Impact of Climate Change on Forestry in British Columbia Term Paper

Impact of Climate Change on Forestry in British Columbia - Term Paper Example There is, therefore, need to find out the potential impacts of climate change on the forests in these areas and if possible make recommendations on how to control the effects. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change argues that the changes in the climate of the earth will continue to occur mostly caused by activities of human beings that release greenhouse gases to the atmosphere (British Columbia and Barber, 2006). These greenhouse gases (GHGs) are mainly produced because of the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, the cutting of forests and vegetative cover and intense agricultural activities. The release of greenhouse gases that are in the atmosphere usually depends on the level of economic growth, the technological development and how a region relates to other areas whereby in this research work, our point of reference is British Columbia in Canada. The climate of the world has been changing consistently over a period of time and this is evident with the rise in global temperature by a figure averaging between 2Ëš to 4Ëš C (British Columbia and Barber, 2006). The rise in temperature due to effects of climate change will also be accompanied by changes in the intensity of rainfall in most regions while the rate of warming will be faster and dynamic that may bring adverse effects to animal and plant life at certain regions especially the forests of British Columbia (Laroque and Smith, 2003). It is important to note that changes in climate usually has effects on the biological and ecological processes as well as well as affecting phenology of species, uptake of water and causing disturbances on trees such as insect pests, diseases, and drought amongst others (Dale, Joyce, McNulty & Neilson, 2000).