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University of South Florida *

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Geography

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Oct 30, 2023

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M1 Assignment Boreal forests are characterized by a dominant presence of conical-shaped evergreens. The dense tree coverage from the evergreens often forms a closed canopy overstory. Because of the density of the overstory, light transmission to the understory is poor, this results in an understory of sparse ground coverage containing woody shrubs, mosses and lichens. Boreal forests typically have short summers and long winters, so most species within boreal forests bloom in early spring or summer. Soils in the boreal forest are typically thin, acidic, and poor in nutrients, this is due to the soils lying beneath an steady accumulation of organic material. The accumulated organic material has a slower rate of decomposition and microorganism activity from the colder climate they are in. As mentioned above, boreal forests typically have short summers and long winters. Winter lasts for around eight months between October to May with an average temperature between -30°F and -65°F and an average precipitation of 15” - 40” annually, usually from snow. During the short summer months, typically cool and moist, the temperatures average 20°F to 70°F. Boreal Forests are located in Northern Hemispheres at latitudes between 50° - 60° North. The Boreal Forest extends across North America from the west side of Alaska to the east side of the Labrador Peninsula in Canada. ( Boreal Forest (Taiga): Location, Climate, Plants and Animals - Conserve Energy Future , 2019) Canada is covered by about 24% of the Boreal Forest while America is around 11%. The Boreal Forest then continues along this latitude, stretching across Europe and Asia from Siberia to Scandinavia. Russia contains around 58% coverage while other countries contain only 3-4% coverage ( Boreal Forest (Taiga): Location, Climate, Plants and Animals - Conserve Energy Future , 2019). Boreal forests face many threats, some are natural but most are human-caused events that disturb forested areas. The most obvious and in recent news at the moment being climate change and wildfires. But, history shows that as humans, we require resources that these forests provide and often we don’t know when to stop or how to sustainably use these resources. As the human population increases, the need for space increases and with that comes urban expansion. Urban expansion means new buildings, new roads, new infrastructures, and so on. So we begin to clear forests to make room and extort more resources from forestry, mining, oil and gas, and agriculture. According to (Dawson et al., 2020), the boreal forest biome is considered to be 80% intact and between 8-13% formally protected. However, Canada is home to the world’s largest ecologically intact boreal forest, with 54% of the world’s total (Petersen & Sizer, 2014). Global
Forest Watch data shows that, from 2000-2013, Canada lost more than 26 million hectares of forest and more than 20% of the boreal forest is now covered by industrial concessions (Petersen & Sizer, 2014). This number of land loss continues to increase as surface mining and other industrial concessions accelerate forward. Because of this, considerable conservation efforts have been devoted to forest regeneration in order to help maintain and keep much of the boreal forest healthy and intact. The boreal forest, like many forests, provides an exorbitant amount of services and benefits. These benefits range from the most obvious needs such as food, freshwater, and timber to needs such as someone’s spiritual well-being. Boreal forests, taking up around 1.3 billion acres, are the Earth’s largest terrestrial carbon storehouse ( Primer on Forest Carbon in Canada’s Boreal Forest, n.d.). The forests store ~208 billion tons of carbon from the atmosphere, or 11% of the world's total. ( Primer on Forest Carbon in Canada’s Boreal Forest , n.d.) The forests support clean air quality through oxygen production. Boreal forests help to regulate water quantity, thus mitigating flooding or droughts by releasing needed water into rivers or streams. Through this, they also improve the quality of the water by filtration it as it moves through the soil. Boreal forests aid surrounding wetland ecosystems through nutrient cycling, this allows for the forests to supply a habitat for a diverse range of species whether that’s plant or animal. While boreal forests provide a great amount of supplies humans use day to day, they are also a wonderful resource for many humans to unplug and ground themselves with nature. Through education, hiking, camping, meditation, or whatever your body may need, boreal forests can most likely offer you a solution. Ecosystem services provided by forests play a vital role to the well-being of humans. If humans were to disappear, the forests would continue on and thrive without our interference. But, if the forests were to disappear tomorrow, the balance of the world as we know it would fall to shambles and humans would be immensely impacted, this is why we must ensure that these ecosystems are cared for.
References Boreal Forest (Taiga): Location, Climate, Plants and Animals - Conserve Energy Future . (2019, March 25). Www.conserve-Energy-Future.com. https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/boreal-forest.php#:~:text=Temperatures Dawson, N., Wells, J., Culver, N., Siegers, S. S., & Reid, F. (2020). The State of Conservation in North America’s Boreal Forest: Issues and Opportunities . https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2020.00090/full#:~:text=All%20of%20i t%20is%20within,8%20and%2013%25%20formally%20protected. Manitoba Wildlands - Boreal Forests . (2014). Manitobawildlands.org. http://manitobawildlands.org/forests_boreal.htm Petersen, R., & Sizer, N. (2014). Tar Sands Threaten World’s Largest Boreal Forest. Www.wri.org . https://www.wri.org/insights/tar-sands-threaten-worlds-largest-boreal-forest#:~:text=Acc ording%20to%20data%20from%20Global Primer on forest carbon in Canada’s Boreal Forest . (n.d.). Nature United. https://www.natureunited.ca/what-we-do/our-priorities/innovating-for-climate-change/for est-carbon-boreal-forest/#:~:text=Spanning%201.3%20billion%20acres%2C%20the
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