Boreal Forests
By Eric Salvesen
Causes of Environmental Problems:
Some of the environmental problems that the Boreal
Forests face is logging, mining, dams, the pine
beetle, and other industrial hazards. Unfortunately
less than 8 percent of Canada's boreal forest is
protected. This provides the opportunity for the
logging, hydropower, petroleum and mining industries
continue to take advantage the southern boreal
forest and plan to move to the unallocated northern
regions. In the west, oil and gas development have
made an ever-expanding network of roads and massive
lines into the forest. Industrial hydropower dams on
the boreal forest's northern rivers have flooded
wildlife habitat, clogged lakes with sediment and
killed important fish species.
Plant and Animal Life:
The boreal forest is full of wildlife. There are
more than 1.5 million lakes in the boreal forests
are nursery’s for 40 percent of North America. Some
of the migrating animals are the American black
duck, mallard, blue-winged teal and the northern
shoveler. Exactly 30 percent of North American land
birds, including common backyard songbirds such as
the warbler will raise their young each spring in
Canada's boreal forest’s. The threatened woodland
caribou, known as the grey ghost, depends for food
on old-growth boreal forests and the lichen that
took 100 years to evolve. Black bears range
throughout the boreal, preferring low vegetables and
the large amount food provided by shrubs. Spruces
are the most common trees found in the boreal
forests. The conical needleleaf trees, that are
found in boreal forests are adapted to the cold and
the physiological drought of winter and to the short
growing season.
Climatic and Vegetative Characteristics:
In the Boreal forests are large amounts of
carbon dioxide, and their biomass is so large
and so important that when they are in their
largest growth phase during the northern
spring and summer, the worlds levels of carbon
dioxide fall and the worlds levels of oxygen
rise. The most dominant tree species are
conifers which are well adapted to the harsh
climate, and thin acidic soils. Black and
white spruce are the characteristic species of
the canadian region along with Tamarack, Jack
Pine and Balsam Fir. In Scandinavia and
western Russia the Scots Pine is an important
part of the taiga.
Climatic and/or Geographic Factors That
Contribute to the Environmental Problem:
Fire is an important disturbance factor in the
boreal regions. It creates the destruction of
old and diseased trees, along with the pests
that are with those trees. Many animals are
able to escape natural fires and some trees
like the aspen and jack pine actually need
fires to start their reproduction cycles.
Also the nutrient rich ash left behind from
fires, help fuel plant growth. The high
mineral potential in the canadian region is
also a problem. Detailed concerns are the
disposal of acidic effluent from tailings,
containment of radioactivity and the effects
of emissions from processing plants.
 Boreal Forest
Extended:
Impacts on the Living Things In Boreal Forests:
One of the things that impact my biome is logging.
When logging takes place it takes away the roots
which hold the soil in place and when nothing is
holding the soil that causes erosion, which can
cause water to take the soil away and create mud
slides. Acid rain is another large impact on the
living things in the boreal forest because the acid
destroys the forests. The acid chemicals from
industrial plants pollute the rivers and forests and
not only hurts the forests but the animal life in
the forests and the animals that drink and live in
the rivers.
Political and Social Sides To The Problem:
There are lots of environmentalists that say
that the forests need to be watched more
closely. Because a lot of the forests trees
are disappearing because of clear cut to make
paper and timber.Because these forests create
so many jobs that the factories that people
work at cause a lot of acid rain which makes
controlling pollution very difficult.
Because of these factors it makes saving the
forest even more difficult.

Effects Over The Next 20 Years:

If what is happening to the boreal forests continues
for 20 more years then the boreal forests are going
to die out from logging and other industrial
hazards. If the boreal forest completely disappear
then we will loose one of the worlds largest carbon
dioxide consumers and oxygen producers. Therefore
if the boreal forests all disappear then there would
be a major shortage of oxygen in the world. Due to
the vast amount of oil underneath the boreal forests
will cause more logging and tearing down of the
forest but when the oil is harvested and used then
will cause even more carbon dioxide will be released
into the atmosphere but there will be less trees to
take in the carbon dioxide.

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