boreal forests
Newsletter
Credit: sky-light-pictures/Big Stock Photo
Canada’s 2023 wildfires released more carbon than nearly all countries
Wildfires that burned through Canada’s boreal forests in 2023 emitted more carbon dioxide than most countries, raising concerns about the future of global carbon storage.
In short:
- The 2023 Canadian wildfires emitted more carbon than all but three countries, complicating climate models.
- Boreal forests, vital for carbon storage, may no longer regrow as they used to due to frequent intense fires.
- Extreme weather, driven by climate change, is making catastrophic wildfires like these more common.
Key quote:
“These so-called flash droughts can really change things rapidly. It dried up real quick, real quick, and then you had lightning at the absolute worst time imaginable.”
— Marc-André Parisien, senior researcher, Canadian Forest Service
Why this matters:
As climate change accelerates, forests that once absorbed carbon may now contribute to global warming. This shift could worsen climate predictions, making it harder to limit global temperature rise.
Related EHN coverage:
Keep reading...Show less
Newsletter
Boreal forests struggle to recover from frequent fires
Canada's boreal forests, crucial carbon storage ecosystems, are struggling to recover from increasingly frequent wildfires exacerbated by climate change.
In short:
- Boreal forests evolved to burn every century, but climate change has increased the frequency of fires, challenging tree regeneration, especially for black spruce.
- Last year’s fires burned a forest area the size of the Netherlands, affecting carbon storage, as burned trees release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
- Indigenous communities like the Dene are experiencing the effects, pushing for greater involvement in fire management policies to protect their lands.
Key quote:
“The entire bloody country was hot and dry at the same time (...) If you would have told me that a few years ago, I’d be like no, that doesn’t really make sense.”
— Marc-André Parisien, a senior researcher at the Canadian Forest Service.
Why this matters:
As fires increase in frequency, forests struggle to regrow, releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and accelerating climate change. The loss of black spruce and other trees threatens biodiversity, impacts Indigenous livelihoods and contributes to more severe global warming effects.
Keep reading...Show less
Credit: Angelos @ Ottawa/Flickr
Canada’s boreal forests badly damaged by logging
A study finds that logging has inflicted severe damage to the vast boreal forests in Ontario and Quebec, two of the country’s main commercial logging regions.
JLS Photography - Alaska/Flickr
Wildfires in northern forests broke carbon emissions records in 2021
Boreal forests store huge amounts of carbon, but the warming and drying climate is leading them to burn bigger, hotter and more frequently.
Newsletter
Eli Sagor/Flickr
Canada, home to a massive boreal forest, lobbied to limit U.S., EU anti-deforestation bills
Canada's forest industry is a $34-billion business. But as climate change accelerates, many worry about the true cost of logging, including the states of New York and California, which introduced anti-deforestation bills — that provinces and the federal government lobbied against.
Boreal trees may grow faster due to climate change
Enhanced tree growth could significantly offset carbon emissions, but some researchers say it’s not enough to compete with forest disturbances.
Photo by Jeremy Allouche on Unsplash
Fighting climate change, Indigenous people protect Canadian forests
Canada is looking to its Indigenous communities to help manage its boreal forests, the world’s largest intact forest ecosystem and one if its biggest stores of carbon.
ORIGINAL REPORTING
MOST POPULAR
CLIMATE
