Global warming may harm timber industry.

• Position: Climate - Timber growth rates forecasted to be greater in the tropics than in temperate area - Brief Article

Global warming trends may seriously harm North America's stronghold on the timber production industry, a study from Ohio State University, Columbus, suggests. However, rising temperatures could mean an economic boom for the plantations in regions with subtropical climates, such as South America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

Global warming may cause forest growth patterns to change slowly, contends Brent Sohngen, associate professor of agricultural, environmental, and developmental economics. This shift in timber production could have serious ramifications for growers in temperate regions, such as North America, the former Soviet Union, China, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Europe, areas that currently supply 77% of the world's industrial lumber. At the same time, growers in the subtropics will be able to expand their plantations of fast-growing trees to gain a larger share of the world market.

"Timber growth rates in the tropics can double those in cooler, temperate climates," Sohngen points out. "These plantations can raise the same amount of...