Located mainly in Russia and parts of North America and Europe, the boreal forest is the largest on the planetrepresenting 27% of the surface area covered by all the world’s forests. Key piece in the climate balanceglobal warming and man threaten this ecosystem, the largest carbon reservoir in the world.
Indeed, the boreal forest – also known as Taiga– stores twice as much carbon as all tropical forests combined, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
He bosque boreal It has an extremely cold and humid climate. Its winters have extreme temperatures that reach up to -50 °C, while summers have an average temperature of 10 °C. Thanks to its vast extension, the biodiversity it houses is also astonishing.
Las animal species Those who live in the boreal forest have adaptations that allow them to live in extreme conditions. Conifers and evergreen shrubs stand out in its vegetation, while brown bears, wolves, foxes, lynx and elk stand out among the mammals.
According to data from Greenpeace50 percent of the mammals that inhabit the bosque boreal It is under danger, while forest fires also threaten the balance of the ecosystem. Indeed, The loss of the Taiga threatens the boreal forest’s ability to persist as a carbon sink, vital to fighting global warming.
The threat to this ecosystem is a threat to the entire world and its climatic balance. Because? Because When the carbon it stores is released, global warming would accelerate and with it all forms of life would be impacted.