■ Unsustainable forestry practices.
■ Strip mining.
■ Spread of invasive, nonnative species that compete for space and food.
■ Climate change.SOLUTIONS
– Increase opportunities for people to switch to renewable sources of
energy.
– Provide tax incentives for installing solar collectors on roofs.
– Initiate a “user tax” for homes and businesses that use nonrenewable
energy sources.
– Lobby legislators to require areas where strip mining is practiced to
restore the land to its original condition at the conclusion of mining
activities.
– Take aggressive steps to remove invasive, nonnative species when they
are first discovered.Temperate Coniferous Forests
Temperate coniferous forests are found in temperate regions of the world with
warm summers, cool winters, and adequate rainfall to sustain a forest. In most
temperate coniferous forests, evergreen conifers predominate, while some are a
mix of conifers and broadleaf evergreen trees and/or broadleaf deciduous trees.
Temperate evergreen forests are common in the coastal areas of regions that have
mild winters and heavy rainfall, or inland in drier climates or mountain areas.
Coniferous forests can be found in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
Many species of trees inhabit these forests including cedar, cypress, fir, juniper,
pine, redwood, and spruce, and the leaves are needle-like. The understory also
contains a wide variety of herbaceous and shrub species.