Although they have not been heavily settled by human populations, northern coniferous forests are being logged at an alarming rate, and the old-growth stands of these trees may soon disappear. Logging is always a threat; unless carefully managed these forests are very slow to regrow and corporate pressures may reduce the amount of management and/or accelerate cutting beyond what can be sustained. Large areas of boreal forest have also been flooded as part of hydroelectric projects.
Perhaps the biggest threat to the boreal forest today is exploration and development of oil and natural gas reserves. From Alaska to Canada to Russia, it is estimated that vast amounts of petroleum products lie under these forests. Increased instability in the Middle East, more effective technology for working in the cold, and the high demand for fossil fuels are pushing exploration and development into areas once thought impossible to exploit. It is not clear whether the slow-growing coniferous forests can recover.
Other threats abound. Perhaps the most serious is Global Warming; as the planet warms the southern reaches of the boreal forest will become warm enough for deciduous trees to outcompete the conifers and replace them. It is not clear whether the tundra areas to the north will support forests even under warmer conditions, and it is less clear if the trees will be able to move north rapidly enough in any event. There is some evidence to suggest that additional carbon dioxide and methane - both greenhouse gasses - will be liberated from warmer tundra and taiga soils as the built up detritus of thousands of years is finally free to decompose. This additional release of greenhouse gasses could accelerate global warming even further.
Perhaps the biggest threat to the boreal forest today is exploration and development of oil and natural gas reserves. From Alaska to Canada to Russia, it is estimated that vast amounts of petroleum products lie under these forests. Increased instability in the Middle East, more effective technology for working in the cold, and the high demand for fossil fuels are pushing exploration and development into areas once thought impossible to exploit. It is not clear whether the slow-growing coniferous forests can recover.
Other threats abound. Perhaps the most serious is Global Warming; as the planet warms the southern reaches of the boreal forest will become warm enough for deciduous trees to outcompete the conifers and replace them. It is not clear whether the tundra areas to the north will support forests even under warmer conditions, and it is less clear if the trees will be able to move north rapidly enough in any event. There is some evidence to suggest that additional carbon dioxide and methane - both greenhouse gasses - will be liberated from warmer tundra and taiga soils as the built up detritus of thousands of years is finally free to decompose. This additional release of greenhouse gasses could accelerate global warming even further.