Author: postMigrator

1900: Forests and Globalization

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“… the forest was six times as big a century ago … spree of …
shipments to Europe.”
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But how big was the forest before the destruction started? There are  active
district forest stations around the mountain, all of which  keep data pertaining to
their side of the mountain.

“Forest working groups and networks, and with unofficial support from  Forest
Department officers, say the forest was six times as big a  century ago.”

“Though the wettest and the most influencing in terms of climatic  conditions, Mount
Kenya forest is the most decimated of all five
water towers of Kenya.

“The destruction of Mount Kenya started in the early 1900s.

“Before gazettement of the national park in 1949, there was a
sustained spree of camphor harvests and shipments to Europe. Early  literature shows
Mount Kenya was the only place rich in the coveted  camphor trees.”

for more:
http://www.eastandard.net/InsidePage.php?id=1143992914&cid=4

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I take the discussions/questions cited below as
an indication of how uncertain is the hope of
controlling insect impact on forests, how
uncertain is the hope of sequestration by
forests, and as another indication that we face
way serious challenge to holding temp increases
to 2C, or even 3C.
Lance

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“Crutchfield is more skeptical that such efforts
would keep temperatures low enough. According to
his models, a continued increase in global
temperature is likely, and the beetles’ current
reaction to this   ‘early stage of warming’  does
not bode well for future forest health.”

“But, ‘there is a possibility that you could have
an acoustic signal to break up or slow down a
beetle infestation,’ Crutchfield says. In
preliminary field work, he and Dunn played
ultrasonic noise to interfere with the beetles’
sense in this acoustic range. The tests, he says,
were effective.

“‘Again, the bioacoustic idea is still a
hypothesis, one that has to be carefully tested
in a lab.’ Right now, though, Crutchfield adds,
‘it is the only alternative I see.”
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