Uncertain Future Predicted For Forests In a study a the University of Illinoise, they have predicted forests will be lot different in about 200 to 400 years from today. There are two very important variables in predicting what forest landscapes may look like in the future. The studies show that these two variables are temperature and photosynthetic active radiation. Forested area west of Lake Superior was used for study. Using computer models, the researchers were able to simulate possible scenarios, which included tree species and possible climate profiles to predict how the landscape will look over time. The study found that the most important source of uncertainty is the temperature predictions. The second most important source is photosynthetic active radiation, the third is carbon dioxide, and the fourth is precipitation. Well how do we change or solve these problems? Simple answer, sustainable systems that are diverse and can adapt to the environment.
I thought the article was very interesting and got me more into depth of the serious problems we have in our forests today. I did not really think of forests being gone or destroyed, but that is the direction we are going in if we continue what we are doing. I enjoyed learning about the studies and the information they came out with. The numbers and years that the researchers predicted are found out were shocking, for examples like they said that they now don't know what will happen past the year 2200 and life spans for forests are becoming 100 to 200 years. The future is unknown for forests and ther are still many uncertanties that can not be fixed. My questions that I have based off of this article is, how will they manage the forest to climate change? How can they stop tempature changes from the number one problem? This is information I would like to know more of and would not mind studying.
Chris S. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915140932.htm
I thought this was really cool, how science can help people see what life and the environment is going to be like in the future. This seems very important because now that we know what the world might be like years to come it gives us a better idea about what we need to do to prevent the problems. This is huge for society because if we can see what future the environment will have people will start understanding that the enviroment wont be there forever unless we become more sustainable and caring for our world.
ReplyDeleteI felt like Ian wrote a really nice article. It was unique, and wasn't like anyone elses. I'm terrified of snakes unfortunatly, so I have a bad opinion of them, but it is sad how the biodiversity will be great effected my this new predator in the picture. This new species of snake makes the environment unbalanced and causes different animals to be greatly effected. Something should be done about this problem to create a more balanced environment.
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