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Abstract:
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"Boreal regions are, besides tundra, the globe's only circumpolar terrestrial biome, covering approximately 1.3 x 109 ha in upland forest and 0.26 x 109 ha in peatland. They constitute 20% of the world's forested regions, second only to moist tropical forests.
"Boreal regions represent some of the last large remaining expanses of wilderness areas, where natural ecosystems remain essentially intact and unmanaged. However, in the past several decades, resource extraction in boreal regions has increased in order to meet growing global demands for fiber and to meet the demands of a growing local resident population. Furthermore, global climate changes are expected to be most extreme in high-latitude areas. Boreal regions, therefore, are substantially at risk from anthropogenic change, but also may represent the last great opportunity to build a sustainable economy based on properly functioning natural ecosystems."
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