forests Flashcards
what is a forest (cirteria)
land spaning more than 0.5 ha
tree canopy that covers more than 10% of a given area
trees growing more than 5 m
how much of can is forest
aprpox 30%
what is the role for forests
they act hs carbon skins as they draw more CO@ from the atmos than the emmit
they are a significant economy contributor in both timber and non timber products
how much of the worlds forest is in can
9%
what has been the general trend in canadas forest abundance
a slight decrease, likely due to the increased range of forest fires and disturbances cause by insects and forestry
what is the leading cause of deforestation in can
1) agriculutre
2) oil and gas
what is a carbon sink
a entity that absorbs more carbon than it emits (carbon sequestration)
what is a carbon source
an entity that realeases more carbon than it absorbs
what is the general trend of CO2 emitted from CANs forests of the past few years. what is causing this?
an increase in CO@ emissions, behaving more like a source than a sink
this is in part by the increased ecosystem disturbance by insects. it is also influenced by the amount of area burned in a given year, but that has a much smaller impact
how are canadas forests owned/distributed?
77% by provincial
16% by federal
7% by private land owners
what is the AAC
the annual allowable amount of timber that can be harvested in a given area on a sustainable basis. it will measure coniferous and deciduous amounts separately
what are the main threats to forestry in CAN?
climate change
insect infestations
fires
diseases
theft
deforestation
how does climate impact forests
with a warming climate, species that rely on colder temp are migrating northwards.
further, warmer climate increase the regions of which insects and infections are able to thrive.
how do insect infestations impact forest
invasive beetles and insects will attack healthy trees, overriding their natural immune system and kill the tree. they also have a tendency to migrate and infaect may related trees.
dead trees are more suseptable to catching on fire
how much of BCs forests have been impacted by the lodge pole pine beetle? when are their population abundance at its highest?
50%and their population increases with warming weather patterns in spring and summer
how do forest fires impact forestry
the burning of forests increase CO2 emissions.
while the number of fires have stayed the same, the total area burned each year is increasing on average and more are being caused by lightning and less my human activity
how do diseases impact forestry
native diseases are important for the normal healthy disruption to an ecosystem. this allows for regrowth (by removing old trees) and resiliancy of the ecosystem.
what is tree poaching
the unlawful removal of irreplacble items.
tree poaching negatively impact the economy as approx 1 bill $ are lost on an annual basis
what do forests provide to humans?
an economy source
a carbon sink
recreation areas
- contributes to biodiversity and effect water cycling by retaining groundwater
assist in decomposition of natural materials
what are non timber forest prodcuts
materials or produced sourced from the forest that do not required the cutting down of trees
mushrooms
maple syrup
seeds and nuts
furs
medicines
how much money do non timber products contribute each year
1 bill
