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Major Threat: DeForestation
For most of the Forest biomes, deforestation (a.k.a logging/clearcutting) is one of the major threats to the ecosystem. Every 12.9 seconds, 1 acre of coniferous forest is destroyed from logging. Humans destroy habitats and cut down
ancient trees that have been standing for hundreds to thousands of years. We clear to get wood, we clear to make towns, ski resorts, highways, and all this stuff for our human needs. But all the animals that call the coniferous forest their home also have needs like where they live, the trees. We have people making business out of clearcutting, and it is usually regulated, but we also have people that are uncontrollably and illegally cutting down various areas of the sacred biome. Out of the hundreds of conifer species, one third is threatened by the logging.
Conifers are a very important part of our lives even if we don’t know it. They don’t just provide wood for our homes and furniture, but they take up lots of carbon from the atmosphere. If we continue to deforest, there would be major carbon build-up. If we keep burning fossil fuels, we will need these trees to remove the excess carbon from the atmosphere. Along with that the biome would suffer from faster soil erosion, more wildfires, less habitats, food production, and can even provide some medicines for us!
These Northwestern Conifers are some of the oldest trees on Earth and should be treated like any other historical relic, preserving it and letting the world see its beauty.
~Natasha Hunt