Warming in the Cold North

The Arctic and boreal regions are warming more than twice as rapidly as the rest of the world. The timing of plants’ flowering and fruiting is changing, with implications for insects, wildlife, and people who rely on these resources for food and livelihoods in Alaska. Alaska’s boreal forest will undergo significant functional and structural changes within the next few decades that are unprecedented in the past 6,000 years. The Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research program is critical to Forest Service research because it is the only Forest Service outpost in the boreal forest, which is the biggest forest in the world. Pacific Northwest Research Station scientists are contributing groundbreaking climate research in Alaska, with global implications.