But most of the tar sands lie hidden below northern Alberta's
boreal forest, in an area larger than the state of Florida.
Each spring, approximately 3 billion migratory birds that winter in South America or southern North America turn tail and fly northward to the
boreal forest. Why do the birds--from white pelicans to dark-eyed junco songbirds--undertake the lengthy journey, which may span hundreds or even thousands of miles?
Here in New York State, these birds live where
boreal forests of black spruce, tamarack and balsam fir are found.
Schindler points to Alberta for a glimpse of the
boreal forest's future today.
The
boreal forest is also a hotbed of waterfowl brooding activity, running a close second to the prairie pothole region of the northern Great Plains for the title of the continent's biggest duck factory.
As a whole, the southern edge of the
boreal forest in Europe coincides approximately with the northern limit of the distribution of the English oak (Quercus robur).
This is partly due to the fact that most studies of the
boreal forest have emphasized post-fire succession, while disturbance dynamics affecting old post-fire stands are rarely studied.
If the permafrost continues to melt, he says, the
boreal forests that grow over it could be replaced by dry steppe.
In the case of Plants of the Western
Boreal Forest, only a biologist, and this reviewer is not, would be in a position to judge.
And many plants are threatened too; in the province of Alberta alone, about 100 plant species are known to grow only in
boreal forest, and roughly half of these are already rare.
Jeffery's research seeks to understand the causes and consequences of a near-total population collapse of Arctic ground squirrels (Urocitellus parryii) since 2000 in the
boreal forest of southwestern Yukon.
BC's Great Bear Rainforest and Canadian
Boreal Forest agreements are good examples of large-scale plans that include conservation areas.