Climate Change
Humans, whether they acknowledge it or not, can affect the planet greatly. We can change everything from the sea level to the oxygen in the air, cut down forests and build mountains of concrete. We can even use devices to change the weather or drain lakes. However, the one thing we have been doing is change the climate. Through our carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions, we have started a trend of more severe storms, weather conditions, and climates. This affects the Boreal Forest's climate as well. As temperatures have started to rise, the Boreal Forest's permafrost layer has started to melt. This spells disaster for the biome—a phenomena known as "drunken trees" happens.
The "drunken trees" came to be when the permafrost starts to melt, loosening and weakening the roots of the trees, and letting them tilt towards the sides. However, the drunken trees aren't just a small quirk. Eventually, the drunken trees can fall over and uproot, leading to entire forests uprooting and dying. The forests can turn into swampy wetlands, and drive all of the species further north where the permafrost layer under the soil is still intact—for now.
Deforestation, Logging, and Oil Sands
As with any forest, the trees of the Boreal Forest are cut down for wood. Clearcutting is a huge threat to parts of the Boreal Forest. Clearcutting is a method of logging, when entire areas of forest are cut down for wood, then the land usually used for development—trees, plants and all. In the Boreal Forests of Alberta, Canada, deforestation for oil sands is a huge threat. There are large areas of the Boreal Forest that contain precious black gold in the form of oil sands underneath. Companies cut down acres upon acres of Boreal Forest so that they can extract oil from the tar/oil sands. As a byproduct of this process, the rivers and lakes of the Boreal Forest can be polluted with harmful chemicals form the process.These pictures show what the forest looked like, and what it will become.
When the forest is gone, hundreds upon thousands of creatures will be left homeless. Clearcutting and deforestation not only reduces the size of the biome, but the animals and plants that survive must now compete for shelter and nutrients in the remaining tree area. Once the trees are cut away, the nutrient rich soil held in place by tree roots is now exposed and can be blown away by wind or washed away by rain/snow. Eventually, the bedrock and permafrost beneath the soil shows, which does not harbor life. Humans may build a mall or a shopping center on the now barren plains, but the boreal forest will be gone.
Poaching and Hunting
A smaller, but still relevant threat to the boreal forest is hunting and poaching. There are many endangered species that call the boreal forest home, like the woodland caribou, grizzly bear, lynx, and the timber wolf. Although some animal populations need to be kept in check by human hunters, these species in particular are still poached/hunted even though they are protected by the EPA in the United States and the Species at Risk Act. This can be extremely harmful to the biodiversity and food web of the Boreal Forest.