User:Gschultz1980/Boreal ecosystem

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A boreal ecosystem is an ecosystem located in the Northern Hemisphere, approximately between the 50° to 70°N latitudes. These ecosystems are located in a subarctic climate and are commonly referred to as taiga. These biome regions are located in North America, Europe, and Asia. The ecosystems that lie immediately to the south of boreal zones are often called hemiboreal. These ecosystems are diverse in species: housing megafauna like bears and moose to large communities of small microbial organisms such as bacteria and fungi.

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Boreal ecosystems display high sensitivity towards both natural and anthropogenic climate change. This atmospheric warming is largely due to greenhouse gas emissions which ultimately leads to a chain reaction of climatic and ecological effects.

Based on studies from the boreal ecosystems in Northwestern Canada in the Yukon, climate change is having an impact on these abiotic factors.

As climate conditions change, ecosystem alterations involving migration timing, mating, and plant blooming can become highly differentiated.

This can lead to the transition into a different type of ecosystem as the northward shift of plant and animal species has already been observed.

Due to permafrost thaw, disturbance, and alterations, such as fire and insect outbreaks, certain models have suggested that boreal forests have developed into a net carbon source instead of a net carbon sink. This is because if disturbed, higher than normal amounts of carbon will be lost to the atmosphere despite the trees in the boreal system aging and continuing to accumulate carbon into their biomass.

Boreal Species
The species within boreal ecosystems varies as it consists of both terrestrial and aquatic habitats. The species composition include many generalized and less specialized feeders. There is“[d]ecreasing species richness from the equator to the poles is one of the best-recognized patterns in ecology." In addition to decreasing species richness latitudinally, there is a negative relationship with species richness changes as climate changes. However, despite not being as biodiverse as tropical systems, this area has a variety of species. Boreal ecosystems are filled with a multitude of flora species from black and white spruce, to willows, wildflowers, and alders. Caribou also enter and live in the boreal ecosystems. Although not there year round, these animals come down and into these regions during the winter to forage for lichen. Due to the topographic variety within boreal ecosystems there are more than terrestrial species. A few fish species include salmonids, smelts, sticklebacks, lamprey and sculpins are a few examples. For salmon these systems are vital: relying on the riparian systems within boreal ecosystems for multiple life stages in both the beginning and the end of their life cycle, sockeye rely on the provided freshwater environments as eggs, fry and adult stages.

Succession
Success and succession happen in tandem for boreal forests. Primary succession, while part of the original landscape formation is not vital like secondary succession. Secondary succession consists of varied events: wildfires, flooding, mudslides and even excessive insect foraging act in this progression and cycle of boreal forests.