Forests in a Changing World

Abstract

(14) 2 Boreal Forests Today In a world facing climate change, nothing is certain but the change itself. Facing this uncertainty, we must ask ourselves, will we adapt to this change? Will we steer this new world in a direction that works for us? Or will we collapse? Will our own wrongdoings be our demise? We can only speculate as to what our future holds, but through research we can whittle this speculation down to educated guesses. Through recent and proxy data, we know that climate change is a result of an increased release of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere (Figure 2) (15). This shift in the composition of our atmosphere (and consequently the shift in Earth's temperature) will directly impact the composition of Earth's surface, specifically the structure of climates and biomes (15). The exact future of certain biomes and climates is not clear but climate scientists expect an expansion of our deserts and the acidification of our oceans (16). It is expected that some terrestrial biomes will migrate to more suitable temperatures, others will thrive and some will fade (16). My research concerns the biome, boreal forests. I aim to evaluate the characterizations of boreal forests, species that inhabit boreal forests, and the influences of and on boreal forests in hopes of answering the question, what does the future hold for the Taiga? The evaluation of this biome must first start with an understanding of what a biome is: a major ecological community of flora and fauna adapted to the particular environmental condition in which they occur (4). When discussing boreal forests (also known as the Taiga) we are discussing a community of flora and fauna adapted to a band that stretches across the Northern Hemisphere, roughly between 50 and 70 degrees North latitude (27). How Greenhouse Gases Work: The sun releases energy in the form of shortwave radiation (13). This radiation travels through space until it reaches Earth, at which point it does one of three things: 29% of the incoming solar radiation is reflected off of Earth's atmosphere, 23% is absorbed by Earth's atmosphere and 48% is absorbed by Earth's surface (13). This last 48% is then rereleased back out of Earth's surface as longwave radiation (13). And this is where the greenhouse gases come into play. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb this longwave radiation and " vibrate " (13). This vibration releases heat and is responsible for warming Earth's atmosphere (13). Without greenhouse gases, life on Earth would not exist. However, with too many greenhouse gases the same would be true. With the recent drastic increase in greenhouse gases, our atmosphere is warming at a rate never seen before (16). Figure 2 (11) This drastically fast warming of Earth's atmosphere brings with it changes to Earth's climate systems: climates will migrate, change, adapt and disappear (16).