Study says U.S. forest losses among highest

A study published late last month comparing the seven most heavily forested nations on Earth says the U.S. is being depleted of that natural resource at the highest rate, as reported in USA Today.

The study, which appeared in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said the U.S. lost more than 46,000 square miles of forest, or 6 percent of the nation’s forestland.

An excerpt from the story:

Worldwide, researchers determined that the globe lost forest cover of nearly 400,000 square miles — roughly 3% of the world’s forested areas — during the first half of the last decade. The other countries in the study were Canada, Russia, China, Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Friends of Trees works to restore urban canopy but also plants in natural areas like Collins Sanctuary via its Green Space Initiative program.

–Toshio Suzuki