The Brilliant Boreal Forest Canada: Why We Need To Conserve Canada's Trees

The boreal forest of Canada is a huge area that encompasses roughly one-third of the circumpolar forested areas that crown the Northern Hemisphere, mainly north of the 50th parallel.

Numerous different nations with boreal forests include Russia, which has the largest percentage of boreal forests, the United States in Alaska, Scandinavian as well as Northern Countries in Europe. In Europe, taiga refers to the entire boreal forest, not only the northern edge where it spreads out close to the forest canopy.

The boreal forests region of Canada (northern Canada) encompasses nearly 60% of the country's total land area. The Canadian boreal region stretches across the country from Newfoundland and Labrador's most eastward point to the frontier between the far northern Yukon as well as Alaska.

The landscape is dominated by boreal deciduous trees, especially spruce, which are intermixed with massive watersheds, mainly bogs, and fens.

There are eight ecozones in Canada's boreal province. While biodiversity differs by region, even ecozone has its own native vegetation. The boreal forest region is made up of closed-crown coniferous forest with noticeable trees and shrubs that cover the area.

The boreal region is home to roughly 13% of Canada's population. With its vast expanse and natural vegetation, the boreal contributes significantly to Canada's agrarian and aboriginal economic systems, mainly through extractive industries, relaxation, target shooting, catching fish, and eco-tourism.

Dozens and dozens of towns and cities inside its borders obtain at least 20% of their economic growth from the forest, primarily through industries such as timber products, quarrying, petroleum and gas, and the tourist industry.

The boreal forest is also important in Canadian history, social and economic development, and art history. The Canadian boreal forest is a vast shelter for some rare species of small animals and other creatures like polar bears, chum salmon, Canada lynx, and brook trout that stretches from the Yukon-Alaska frontier all the way across the country to Newfoundland and Labrador.

The boreal forest of Canada is thought to be the world's biggest preserved forest on the planet, with approximately 1.2 billion acres (485 million hectares) still unaffected by roadways, urban areas, and industrial growth.

Because of its top standard of structural soundness, the forest has drawn the attention of environmental activists and preservation scientists who see the forest's unaltered regions as a possibility for large-scale environmental protection which would otherwise be unworkable in other parts of the globe.

After reading all about Canada's boreal forest, also check Australian Rainforest facts and Amazon Rainforest facts.

Boreal Life Cycles

Trees end up competing for nutrients and then become overpopulated as they get older. Old trees, like every living thing, die as a result of natural factors. In unmaintained forests, dead trees start piling up on the forest canopy, creating ideal conditions for wildfires.

Even though forest fires are a normal byproduct of the forest's life cycle, they can have a negative impact on wildlife and public health and safety if they get out of hand. Foresters use forest management practices to try to reduce forest fires.

Foresters can significantly affect the growth rate of a forest by simulating natural disruptions. Foresters use strategies such as planting, harvesting, research, tracking, and prescribed burns to mimic the forest life cycle, enabling the forest's canopy to keep going.

Disturbances And Threats

Rapid industrialization has been and will remain a significant source of employment and income for many towns and cities throughout the boreal forest. 

However, transformation, like climate change, has long-term consequences for the boreal forest's health and future. More than a third of the Canadian boreal forest has indeed been set aside for present or prospective industrial growth. Each year, new exploration roadways push even farther north into the boreal forest, illustrating the need to preserve significant sections of the forest in order to create stability in the boreal forest.

For further than 200 'years, adventurers have been venturing into the boreal forest in search of energy reserves. Unfortunately, many of these mining areas were built with little to no ecological oversight or with long-term forest needs in mind. This tends to put the forest and wildlife in grave danger.

Future For Boreal Caribou

Boreal caribou, a subpopulation of woodland caribou, can be discovered in nine provinces and regions' boreal forest territories.

Since 2003, they have been classified as Threatened under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA), and their statistics have steadily declined, owing primarily to ecosystems loss and fragmentation, which also reveals the caribou to enhanced exploitation and abuse.

The federal government issued a recovery strategy for the species in 2012, instructing provinces to ensure that at least 65 % of each caribou range continues to remain untouched in national parks.

Boreal Birds

A boreal bird is a species of bird that mates in, migrates across, or otherwise depends on the boreal forest region of North America at every point during its life span.

Overall, 325 boreal bird species are classified as 'boreal birds', with over 300 of these birds frequently reproducing inside this massive, pretty much entirely preserved forest.

Despite the fact that much of the southern boreal forest has been designed or otherwise modified by humans, the greater part of the forest's northern portion continues to remain an untouched jungle to this very day. This has enabled migratory birds to come back to their preferred breeding grounds each season.

Learn How Canada Protects Our Boreal Forest

Indigenous governments in Canada have progressively asserted more decision-making power over their northwest territories in recent times.

Indigenous nations constructing cutting-edge comprehensive land-use proposals for their native territories is one method this has been achieved. These proposals solidify the Indigenous governments' view of the future of their territories and include both protected areas and territories that may be accessible for resource extraction under the supervision of Indigenous governments' laws, regulations, and legislation.

Why we must protect Canada's boreal forest?

The boreal forest is essential in mitigating the effects of carbon dioxide emissions on our environment. The Canadian boreal contains more than 300 billion tonnes of carbon.

While that percentage is difficult to comprehend, it is primarily the amount of carbon that the globe produces over a 36 year period. As a result, it's difficult to overestimate the importance of Canada's boreal forest in controlling our planet's climate. Industrialization is a persistent danger to the boreal forest. The most serious threat is industrial logging.

This is still a wild area of the globe. It is a habitat to North America's richest species diversity and is important in the lives and cultural practices of over a million native groups. Canada's boreal forest also has a huge role in controlling climate change.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for boreal forest Canada then why not take a look at animals in Brazil Rainforest or forest of knives Madagascar.