Since the biome has been a major victim of deforestation and is also vulnerable to forest fires, tree populations have been decreasing in the past years. Also, forest destroying insects have seen outbreaks in recent years, which is also cutting down tree populations across the taiga. Natural resources have been extracted as well, which causes the miniscule soil fertility to become even lower, causing even fewer plants to be able to live. Air, water, and nuclear pollution has hurt the biome in the long run too. But, climate change is harming the biome the worst out of all of the other environmental challenges the taiga faces. Climate change has increased the overall temperature in the biome in the recent years, which makes snow melt quicker, allowing flooding in the region. Since temperatures are increasing, most of the taiga is in risk of becoming grasslands in the future, meaning major changes of plant and animal species, and possible extinction to some