For those of us who live in parts of the world that have a long history of large-scale human impacts to the land, it may be hard to imagine there are still a few parts of the world where the land has not experienced such impacts. One of the most important of these, especially for those of us in the Americas, is the vast area to our north called the Boreal Forest biome. We co-authored a new scientific paper that describes the amazing features and globally significant conservation values of the Boreal Forest. The paper is publicly accessible through a journal called Frontiers in Forests and Global Change.
The most striking feature we identified is that this continent-wide landscape is over 80 percent intact.
The Boreal Forest biome is vast—1.5 billion acres in size, dotted with millions of lakes and ponds including some of the largest in the world, and the longest undammed rivers left in North America. The world’s second largest peatland, stretching over 91 million acres is found in the Boreal Forest and the area is thought to have more surface freshwater and wetlands than just about anywhere else on earth. The biome is estimated to support within in its lands, at least 500 billion trees. These trees and all the habitats that they are part of in the Boreal make it an incredible place for all sorts of amazing wildlife.
A Last Chance for Large-Scale Conservation — Boreal Conservation
The most striking feature we identified is that this continent-wide landscape is over 80 percent intact.
The Boreal Forest biome is vast—1.5 billion acres in size, dotted with millions of lakes and ponds including some of the largest in the world, and the longest undammed rivers left in North America. The world’s second largest peatland, stretching over 91 million acres is found in the Boreal Forest and the area is thought to have more surface freshwater and wetlands than just about anywhere else on earth. The biome is estimated to support within in its lands, at least 500 billion trees. These trees and all the habitats that they are part of in the Boreal make it an incredible place for all sorts of amazing wildlife.
A Last Chance for Large-Scale Conservation — Boreal Conservation