This project brings up many questions -- will it work? how will native species interact with the non-native tree species? how will climate change affect the forests? are the forests designed to enhance natural areas or are they more of an agricultural product? how will forests affect the microclimates in Iceland? how much fossil fuel will be saved from not transporting wood to Iceland from abroad? I'm eagerly following this story!
Showing posts with label forests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label forests. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Can trees grow in Iceland?
I visited Iceland last summer (see my post about the trip) and couldn't help but notice how barren the landscape is. Several exhibits we visited explained that Iceland used to have forests, but that seemed a bit far-fetched as we looked around the lava fields and glaciers. Well, it turns out that this barren landscape isn't 100% natural -- humans caused much of the deforestation. Now Icelanders are trying to bring back their forests.
This project brings up many questions -- will it work? how will native species interact with the non-native tree species? how will climate change affect the forests? are the forests designed to enhance natural areas or are they more of an agricultural product? how will forests affect the microclimates in Iceland? how much fossil fuel will be saved from not transporting wood to Iceland from abroad? I'm eagerly following this story!
This project brings up many questions -- will it work? how will native species interact with the non-native tree species? how will climate change affect the forests? are the forests designed to enhance natural areas or are they more of an agricultural product? how will forests affect the microclimates in Iceland? how much fossil fuel will be saved from not transporting wood to Iceland from abroad? I'm eagerly following this story!
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
International Day of Forests
This week, the UN celebrates the International Day of Forests. During this celebration, the UN encourages local communities to conserve forest resources. The theme this year is "Forests and Energy" which was a little surprising to me. 2016 was "Forests and Water" and 2015 was "Forests and Climate Change". 2014 was "My Forest, Our Future," while the kick-off year was 2013. The role of forests in sustainable energy is, I think, a unique idea that's going to be a challenge to sell -- that word "sustainable" is really critical to the theme.
I would have proposed "Forests and Biodiversity" as this year's theme. Tropical forests cover 2% of the Earth's surface but house 50% of our terrestrial biodiversity. Temperate deciduous forests are some of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. Forests can be used sustainably (there's lots to harvest in a sustainable way), but I don't think I would've focused on burning forests as a sustainable use. I would have focused on other forest products such as cocoa, lumber, pharmaceuticals, coffee, syrup, even mushrooms and ginseng! What do you think?
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