World’s Lost Forest Regions May Never Regenerate – The Energy Mix
“Forests cover 30% of the planet’s land surface, and yet, as humans heat the atmosphere, some locations where they would have grown now appear too dry or hot to support them,” reports The Guardian.
A 2013 analysis of wildfire sites in the Rocky Mountains found that almost one-third of areas burned since 2000 showed no regeneration “whatsoever,” with flowers and shrubs still remaining where tree seedlings were expected.
“In the Rocky Mountains, estimates hold that by 2050, about 15% of the forests would not grow back if felled by fire because the climate would no longer suit them,” The Guardian writes, reeling off a devastating forecast. “In Alberta, Canada, about half of existing forests could vanish by 2100.”