Articles tagged with Old Growth Forests
Tropical forest landscapes are changing rapidly as old-growth forests become agricultural lands, degraded land is abandoned, and urbanization intensifies. Scientists are studying the dimensions and mechanisms of forest responses to rapid human-population increase and environmental changes.
Dr. Fraser Mitchell's study analyzes tree pollen to reconstruct primeval forests, concluding that grazing animals did not exert a significant impact on forest structure. This challenges current European forest conservation policy, which promotes closed canopy deciduous forests, and suggests that primeval forests may have been more open.
A new study using computer models found that human activities are the main cause of caribou decline in northern Alberta. The research suggests that if current development rates continue, woodland caribou will be eliminated from the area in 37 years.
Researchers study old-growth forests' carbon, water, and energy exchange to understand their role in global climate change. The project aims to provide baseline information on managed ecosystems' impact on global carbon budgets.
A University of Washington researcher found that the US Forest Service and Wilderness Society's conflicting old-growth forest estimates in the Pacific Northwest stem from differing mapping methods, technologies, and definitions. The study highlights how cultural and financial pressures influenced the final numbers.