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.