Boreal Forests Might Be Becoming Less Crowded

You probably think of boreal forests as being very thick and cold, right? But things might be changing quickly. These forests are warming up much faster than the rest of the world—about four times quicker, in fact. While we haven't seen huge changes yet, there seems to be a delay in how the forests respond to this warming. This means we might see forests that look one way now, but are actually on their way to becoming something different. Scientists believe that looking at the amount of tree cover could give us hints about what's happening.

Their studies suggest that boreal forests might be headed towards a more open state, with just 30% to 50% tree cover. That's quite different from how they look now, where you either find very dense forests or very thin woodlands. If this change happens, it could result in more forest fires in a warmer world, which would release a lot of stored carbon.

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