Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | S | Science World

Vanishing forest: a northern forest is disappearing at a rapid pace--that spells trouble for billions of animals.

Article Excerpt
A long the rim of Earth's northernmost land-masses sits an ancient forest. Its mix of pine, spruce, and other hardy trees encircles the globe like a giant green halo (see map, p. 19). This interconnected web of trees, mosses, birds, and other organisms is called the boreal forest. It is the world's largest intact forest ecosystem--It's even bigger than Earth's tropical rain forests.

But many regions in the boreal forest (see Nuts & Bolts, p. 20) are under assault. According to scientists, logging, mining, and oil and gas companies are yelling "timber," leveling trees more often than the forest can sustain. "In many areas of Canada, the rate of [tree] cutting is faster than the rate of regrowth," says David Schindler, an ecologist at the University of Alberta in Canada.

That spells trouble for more than just the forest. Trees absorb carbon dioxide gas, a culprit in global warming, or the increase in Earth's average temperature. Fewer trees could speed up this warming. Tree loss could also affect the survival of the billions of animals that call the forest home.

SENSITIVE SPECIES

Each spring, approximately 3 billion migratory birds that winter in South America or southern North America turn tail and fly northward to the boreal forest. Why do the birds--from white pelicans to dark-eyed junco songbirds--undertake the lengthy journey, which may span hundreds or even thousands of miles?

Although vast swaths of the boreal forest are losing trees to deforestation, the ecosystem is approximately 70 percent intact. "It is one of only...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!