.
What are the human impacts on Boreal Forests?
There are a variety of impacts that humans have had in Canada’s boreal forests. Unfortunately, the human activities that have contributed to the growth of Canada’s economy have also threatened the health of the forests and their inhabitants. Major industrial developments such as mining, logging, oil and gas, and hydroelectric power projects have changed the current and future state of this ecosystem. Additionally, agriculture, hunting, recreational activities, fire suppression, and tourism, have also caused many changes to the environment.
Mining occurs in every Canadian province and territory where a boreal forest exists. It causes pollution, changes in water flow, and it fragments the forest. Reclamation and remediation are processes that require decades causing the effects of mining to be long lasting. Logging causes changes in the amount of water in the ecosystem, the water quality and the temperature of the water . The oil and gas industry in Canada builds roads and occupies large expanses of cleared forest land. This industrial activity greatly affects many plant and animal species because it displaces them from these large areas of the forest. Hydroelectric power is a reliable source of energy, however, in boreal forest waterways these systems alter water flow and cause changes to wetland areas. Fire suppression is another human impact that disrupts the natural burn cycles of the forests causing fuel loads to increase leading to more intense, uncontrollable fires.
These human activities do not only impact plants and animals but also the lives of humans. Around 80% of Canada’s aboriginal population reside in these forests. Pollution, land fragmentation, and changes in water quality, directly affect their daily activities. However, many of these people also rely on the jobs that these human activities provide. The challenge now is to find a balance between utilizing and conserving the resources in these boreal zones.
What does the future of Boreal Forests look like based on current human impacts?
The future of boreal forests is greatly affected by mining, logging, oil and gas, and hydroelectric development. Many areas of the boreal forest are under threat by destructive logging practices. Logging can cause degradation of wildlife habitats and loss of old growth forests. Likewise, mining can cause pollution and fragmentation of the forests which can have long-lasting negative impacts on biodiversity. Oil and gas developments in boreal forests can also disturb species living in the area which depend on resources available in the forest.
Industrial influence is contributing to habitat loss for wildlife populations across Canada, as well as adding to climate change. Climate change doesn't only affect humans. It affects all the wildlife in the area leading to threats of extinction for many species in the area. As hotter and drier summers increase evaporation, they will also increase the risk of forest fires across most of Canada, and increase the severity of those fires. These fires could lead to serious economic loss and are expected to become more frequent. Globally, boreal forests store more carbon than all of the world's temperate and tropical forests combined. By keeping this carbon stored in the ground and out of the atmosphere, we can prevent climate change from worsening. Even though more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere might support tree growth, the negative impacts of climate change are expected to far outweigh any benefits.
Unless government and private forest managers come together and develop effective strategies to work out these issues, the future of boreal forests will be in critical condition. Because of the many things that boreal forests provide including bountiful biodiversity, vital carbon storage, and the planet’s largest expanse of wetlands, lakes, and rivers, protecting them is essential.
What can be done to improve the human impacts on Boreal Forests?
In order to preserve the boreal forests scattered throughout Canada, the government needs to strengthen their control and regulation over activities allowed within the forests and citizens need to start recognizing the importance of maintaining such ecosystems for more than just recreational use. Logging, mining, oil and gas development are the largest threats to Canada’s boreal forests so in order to improve human impact, activities like these must be stopped or restricted. By removing all industrial pursuits in the parks the destruction of natural ecosystems will be slowed. Creating borders for tourists and recreational activities so as to prevent the expansion of damage randomly throughout will make it easier for park conservationists to tell which areas are healthy and which are not. Wildlife also has to be connected in order to avoid extinction of species when blocked off with boundaries formed by roads, tourists routes, and industrial movement. Lastly, by creating more parks to preserve more land from private exploitation and increasing funding for protection of parks, human impact will subsequently improve.
Data Table
Year
|
Forest management
|
Wildfire
|
Insects
|
GHG emissions/removals
|
2
003
|
1,249,761
|
767,486
|
4,936,700
|
-8
|
2004
|
1,495,062
|
950,131
|
4,931,137
|
71
|
2005
|
1,257,878
|
635,847
|
5,788,213
|
-11
|
2006
|
1,018,218
|
693,913
|
8,576,723
|
16
|
2007
|
951,347
|
741,343
|
7,333,997
|
6
|
2008
|
838,766
|
417,178
|
5,453,917
|
-43
|
2009
|
755,209
|
401,927
|
3,909,548
|
-34
|
2010
|
839,630
|
954,664
|
3,182,532
|
53
|
2011
|
817,145
|
1,042,425
|
2,971,388
|
54
|
2012
|
957,223
|
895,093
|
1,734,798
|
30
|
2013
|
974,089
|
455,500
|
1,259,779
|
-48
|
"Carbon Emissions and Removals." Carbon Emissions and Removals. 7 July 2015. Web. < http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/forests/fire-insects-disturbances/shape/16552>.28 Nov. 2015.
Sources
"Threats to the Boreal." International Boreal Conservation Science Panel., 2010. Web. <http://borealscience.org/boreal/threats/>.
"What Is the Boreal Forest?" Boreal Forest Facts. Resolute Forest Products, 2014. Web. 27 Nov. 2015. <http://borealforestfacts.com>.
"Boreal Forest Protection Critical to Survival as Climate Changes." National Geographic. David Maxwell Braun, 12 Nov. 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2015. <http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2009/11/12/boreal_forest_protection/>.
"Boreal Forest." Boreal Forest. CPAWS, 2015. Web. 27 Nov. 2015. <http://cpaws.org/campaigns/boreal-forest>.
"Boreal Forests of the World." BOREALFOREST.ORG., 20 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Nov. 2015. <http://www.borealforest.org/world/trees.htm>.
Johnston, Mark. "How Climate Change Will Shape the Future of Canada’s Boreal Forest." Saskatchewan Research Council., 21 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Nov. 2015. <http://blog.src.sk.ca/environment/how-climate-change-will-shape-the-future-of-canadas-boreal-forest/>.
Robbins, Jim. "The Rapid and Starting of World's Vast Boreal Forests." Ecocide Alert. Environment360, 24 Oct. 2015. Web. 27 Nov. 2015. <http://ecocidealert.com/?tag=biodiversity>.
"Impacts on Boreal Forests and Biodiversity." RAMP., Web. 27 Nov. 2015. <http://www.ramp-alberta.org/river/boreal/impacts.aspx>.
Weber, Michael G., and Brian J. Stocks. "Forest Fires in Canada." Forest Fires and Sustainability in the Boreal Forests of Canada (1998): Web. 27 Nov. 2015. <http://www.sfu.ca/geog315-new/readings/weber+stocks.pdf>.
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