Scientists plan a comeback for Ukraine ’s war-ravaged forests

In addition to its horrific human toll, the war in Ukraine has inflicted widespread damage on the nation’s forests. Bombs and missiles have sparked thousands of fires, and “artillery breaks trees in half—it basically mows the forest,” says Brian Milakovsky, a U.S.-born forest ecologist who lived in eastern Ukraine before fleeing the country. Ironically, some forestry experts say the destruction could lead to a major overhaul of how Ukraine manages its forests, changes they say will help ensure these landscapes can better cope with climate change, support biodiversity, and protect water quality. Optimistic that Ukraine will prevail in the war, the researchers are already planning for this greener postwar future. Milakovsky and Sergiy Zibtsev, a forest scientist at the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, shared their vision during a webinar held last week by the Yale School of the Environment. “We need to look at solutions that lead to different forest landscapes,” says Milakovsky, who continues to work on Ukraine forest issues from his new home in Latvia. “Because the status quo just is really struggling under climate change and war.” Even before the current war, Ukraine’s forests were considered some of the world’s most damaged. The expansion of agriculture in this major food exporter had vastly reduced forest cover; nearly half of Ukraine is now cropland . In many of the forests that remained, ope...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research