11 Importance Of Forest And Its Economy Benefits
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, using, conserving, and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. In this article, we will be walking you through the importance and economic benefits of Forests.
What is a Forest?
The area of land covered by trees is referred to as a forest. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization defined forest as “land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10%, or trees capable of reaching these thresholds in this situation.” It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban use.
Forests cover nearly one-third of all land on the planet, providing essential organic infrastructure for some of the planet’s densest and most diverse collections of life. They support countless species, including our own, but we often appear to be unaware of this. Humans now clear millions of acres of natural forests each year, particularly in the tropics, putting some of Earth’s most valuable ecosystems at risk.
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Types of Forests
Forests are commonly referred to as the Earth’s terrestrial ecosystem. They are widely distributed across the Earth’s surface. The majority of forest land is concentrated in just five major countries: Brazil, the United States, China, Canada, and Russia. The tropical zone accounts for approximately 45% of all forest land, followed by temperate, boreal, and subtropical domains. As a result, the forests are classified into three major types, which are as follows.
1. Tropical Forests
Tropical forests are typically found between the latitudes of 23.50 N and 23.50 S. Throughout the year, the temperature in this forest ranges between 680 and 770 degrees Fahrenheit. They typically receive 100 inches of rain per year and thus do not have a winter season. This type of forest is characterized by broad-leaf trees, which typically grow to heights of 82 to 115 feet. Alternative plant varieties include vines, ferns, mosses, orchids, and palms. Tropical forests are classified as evergreen, seasonal, dry, montane, tropical and subtropical, coniferous, and subtropical.
2. Temperate Forests
Temperate forests are further subdivided into two types: temperate deciduous forests and temperate coniferous forests. Temperate deciduous forests can be found primarily in Japan, China, Europe, and a few parts of Russia, as well as the eastern United States and Canada.
3. Boreal Forests
Boreal forests, also known as taiga forests, are found between 50 and 60 degrees latitude north. Boreal forests can be found in Siberia, Canada, North Asia, and Scandinavia, to name a few places. Scandinavia is home to approximately 65% of the boreal forests. These forests are distinguished by extremely long winters and extremely short summers. They receive 15 to 40 inches of precipitation per year, the majority of which is snow. These forests are primarily composed of evergreen trees. Pine, spruce, and fir are some examples of these trees. It has very little vegetation due to its dense canopy.
11 Importance Of Forest And Its Economy Benefits
Below are 11 amazing benefits of Forest:
1. Forest Fight Flooding
Tree roots are important allies in heavy rain, particularly in low-lying areas like river plains. They help the ground absorb more of a flash flood by slowing the flow, reducing soil loss and property damage.
2. Forest Keep Earth Cool
Trees also have another way to beat the heat: absorb CO2 that fuels global warming. Plants always need some CO2 for photosynthesis, but Earth’s air is now so thick with extra emissions that forests fight global warming just by breathing. CO2 is stored in wood, leaves, and soil, often for centuries.
3. Forest Help us Breathe
Forests produce the oxygen we require for survival and absorb the carbon dioxide we expel (or emit). A single mature, leafy tree is estimated to produce enough oxygen for two to ten people per day. Although phytoplankton in the ocean is more abundant, accounting for half of Earth’s oxygen, forests remain an important source of clean air.
4. Forest Provides Shelter For People
Globally, 300 million people live in forests, including an estimated 60 million indigenous people whose survival is almost entirely dependent on native woodlands. Many millions more people live along or near forest edges, but even a few urban trees can increase property values and reduce crime, among other benefits.
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5. Forest Clean up Dirty Soil
Forests may use phytoremediation to clean out certain pollutants in addition to holding soil in place. Toxins can be sequestered by trees or degraded to make them less dangerous. Allowing trees to absorb sewage overflows, roadside spills, or contaminated runoff is a useful skill.
6. Forest Clean up Dirty Air
We celebrate houseplants for their ability to purify the air, but don’t overlook forests. They have the ability to clean up air pollution on a much larger scale, not just CO2. Trees absorb a variety of airborne pollutants such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. By removing pollutants from the air, urban trees are estimated to save 850 lives per year and $6.8 billion in total health care costs in the United States alone.
7. Forest Reduce Noise Pollution.
Forests absorb sound, making them a popular natural noise barrier. Rustling leaves and other woodland white noise, such as bird songs, contribute to the muffling effect, and just a few strategically placed trees can reduce background sound by 5 to 10 decibels, or about 50% as heard by human ears.
8. Forest Creates Jobs
According to the United Nations, more than 1.6 billion people rely on forests for some of their livelihoods, with 10 million directly employed in forest management or conservation. Forests contribute approximately 1% of global GDP through timber production and non-timber products, the latter of which alone supports up to 80% of the population in many developing countries.
9. Forest Assist us in the Production of Goods
Where would we be without wood and resin? We’ve long used renewable resources to make everything from paper and furniture to houses and clothing, but we’ve also a history of getting carried away, resulting in overuse and deforestation. However, with the expansion of tree farming and sustainable forestry, it is becoming easier to find responsibly sourced tree products.
10. Forest Hold Dirt in Place
The root network of a forest stabilizes vast amounts of soil, bracing the entire ecosystem’s foundation against wind and water erosion. Not only does deforestation disrupt all of this, but the resulting soil erosion can cause new, potentially fatal problems such as landslides and dust storms.
11. Forest Provides Food For us.
Trees not only produce fruits, nuts, seeds, and sap, but they also provide a cornucopia of edible mushrooms, berries, and beetles, as well as larger game such as deer, turkeys, rabbits, and fish, near the forest floor.
11 Importance Of Forest And Its Economy Benefits
Economy Benefits Of Forest
Every component of a tree including leaves, branches, stem, bark, fruits, seeds, and root are useful. Forests provide wood, timber, raw materials, vegetables, and fruits, which have significant economic value. Wood is used in construction and making furniture while rubber extracted from trees is used to make several products.
1. Forest provides fodder for about 179 million cattle, 58 million buffaloes, and 120 million other livestock. They are the homes of 500 types of animals. They provide edible fruits and roots of which the poor readily avail themselves.
2. Forest creates jobs for people full-time as woodcutters, sawyers, carters, and craftsmen, as well as in other forest-related industries.
3. Forests provide raw materials for a variety of industries, including broom manufacturing, silkworm rearing, lac, toy manufacturing, leaf plate manufacturing, sawmills, match, plywood, paper and pulp, pencil manufacturing, tea chest, fiberboard, chipboard, and so on.
4. Forest also provides major and minor forest produce, such as timber, round wood, pulp-wood, charcoal, and firewood, as well as minor produce such as bamboos, canes, drugs, spices, edible fruits and vegetables, fibers and flosses, fodder and grazing grasses, gums and resins, rubber and latex, incense and perfume woods, dyeing, and tanning materials, bidi leaves, vegetable oils, and oil-seeds, sandalwood, oil, lac, etc.
5. Forest renders the climate more equable and increases the relative humidity of the atmosphere and increases the precipitation of the moisture.
