Russia Lost Forest the Size of Switzerland Three Years in a Row

Canada and Russia have lost an alarming number of trees in recent years, compromising the ecologically rich and carbon-sequestering boreal forests that are native to the regions, according to a new report.

The report, published Thursday by the World Resources Institute (WRI), found that the world’s boreal region has shown the steepest decline in forest cover between 2011 and 2013, with Russia — the country home to the world’s largest area of tree cover — losing an average of 16,600 square miles of tree cover every year.  That’s an area, the report points out, that’s larger than Switzerland.

Boreal forests serve as major carbon sinks, so losing the forests is bad news for climate change

Read more at Russia Lost Forest the Size of Switzerland Three Years in a Row