InsideClimate: When U.S. Forest Service scientist David Wear hikes the trails crisscrossing the Appalachian Mountains, he pauses to revel not only in the beauty and solitude, but to consider the remarkable role that the forest around him plays in the world's environment.
"A walk in the woods is as much recreation as intellectual stimulation for me," Wear said. "I see questions about whats happening in the changing dynamics of the forests."
One of those questions: How are today's forests doing when it comes...