The boreal forest, or taiga, occupies more than 11 percent of Earth’s land surface. It is the largest terrestrial biome on the planet. Consisting largely of conifers, it is also home to vast expanses of birch, aspen, and poplar forests. These forests absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it as woody biomass, making them one of Earth’s most prominent carbon sinks: Up to 40 percent of Earth’s terrestrial carbon is stored in the boreal forest.
Unfortunately, the boreal forest is under a barrage of threats from climate-fueled wildfires. The poles are warming faster than anywhere else on Earth, and fires in the northern boreal forest are increasing in both frequency and severity. Even the winter’s chill is not enough, as “zombie fires” can continue to smolder under the snow and reemerge during the thaw.
A new map from Steven Bernard, a cartographer with the Financial Times, sheds light on another consequence of fires in the boreal forest: The forests are moving to higher latitudes. Overall, the boreal forest is greening. There are more areas with denser, greener vegetation than there are those that are thinning and dying. This map, based on Landsat data from a recent study, provides a clear view of the situation. An orthographic map projection shows the boreal forest in full, while an intuitive and accessible brown-to-green color palette reveals how much the greenness of the forest has changed between the years 2000 and 2019.
An increase in greening is only part of the story, however. It’s where that greening is happening that has piqued scientific interest. The bulk of greening forest is at higher, colder latitudes. This suggests that the low latitude forests are not recovering from burning, while areas closer to and above the Arctic Circle are becoming more suitable for growth. Forests, in other words, are on the move. This geographic nuance is crucial to understanding the full story, and Bernard’s work illustrates it concisely in a way that only a map could achieve.
The original article goes into great detail on the consequences and feedback mechanisms that may result from the forests moving north. As darker forests replace brighter snow, more sunlight will be absorbed and exacerbate warming. This, in turn, contributes to additional permafrost thawing and the release of even more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The boreal forest, now known as a carbon sink, could ultimately become a carbon source.
Maps have the unique ability to show us where we are going. And when an entire biome is on the move, that destination may be more about our eventual circumstances than a geographic place. But it remains possible for us to act and choose different routes forward and, just maybe, arrive at a more desirable future.
More to Explore
- Learn more about how and where our planet is warming.
- See how wildfires produce atmospheric particulates that can circumnavigate the globe.
- Explore how warming affects trends in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice.
