Feature story - June 14, 2003
Warmer temperatures and increased rainfall or drought due to climate change will adversely affect the health of the world's forests.
Warmer temperatures will adversely affect the health and productivity of forests in the following ways:
- If conditions become drier, the current range of forests could be reduced and eventually replaced by grasslands and pasture.
- Warmer and drier conditions may result in more intense forest fires.
- While warmer temperatures threaten the health and productivity of forests, destructive insects will thrive in the new conditions and further accelerate the degradation of forests.
- The Rocky Mountain forests and the northern boreal forests are at highest risk.
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Global Warming and the Fate of the Northern Boreal Forest