BOREAL FOREST

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WATER IN THE BOREAL FOREST

• The Boreal Forest holds more than 1.5 million lakes.
• More than one hundred and thirty fish species make their home here.
• Other than lakes and ponds, the forest doesn't have a lot of rainfall.
• Mostly water comes from snow and fog.
• It has one of the biggest wetland areas.

INTERACTIONS

LAND & ANIMALS

• Spring-Autumn: shades of brown. Many species such as moose, deer, birds, have brown fur or feathers for camoflauge.
• Winter: white from the snow. Some animals will shed their brown summer fur and grow thick white fur to remain hidden in the season.
• Seasonally, most animals will change their fur color.

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MAJOR THREATS

MINING OF OIL SANDS

• The mining of oil sands in the boreal forest produces crude oil, which is shipped via pipelines to refineries in the Midwestern. U.S., where the oil is made into products such as gasoline(40% of oil refined), heating oil(20% of oil), and other various products such as plastics(40%). Consumers are mostly Canada, the U.S., and Central America, but the products are shipped all around the world.

LOGGING

• Lumber harvesting or logging in the boreal forest produces paper and other wood products such as plywood and firewood. the wood is shipped To companies that make wood products as well as people in North America.

MINING FOR MINERALS

• Mineral Mining, which is commonly for coal, obviously produces Minerals like coal. The coal is shipped to power plants, Owners of factories, and companies that make charcoal. (Also the occasional steam locomotive enthusiast).

LOGGING

GOAL

• 80% less catalogs and mail produced by creating and using online catalogs.

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How do we know change has been made?

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• A healthy ecosystem would have several million trees as habitats for the local species and the amount of forest area would increase by 40% from what is there right now.

"70% of the world's plants and animals live in forests and are losing their habitats to deforestation, according to National Geographic" (Bradford, par. 15). Thus, by increasing the amount of habitat for these species, there would be a significant change in not only the number, but in the range of species.

In addition, trees play a significant role in the water cycle, so once their population is restored, the water cycle will improve.

The cutting down of trees that are an anchor for the soil leads to soil erosion. By reducing the amount of trees cut down, soil will improve for the forest and improve life quality right along with it.

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In what ways will improvements benefit the ecosystem?

Many species of trees that are in danger from logging, such as the cherry birch, will be safe from logging and therefore excitation. 6,000,000 tons of paper are used in Canada today, and if there was an 80% decrease in paper product use, 4,800,000 tons of paper would be saved.

Trees absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 lbs per year, so cutting down the percentage of paper production will be able to release enough oxygen to support all humans.

With the replanting of trees and less logging, species such as the woodland caribou (about 17 left) , grizzly bear (about 25,000 left), which have been decreasing in number, will have an increase in numbers. Grizzly bears can be found in Canada, Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington. Woodland Caribou can be found in Canada. These species will most likely be safe as logging goes down and trees are replanted.

CHALLENGES

• Companies may resent stopping sending catalogues because they are a main source of revenue. They seduce costumers into buying a company's product. "Research shows that 58 percent of online shoppers said they get their ideas from browsing catalogs... when polling women ages 18-30, 45 percent reported catalogs sparked interest in a retailer’s product and nearly 90 percent bought items they saw first in a catalog." (PYMNTS, par. 7)

Benefits
"In 2009, the Direct Marketing Association found that businesses mailed more than 17 billion catalogs, but only 1.3 percent resulted in a sale." If the suggested proposal was accepted and used, than there would be a decrease in over 13.5 billion catalogs, which would then save billions of trees. Therefore, the benefits of the conservation act would be very significant. Not only this, but the habitat for hundreds of species would be restored and biodiversity will increase as a reaction to the increase of living space.

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