A Dim Future for Boreal Waters and Landscapes: Cumulative Effects of Climatic Warming, Stratospheric Ozone Depletion, Acid Precipitation, and other Human Activities
Schindler DW. 1998. A Dim Future for Boreal Waters and Landscapes: Cumulative Effects of Climatic Warming, Stratospheric Ozone Depletion, Acid Precipitation, and other Human Activities. BioScience. 48(3):157-164
In the past 30 years, a combination of human activity and natural events has resulted in both dramatic and subtle changes to forests, wetlands, lakes, and streams in the boreal regions of North America. Some of these changes that have occurred are documented and how these changes may cause severe malfunctioning of boreal communities and ecosystems are discussed. The boreal forest is second in size to the moist tropical forests, boreal lakes are the most numerous on Earth, and the boreal region contains the world's largest expanse of wetlands and plays a major role in the global carbon cycle. North Americans and Europeans have focused their concerns over the loss of biodiversity and greenhouse gas production on the tropics and have ignored the destruction of boreal ecosystems. When the combined effects of climate warming, acid precipitation, stratosheric ozone depletion, and other human activities are considered, the boreal landscape may be one of the global ecoregions that changes the most in the next few decades.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Schindler, David
- Units
- VOYA
- Keywords
- Acid Rain, anthropogenic stress, Biodiversity, boreal ecosystems, Climate Change, Ecology, Global Warming, Management, North America, ozone depletion