THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FORESTS

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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FORESTS
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The importance of forests

• Forests not only provide habitats for a wide
  variety of plants and animals, they also perform
  functions that impact on human existence. In the
  process of photosynthesis, plants use sunlight to
  convert carbon dioxide to give off oxygen that we
  breathe. The forest canopy intercepts and
  gradually redistributes precipitation that would
  otherwise cause flooding and erosion. In
  addition, the roots of the trees and other
  vegetation hold the soil in place. Valuable water
  is stored in tree roots, trunks, stems, and
  foliage, as well as the soil of the forest floor.

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• The scientific study of forest species and their
  interaction with the environment is referred to
  as forest ecology, while the management of
  forests is often referred to as forestry. Forest
  management has changed considerably over the last
  few centuries, with rapid changes from the 1980s
  onwards culminating in a practice now referred to
  as sustainable forest management. Forest
  ecologists concentrate on forest patterns and
  processes, usually with the aim of elucidating
  cause and effect relationships. Foresters who
  practice sustainable forest management focus on
  the integration of ecological, social and
  economic values, often in consultation with local
  communities and other stakeholders.

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• Anthropogenic factors that can affect forests
  include logging, human-caused forest fires, acid
  rain, and introduced species, among other things.
  There are also many natural factors that can also
  cause changes in forests over time including
  forest fires, insects, diseases, weather,
  competition between species, etc. In 1997, the
  World Resources Institute recorded that only 20
  of the world's original forests remained in large
  intact tracts of undisturbed forest . More than
  75 of these intact forests lie in three
  countries - the Boreal forests of Russia and
  Canada and the rainforest of Brazil. In 2006 this
  information on intact forests was updated using
  latest available satellite imagery.

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• Natural forests contain mainly natural patterns
  of biodiversity in established seral patterns,
  and they contain mainly species native to the
  region and habitat. The natural formations and
  processes have not been affected by humans with a
  frequency or intensity to change the natural
  structure and components of the habitat.
• Anthropogenic forests have been created by humans
  or sufficiently affected by humans to change or
  remove natural seral patterns. They often contain
  significant elements of species which were
  originally from other regions or habitats.

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• Forests and people are connected, and have been
  since ancient times. We have always had a special
  relationship based on survival. It was a delicate
  chain of existence that we once treated with
  respect and appreciation. But people began to
  upset this balance. They saw the forest not as a
  part of them but as something to be conquered.
  They used the seemingly limitless forest, cutting
  down millions of trees. But now it is coming to
  our attention that the forests do have limits and
  it is time to bring them back into balance.

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• All living things including marbled murrelets,
  tailed frogs and even fungi depend on forests.
  There are as many as 1,500 invertebrates living
  on and in one ancient forest tree! Some of these
  species may hold the key to unlocking scientific
  mysteries. Each plant and animal is unique and
  many of these animals depend entirely on the
  forests.