More bad news as climate change and rainforest experts warned that without drastic and immediate cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and new forest protections, the world’s most expansive stretch of temperate rainforests from Alaska to the coast redwoods will experience irreparable losses.
Applied climate models predicted the future distribution of eight rainforest conifers of commercial value and broad rainforest communities across a 2,200-mile stretch of coastal rainforests in the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and Alaska. Published by Science Direct in the online global reference “Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences,” key findings include:
- Coast redwood could lose up to 23% of its current distribution as the climate changes more drastically in the southern rainforest region.
- Alaska yellow-cedar could lose up to 21% of its current distribution and already is experiencing extensive dieback from warming and reduced snow pack.
- Entire rainforest communities in southern Oregon and northern California may contract, while in southeast Alaska and British Columbia rainforests may expand upward in elevation as glaciers recede.
- Most of the region’s parks and wilderness areas do not include localized pockets of relatively stable vegetation and climate suitable for rainforest species to find refuge from a warming climate.For a copy of the study abstract: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124095489093672