Abstract

A global, sun-blocking catastrophe like nuclear war, an asteroid strike, or super volcano eruption spells disaster for most aspects of life as we know it. There have been many studies on how differing magnitudes of sun-blocking catastrophes would affect the global climate, and many mention the effects of this cold, dark climate on forests and cropping systems. However, few studies have solely focused on the effects of nuclear winter on forests in terms of food, resources, and decomposition. Forests already provide over a billion people with food and fuel for their livelihoods. In this review we connect how prehistoric catastrophes affected the world's forests to how a current day catastrophe may affect forest health, forest resource availability, and wood decomposition rates. We briefly discuss how forest resources may be used in this post-catastrophe climate for food and fuel in an energy and fuel depleted world. We use this information to make policy and education suggestions to prepare for future catastrophes, build resilience from smaller local disasters, prepare for the many effects of climate change, and discourage nuclear weapon stockpiling.