Boreal Forests Historically:
Boreal forests are coniferous forests located in the northern regions of the world, however they are still south of the tundra biome. The boreal forest biome is also known as taiga and is almost exclusively found in Canada and northern Europe. Boreal forests is the largest biome found in Canada consisting of nearly 60% of the nations land mass. The Taiga began forming as the most recent ice age came to an end. As the glaciers receded from the shift in climate the boreal forests began to form. The Taiga is known for its abundance of wild animals. The bison roam freely along side the worlds smallest carnivore the Least Weasel, and they have the worlds largest population of caribou, bears, and wolves. The Canadian Taiga is also home to the worlds largest freshwater supply containing more than 1,000,000 freshwater lakes. Historically, boreal forests have not been a desirable place for large populations to inhabit, however civilizations have been depending on this habitat for its abundant resources(Osbourne,2013)(The Past, 2011)(Forest Ethics, 2013).
http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/image-galleries/can
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/Global/canada/image/2010/4/teaser/boreal/BOREAL%20FOREST%204.jpg
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/Global/canada/image/2010/4/teaser/boreal/BOREAL%20FOREST%204.jpg
Current Human Impacts:
The Boreal forests have been suffering due to human impact in the past decades. While mining in Canada is vital to the economy providing one in every forty six Canadians with a job, it is detrimental to the forests and ultimately their own livelihood(Mining Facts and Figures,2013). Mining you have to move large amount of soils in order to get to the minerals you are looking for which is resulting in major deforestation. Logging in itself is cutting down trees, since 1975 loggers have cut down 65 million acres of trees(Forest Ethics, 2013). This logging alone is contributing half of the amount of California’s greenhouse gas emissions. Oil and Sand Oil extracting has harsh effects on the surrounding areas. While extracting sand oil 420 square km of land has been disturbed while only 65 square kilometers of that land are under reclamation(Yeh,2010). Canada extracts 13.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. While Canada has an abundance of natural gas available the means of getting this resource is damaging to the surrounding environment(Natural Gas, 2013). To get natural gas out they have to drill wells into the ground and lay pipelines through the forests damaging ecosystems along the way(Extraction,2011).
Canada has many dams for hydroelectric energy, but by building these dams they are affecting both the aquatic life and the life that lives near the river in order to survive(Environmental Impacts of Damms,2013). Due to the change of habitat from industrializing boreal forests there has been a drastic rise in white tail deer populations. As white tail deer populations continue to rise the wolf population grew as well. The increased wolf population directly correlates with an declining caribou population as the wolves encounters with caribou grew accordingly. Canada is being hit hard by global warming. The loss of proper climate for boreal forests leads to deciduous plants out competing the native conifers. Global warming also increases the risk of forest fires which is a further release of greenhouse gases to compound the problem even more(Kasischke, 1995).
http://harmonyfdn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/BSSP-Forest-04.jpgFuture Prospects for Boreal Forests:
There are countless ways that people in North America can help preserve Canadian boreal forests. First and foremost we can help establish protected areas and regions designated for sustainable usage. The sustainable usage would include: sustainable timber harvesting, less mining, and less fossil fuel extraction. Another great way to help preserve boreal forests is to try and reduce greenhouse gases. One of the more simple ways of doing this is to drive a car with low emissions or not to drive at all. However, if Canada is able to reduce logging by one half it would eliminate as much greenhouse gas as if they were to take all the cars in Canada off of the road completely (Forest Ethics,2013). The reduction of greenhouse gases is a vital way we can help try and preserve the climate needed for the boreal forest to survive..the forest can change to more sustainable usage and less natural resource depletion. People need to also begin reducing the their impact around the world on climate change in order to preserve the Canadian boreal forest and many other biomes around the world.
http://www.borealbirds.org/images/map-nwt-protectedareas-sm.jpg
How can we improve human impacts?
There are countless ways that people in North America can do to help preserve Canadian boreal forests. First and foremost we can help establish protected areas and areas designated for sustainable usage. The sustainable usage would include: sustainable timber harvesting, less mining, and less fossil fuel extraction. Another great way to help preserve boreal forests is to try and reduce greenhouse gases. One of the more simple way of doing this is to drive a car with low emissions or not to drive at all. However, If Canada is able to reduce logging by one half it would eliminate as much greenhouse gas as if they were to take all the cars in Canada off of the road completely. The reduction of greenhouse gases is a vital way we can help try and preserve the climate needed for the boreal forest to survive. If Canada is able to reduce logging by one half it will reduce green house gas just as much as if they take all the cars of Canada off of the road completely(Forest Ethics,2013).the forest can change to more sustainable usage and less natural resource depletion. People need to also begin reducing the their impact around the world on climate change in order to preserve the Canadian boreal forest and many other biomes around the world.
Protected Areas in Canada:
Year
|
Land and freshwater area protected
(km2)
|
Percent land and freshwater area protected
|
Marine area protected
(km2)
|
Percent of marine area protected
|
1990
|
522 182
|
5.2
|
18 591
|
0.26
|
1991
|
522 682
|
5.2
|
18 617
|
0.26
|
1992
|
525 521
|
5.3
|
18 977
|
0.27
|
1993
|
536 118
|
5.4
|
19 229
|
0.27
|
1994
|
539 581
|
5.4
|
19 236
|
0.27
|
1995
|
579 284
|
5.8
|
21 015
|
0.30
|
1996
|
598 249
|
6.0
|
21 872
|
0.31
|
1997
|
609 570
|
6.1
|
21 888
|
0.31
|
1998
|
636 975
|
6.4
|
23 900
|
0.34
|
1999
|
648 553
|
6.5
|
23 901
|
0.34
|
2000
|
659 946
|
6.6
|
24 024
|
0.34
|
2001
|
718 301
|
7.2
|
24 531
|
0.35
|
2002
|
741 827
|
7.4
|
24 754
|
0.35
|
2003
|
800 348
|
8.0
|
28 094
|
0.40
|
2004
|
810 172
|
8.1
|
30 495
|
0.43
|
2005
|
839 629
|
8.4
|
32 221
|
0.45
|
2006
|
845 007
|
8.5
|
32 508
|
0.46
|
2007
|
870 091
|
8.7
|
32 539
|
0.46
|
2008
|
921 066
|
9.2
|
39 816
|
0.56
|
2009
|
974 443
|
9.8
|
40 370
|
0.57
|
2010
|
981 871
|
9.8
|
49 592
|
0.70
|
2011
|
998 161
|
10.0
|
49 592
|
0.70
|
2012
|
1 005 153
|
10.1
|
49 592
|
0.70
|
http://www.ec.gc.ca/indicateurs-indicators/default.asp?lang=en&n=8390800A-1#pa1
Works Cited
Bergeron, Yves et al. “Past, Current and Future Fire Frequency in the Canadian Boreal Forest: Implications for Sustainable Forest Management.” AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 33.6 (2004): 356–360. BioOne. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
“Environmental Impacts of Dams.” International Rivers. N. p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
Government of Canada, Environment Canada. “Environment Canada - Environmental Indicators - Protected Areas Data.” N. p., 26 Sept. 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
Hauer, Grant et al. “Tradeoffs between Forestry Resource and Conservation Values under Alternate Policy Regimes: A Spatial Analysis of the Western Canadian Boreal Plains.” Ecological Modelling 221.21 (2010): 2590–2603. ScienceDirect. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
Kasischke, Eric S., N. L. Christensen Jr., and Brian J. Stocks. “Fire, Global Warming, and the Carbon Balance of Boreal Forests.” Ecological Applications 5.2 (1995): 437–451. JSTOR. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
Latham, A. David M. et al. “Invading White-Tailed Deer Change Wolf–caribou Dynamics in Northeastern Alberta.” The Journal of Wildlife Management 75.1 (2011): 204–212. Wiley Online Library. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
“The Facts - Canada 039;s Boreal Is Earth& #039;s Green Halo.” ForestEthics.org. N. p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
Yeh, Sonia et al. “Land Use Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Conventional Oil Production and Oil Sands.” Environmental Science & Technology 44.22 (2010): 8766–8772. ACS Publications. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
“Scientists Urge 50 Percent Protection of Boreal Forest: ‘Amazon of the North.’” MINING.com. N. p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
The Nature conservancy. N.p.. Web. 27 Nov 2013. <http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/canada/placesweprotect/boreal-forest.xml>.
“170 Million Acres of Boreal Forest Saved in Major Historic Agreement! That’s the Size of Texas.” TreeHugger. N. p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
Government of Canada, Environment Canada. “Environment Canada - Environmental Indicators - Protected Areas Data.” N. p., 26 Sept. 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
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