Many nations are restoring degraded tropical forests to slow climate change, protect endangered species and improve rural life. But those forests often are cleared again soon afterward.
A worker marks timber logs at a concession area in Sarawak, Malaysia. Rainforest logging in Asia feeds much of the world’s thirst for timber.
AP Photo/Vincent Thian
In a global economy, passing laws to conserve forests, fisheries or other natural resources can simply shift demand for those goods to other countries or regions where they aren’t as well protected.
Forests in the US face many threats: climate change, invasive species, pests and pathogens. Could genetically engineering trees make these plants more resilient?
Ornamental craft made from palm leaves and pine cone in grass baskets are sold in Eswatini.
Deepa Pullanikkatil
Both natural and artificial Christmas trees have environmental impacts, but they’re not major. What matters most is what happens to the trees after the holidays.
Climate change is shrinking winter snow cover in Northeast forests, which protects tree roots and soil from repeated freezing and thawing. This could stunt tree growth and forest carbon storage.
Smoke billows from the High Park wildfire west of Fort Collins, Colo., on June 11, 2012, a year of historic drought across much of the western United States.
AP Photo/Ed Andrieski
Some observers have blamed recent wildfires on poor forest management, while others point to climate change. In fact, a climate scientist explains, reducing fire risks means tackling both issues.
Mangroves growing strong.
Ali Suliman/Shutterstock
Mangrove forests grow in the tidal lagoons of tropical coastlines and they could actually benefit from climate change. Here’s what that means for us.
President Donald Trump and other federal and state officials tour a mobile home and RV park on Nov. 17, 2018 in the wake of the Camp Fire.
Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP, Pool
Forest management is not a cure-all for wildfires, although it can help reduce the chances of massive burns. Making this happen will require broad collaborative efforts and more money.
The Amazon Basin creates the rain that nourishes farmland across Brazil, one of the world’s major breadbaskets.
Reuters/Bruno Kelly
Brazil’s president-elect wants to roll back environmental laws, saying they hurt rural growth. But preventing Amazonian deforestation has actually made farmland more productive.
Tanzania faces the challenge of conserving forests in a developing country with a rapidly expanding population.
The 2016 Maple fire (photographed in July 2017) reburned young forests that had regenerated after the 1988 Yellowstone fires. More frequent high-severity fires are expected in the future as climate warms, which may change patterns of forest recovery.
Monica Turner
Huge fires roared through Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 1988, scorching one-third of the park. Since then the park has been a valuable lab for studying how forests recover from fires.