Are expanding forests here to stay?

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8AJACr1PMMJwXwprEwln8mraMGEXoz-lE864VRP1MpzuUCRyZO8pwOlU-nvmcIC84w5EKJeq-qIIqc7AaO6UDQ7LTjW0obl6vY5fUoCDXASo1OCEyQwHe1_9vpT5Z8ef1JrLMCbMJbiie/s1600/f-temperate.jpg

Over the past century, there has been a drastic increase in the logging industry. This increase has resulted in many forests being completely demolished in order to harvest the logs for buildings and commercial projects, as well as for allowing for more land that can be used for agriculture. However, on March 23, 2011 there was a very interesting story published on the Environmental News Network that shows forests in the Northern Latitudes are actually expanding. The Northern Latitudes include North America, Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus. In the past 20 years, it has been determined that these forests have grown by 25 million hectares. To put that into perspective, a hectare is just shy of two football fields in size. One of the main reasons why researchers have seen this increase in forests is due largely to the conservation efforts of the surrounding countries. There has been more land dedicated back to forests, and they have been properly taken care for and maintained.

http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/42501

This is such an important issue because these forests play a huge role in the daily carbon cycle of our world. These trees act as a repository for carbon dioxide, which helps to improve the air quality. With the increase in forest size, there is an increase in the number of trees that take part converting the carbon dioxide to oxygen. There is however, one issue standing in the way of these forests, and that is climate change. Researchers have warned that due to the increasing variability of the climate, the trees may not see this positive growth in the future. An example is that the mountain pine beetle in North America has devastated over 11 million hectares of forest since the 1990’s due to the warmer climate in the winters.

This topic relates to almost everything we have been talking about in class. Ecology is the study of how the environment and organisms interact with each other. This article is a study of how climate change has drastically affected forests all over the world. The climate change has allowed species like the mountain pine beetle to thrive in the forest while devastating it at the same time. In on of the case studies, we looked at how the introduction of a jelly fish to the Black Sea allowed it to thrive but, devastated the rest of the environment around it. The environment is affecting how the forests grow or shrink around the world, and the forests are affecting the environment by being a major player in the respiratory system.

http://www.permaculture.org.au/images/rain_forest.jpg

This is a very important issue that the world needs to take seriously. The forests have grown by 25 million hectares in the last 20 years but, due to the increasing climate change, one mountain pine beetle can destroy over 11 million hectares in 20 years. There have been some major strides taken to improve the forest with World Forest Day, and more forest conservation but, there are so many other things that can be done to help. The World Future Council is trying to help sponsor the International Policy Award for Visionary Forest Policies in order to increase the number of expanding forests. I believe that people need to become more aware of the environment changing around them and really look at the drastic changes that are happening. We have made a lot of progress helping the forests that we have destroyed re-grow, and now we may loose them again. I don’t have a solution to help these forests but, I do think that increasing the amount of policies that help protect them and increasing research will drastically help. Anyone that has ever been to a forest knows its beauty and significance to the world, we can not loose anymore of them. The forests must be protected from further destruction and deterioration.

Source: Environmental News Network, March 23, 2011

http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/42501