Reduction of land under forest cover is a major concern across the globe. Sure there are protected forest lands, but most of the time that protection is fizzled away for commercial gains while unprotected forests are plundered at will. It is no wonder then that, ecosystems that are as rich, rare, stunning and yet delicate like tropical cloud forests could very well disappear from the face of the planet by the year 2080. Researchers from The University of Queensland have drawn this conclusion after carefully studying global patterns and specific Mexican cloud forest region.
Those who have observed and recorded the trend say that in Mexico alone the cloud forest area that today spans 17,274 sq km could be reduced to as little as 5557 sq km or even into nothing, if the rate of global warming and pollution patterns goes up. Add to it the fact that most of this rare cloud forest region is not protected by the government and you could look at a scenario where it is quickly cleared out for human inhabitation and agriculture. This could mean that all we would have left by the end of this century is tiny pockets of cloud forests that would be meager tokens of a glorious past.
Cloud forests need constant moisture and its very unique and intricate ecosystem is next to impossible to mimic. This gives no opportunity for survival for the endangered fauna in these moist heavens as they really cannot move on to other ecosystems. This leaves us with only one way of dealing with the problem and that is preserving the cloud forests that are vanishing 1.1 percent each year.
This can only be done by amalgamating stringent protection laws with proactive action and a global reduction in carbon emissions. One just hopes and prays that we can get our act together before it is too late for the cloud forests of the world and its amazing inhabitants.
Via: UQ
