Part Two / How our Planet is Changing

2.18 Boreal and Temperate Forests

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  1. the number of subspecies increases in … higher latitudes Botero, C. A., et al., ‘Environmental harshness is positively correlated with intraspecific divergence in mammals and birds’, Molecular Ecology, 23 (2), 2014: 259–68, https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12572.

    exists in a circumpolar band Wang, J. A., et al., ‘Disturbance suppresses the aboveground carbon sink in North American boreal forests’, Nature Climate Change, 11 (5), 2021: 435–41, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01027-4.

    367–1,716 gigatonnes of carbon Merrill, M. D., et al., Federal Lands Greenhouse Emissions and Sequestration in the United States: Estimates for 2005–14, US Geological Survey scientific investigations report, 2018, https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20185131.

    8–13 per cent of boreal forest area is truly protected Wells J. V., et al., ‘The state of conservation in North America’s boreal forest: issues and opportunities’, Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 3, 2020: Article 90, https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.00090.

    half of the boreal forest area is managed for wood production Gauthier, S., et al., ‘Boreal forest health and global change’, Science, 349 (6250), 2015: 819–22, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa9092.

    Harvesting has significantly reduced the extent of old forests Gauthier et al., ‘Boreal forest health and global change’.

    logging has also reduced the trees’ accumulation of carbon Wang et al., ‘Disturbance suppresses the aboveground carbon sink’.

  2. the boreal forest zone is shifting northwards Berner, L. T., and Goetz, S. J., ‘Satellite observations document trends consistent with a boreal forest biome shift’, Global Change Biology, 28 (10), 2022: 3275–92, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16121.

    all populations of caribou in Canada Wells et al., ‘The state of conservation in North America’s boreal forest’.

    Temperate forests have some of the highest carbon densities in the world Law, B. E., et al., ‘Land use strategies to mitigate climate change in carbon dense temperate forests’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115 (14), 2018: 3663–8, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1720064115; Keith, H., et al., ‘Re-evaluation of forest biomass carbon stocks and lessons from the world’s most carbon dense forests’, Proceedings National Academy of Sciences, 106 (28), 2009: 11635–40, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0901970106.

    multiple canopy layers provide critical habitats Law, B. E., et al., ‘Strategic forest reserves can protect biodiversity and mitigate climate change in the western United States’, Communications Earth and Environment, 2, 2021: Article 254, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00326-0; Buotte, P. C., et al., ‘Carbon sequestration and biodiversity co-benefits of preserving forests in the western United States’, Ecological Applications, 30 (2), 2020: Article e02039, https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2039; Keith et al., ‘Re-evaluation of forest biomass carbon stocks’.

  3. more than seven times the emissions from all natural causes Harris, N. L., et al., ‘Attribution of net carbon change by disturbance type across forest lands of the conterminous United States’, Carbon Balance and Management, 11, 2016: Article 24, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-016-0066-5.

    forests of the northern hemisphere … larger carbon sinks Ciais, P., et al., ‘Empirical estimates of regional carbon budgets imply reduced global soil heterotrophic respiration’, National Science Review, 8 (2), 2021: Article nwaa145, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaa145.

    The global mitigation potential of natural forest management Griscom, B. W., et al., ‘Natural climate solutions’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114 (44), 2017: 11645–50, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1710465114.

    In the western US, temperate forests … global mitigation potential Buotte et al., ‘Carbon sequestration and biodiversity co-benefits’; Griscom et al., ‘Natural climate solutions’.

  4. leading to higher rates of tree mortality Kurz, W. A., et al., ‘Mountain pine beetle and forest carbon feedback to climate change’, Nature, 452 (7190), 2008: 987–90, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06777.

    allowed the beetles to cross the continental divide Cullingham, C. I., ed., ‘Mountain pine beetle host-range expansion threatens the boreal forest’, Molecular Ecology, 20 (10), 2011: 2157–71, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2011.05086.x

    Forest protection keeps carbon in the forests Law et al., ‘Strategic forest reserves can protect biodiversity’; Law et al., ‘Land use strategies to mitigate climate change’.

    If we are to mitigate climate change Pörtner, H. O., et al., IPBES–IPCC Co-sponsored Workshop Report on Biodiversity and Climate Change, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2021, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4782538.