Are the big trees in world-famous Yosemite disappearing? One study suggests they are.Scientists from the US Geological Survey studied large tree density data from the 1930s and 1990s. The result? The density of big trees has fallen by 24%. In the 1930s, there were 45 big trees per hectare. By the 1990s there were only 34.
This is surprising, since these larger trees have survived hundreds of years through wet and dry periods, fires, climate changes, and insect infestations. Smaller trees can succumb to these perils, but once they grow big their ability to survive increases. So why should the big trees be dying out now?
Scientists aren’t sure what the exact reasons are, but if the big trees are thinning out in a protected park like Yosemite they surely are thinning out in other areas as well.
Big trees play an important role in forest ecosystems, moderating the forest environment with their huge canopies and providing unique habitats for a number of other plants and animals.
A significant change in big tree density could mean further drastic changes in the entire forest ecosystem.
Every year in the United States 25 – 30 million live Christmas trees are bought. Nationwide there are about 15,000 Christmas tree farms that supply the trees each year.
Circling the world, just below the Arctic Circle, lies the Boreal Forest. Comprising nearly 50% of the world’s remaining intact forest, the Boreal Forest stores 22% of the total carbon stored on the land surface of Earth. 
That 22% equals 400 billion tons of carbon, or about 55 years worth of carbon emissions (based on 2003 levels).
We love forests. We couldn't run the Green Man Blog unless that were true. Given a choice, we'd chuck in the day-to-day routine and spend our time camping and treking through every forest we could find.
The Schwarzwald (Black Forest) in Germany is a vast expanse of wooded mountains and green valleys that stretches south from the town of Baden Baden to the Switzerland border, and west to France, covering an area of 4,600 square miles.
In 1878, Mark Twain took the first of his many world tours and visited the Black Forest. Walking through the woods, he described it in his book, A Tramp Abroad:
Tourists from all over the world still come to visit, taken in by its beauty, charm, and history.
Little gems appear everywhere, like tiny Mummelsee lake, an almost perfectly round shaped mountain lake from the Ice Age. The picturesque Mummelsee Hotel sits hard by the lake and legend says the 55-foot deep lake is inhabited by a mermaid named Nixe.
In the western Black Forest, a former volcanic mountain has been turned into a giant vineyard. This region, called Kaiserstuhl, is the third biggest wine growing area in Germany.
Rainforests found at high elevations are often referred to as cloud forests.
Here. For now.