A study calling for a large change in forestry management and another study predicting increasing rainfall intersect in warning Maritimers about expensive damage that may result from climate change.
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| Healthy Maritime forest |
Michael Tutton, writing for the Canadian Press notes that global warming is likely to drastically reduce regrowth of key softwood species in the Maritimes. Lois Corbett, executive director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, said the study should serve as a wake-up call to the provincial regulators that existing forestry practices must begin changing rapidly in recognition of the reality of climate change.
"It shows the old way of managing forests, especially Crown forests, isn't going to work over the longer term. Not only is the profit of large corporations at risk, but the sustainability of the forest itself, the species the forests protects and the jobs and the economy the forest creates are affected," she said. "It's a cry for a large change in forestry management."1
Anthony Taylor, a forest ecologist with Natural Resources Canada, is lead author of a study that suggests partial cutting, rather than clear cutting, increases the regeneration of species like balsam fir, which do better when shaded by a canopy of trees left standing.
Emily Chung, Alice Hopton, and Tashauna Reid of CBC News report on a new study from researchers at Environment and Climate Change Canada found that climate change has made: (1) Rainfall more extreme; and (2) Storms with extreme rainfall more frequent.
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| More frequent rain storms |
Megan Kirchmeier-Young is a research scientist at Environment and Climate Change Canada and lead author of the study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"We're finding that in North America, we have seen an increase in the frequency and severity of heavy rainfall events. And this is largely due to global warming,"… Already, the resulting flooding has destroyed homes and belongings, leading to billions in damage. And the study projects it will get worse. "And as we continue to see warming, we will continue to see increases in the frequency and severity of extreme rainfall," Kirchmeier-Young said. "And heavy rainfall is one of the major factors in flash flooding, particularly in urban areas."2
Natalia Moudrak, director of climate resilience at the University of Waterloo Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation noted that catastrophic losses due to extreme weather events have risen sharply. In the early 1980s, they averaged less than $500 million a year. But from 2009 onward, they exceeded a billion dollars every year except 2015.
The level of flooding is not the only factor affecting losses. Other factors such as property values, paving over natural areas that can absorb rainfall and other kinds of disasters can also contribute. But, Moudrak said, "flooding is by far the No. 1 driver. Water damages are rising in Canada, and it's the elephant in the room."2The warming climate is allowing the atmosphere to hold more moisture that creates larger and more frequent rain events, especially in Eastern Canada,
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| Coastal erosion |
that will cause severe erosion in clear cut forests and heavy damage from flooding in urban areas.
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