Climate Changes in Alaska

The forests in Alaska are transforming because of the climate changes. Two of the problems due to this are down growth of the white spruce and birch trees and the behavior of the wildfires. The white spruces are suffering because of the increases summer temperatures. Based on recent studies, spruce trees need 11 inches of precipitation every year and this number rises if mean summer temperatures rise above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the temperature exceeds 70 degrees, the trees cannot survive. Over the last couple of years the mean temperature has gone over 60 degrees. “White spruces that grow around Fairbanks are probably not viable on a long-term basis under such conditions. With each additional degree of warming, their growth goes down,” said Juday. In addition to the spruces, the birch trees also seem to have suffered because of the environmental changes. Juday says this is because of the 2004-2005 draught, and then a root dieback, and then a warm 2007. Also, the wildfires have burned through 13,766 acres of military land. Even with the help of rainstorms, firefighters had trouble putting out the fire. Scientist say that the fire season this year was not expected to be too severe.

This article relates to science/biology concepts because it relates to the problem of global warming. Each and every year, climate changes occur. As a result, environments and places get affected by it. By observing and learning what is happening now in the Alaskan forests, scientists can try to save the white spruce and birch trees near Alaska. Organisms that live in Alaska may get affected if these trees die.

This is an important article because it has to do a lot with our everyday life. If we don’t do something about global warming now, it might have a devastating result 10 years from now. If we know what is causing global warming and how to prevent some of the effects it is causing then we can better protect ourselves. Also, some people still don’t know about global warming. We will need everyone’s contribution in order to reduce the effects of global warming.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=forest-changes-in-alaska-reveal-changing-climate#comments