Scientists have long been talking about the harmful effects of technological progress on nature. Climate change, melting ice, and a decrease in the quality of drinking water have a very negative impact on people’s lives. Environmentalists around the world have long sounded the alarm about pollution and destruction of nature. One of the most important is deforestation. Forest problems are visible especially in civilized states. Environmentalists believe that deforestation leads to many negative consequences for the Earth and humans. Without forests there will be no life on Earth, this needs to be understood by those on whom their preservation depends. However, wood has long been a commodity that is expensive. And that is why the problem of forest destruction is so difficult to solve. Perhaps people simply don’t realize that their entire lives depend on this ecosystem. Although everyone has long revered the forest, often giving it magical functions. He was a breadwinner and personified the life-giving power of nature. They loved him, they treated the trees with care, and they responded to our ancestors in the same way.

Forests of the planet

In all countries, in every corner of the world, massive deforestation is taking place. The problem with the forest is that with the destruction of trees, many more species of plants and animals die. Violated in nature. After all, a forest is not only trees. This is a well-coordinated ecosystem based on the interaction of many representatives of flora and fauna. In addition to trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, lichens, insects, animals and even microorganisms are of great importance in its existence. Despite massive deforestation, forests still occupy about 30% of the land area. This is more than 4 billion hectares of land. More than half of them are tropical forests. However, the northern, especially coniferous, massifs also play a great role in the ecology of the planet. The countries richest in greenery in the world are Finland and Canada. Russia contains about 25% of the world's forest reserves. The fewest trees left in Europe. Nowadays forests occupy only a third of its territory, although in ancient times it was completely covered with trees. And, for example, in England there are almost none left; only 6% of the land is given over to parks and forest plantations.

Rainforests

They occupy more than half of the entire green area. Scientists have calculated that about 80% of animal species live there, which could die without their usual ecosystem. However, tropical deforestation is now accelerating. In some regions, such as western Africa or Madagascar, about 90% of the forest has already disappeared. A catastrophic situation has also developed in the countries of South America, where more than 40% of trees have been cut down. The problems of tropical forests are not just a matter for the countries in which they are located. The destruction of such a huge massif will lead to an environmental disaster. After all, it is difficult to assess the role that forests play in the life of humanity. Therefore, scientists around the world are sounding the alarm.

Meaning of forest

Using forests for the benefit of people

Green spaces are important for humans not only because they regulate the water cycle and provide oxygen to all living things. About a hundred fruit and berry trees and shrubs, as well as nuts, and more than 200 species of edible and medicinal herbs and mushrooms grow in the forest. Many animals are hunted there, such as sable, marten, squirrel or black grouse. But most of all, man needs wood. This is why deforestation occurs. The problem with forests is that without trees the entire ecosystem dies. So why does a person need wood?

Deforestation

Forest problems arise when this happens uncontrollably, often illegally. After all, forests have been cut down for a long time. And over the 10 thousand years of human existence, about two-thirds of all trees have already disappeared from the face of the Earth. Forests began to be cut down especially a lot in the Middle Ages, when more and more space was needed for construction and farmland. And now every year about 13 million hectares of forest are destroyed, and almost half of them are places where no one has ever set foot before. Why are forests cut down?

• to free up space for construction (after all, the growing population of the Earth requires the construction of new cities);
• as in ancient times, the forest is cut down during slash-and-burn agriculture, making way for arable land;
• the development of livestock farming requires more and more space for pastures;
• forests often interfere with the extraction of minerals so necessary for technological progress;
• and finally, wood is now a very valuable commodity used in many industries.

Which forest can be cut down?

The disappearance of forests has long attracted the attention of scientists. Different states are trying to somehow regulate this process. All forest areas were divided into three groups:

Types of deforestation

In most countries, forest problems concern many scientists and government representatives. Therefore, at the legislative level, logging is limited there. However, the fact is that it is often carried out illegally. And although it is considered poaching and is punishable by large fines or imprisonment, the massive destruction of forests for profit is on the rise. For example, almost 80% of deforestation in Russia is carried out illegally. Moreover, the wood is mainly sold abroad. What official types of logging exist?

What damage does deforestation cause?

The environmental problem of the disappearance of the so-called “lungs” of the planet is already worrying many. Most people believe that this threatens to reduce oxygen supplies. This is true, but this is not the main problem. The scale that deforestation has now reached is astounding. Satellite photos of former forest areas help to visualize the situation. What can this lead to:

• the forest ecosystem is destroyed, many representatives of flora and fauna disappear;
• a decrease in the amount of wood and plant diversity leads to a deterioration in the quality of life of most people;
• the amount of carbon dioxide increases, which leads to the formation of the greenhouse effect;
• trees no longer protect the soil (washing out the top layer leads to the formation of ravines, and the lowering of the groundwater level causes the appearance of deserts);
• soil moisture increases, causing swamps to form;
• Scientists believe that the disappearance of trees on mountain slopes leads to the rapid melting of glaciers.

Researchers estimate that deforestation causes damage to the global economy worth up to $5 trillion a year.

How are forests removed?

How does deforestation happen? The photo of the area where recent logging took place is an unsightly sight: a bare area, almost devoid of vegetation, tree stumps, patches of fire pits and stripes of exposed soil. How does this happen? The name “cutting down” has been preserved from the times when trees were felled with an axe. Nowadays they use chainsaws for this. After the tree has fallen to the ground, the branches are cut off and burned. The bare trunk is taken away almost immediately. And they move it to the place of transportation by dragging it to a tractor. Therefore, a strip of bare land remains with torn out vegetation and destroyed undergrowth. In this way, young growth that could revive the forest is destroyed. At this place, the ecological balance is completely disrupted and other conditions for vegetation are created.

What happens after cutting down

In open space, completely different conditions are created. Therefore, a new forest grows only where the deforestation area is not very large. What prevents young plants from growing stronger:

• The light level changes. Those undergrowth plants that are accustomed to living in the shade die.
• Different temperature regime. Without tree protection, sharper temperature fluctuations and frequent night frosts occur. This also leads to the death of many plants.
• An increase in soil moisture can lead to waterlogging. And the wind blowing moisture from the leaves of young shoots does not allow them to develop normally.
• The dying of roots and the decomposition of the forest floor release many nitrogenous compounds that enrich the soil. However, those plants that need just such minerals feel better on it. Raspberries or fireweed grow fastest in clearings; birch or willow shoots develop well. Therefore, the restoration of deciduous forests proceeds quickly if people do not interfere with this process. But coniferous trees grow very poorly after cutting down, since they reproduce by seeds for which there are no normal development conditions. Deforestation has such negative consequences. The solution to the problem - what is it?

Solving deforestation

Environmentalists offer many ways to preserve forests. Here are just a few of them:

• the transition from paper to electronic media, waste paper collection and separate waste collection will reduce the use of wood for paper production;
• creation of forest farms on which crops with the shortest maturation periods will be grown;
• a ban on logging in environmental protection zones and tougher penalties for this;
• increasing the state duty on the export of wood abroad to make it unprofitable.

The disappearance of forests does not yet concern the average person. However, many problems are associated with this. When all people understand that it is forests that provide them with a normal existence, perhaps they will treat trees more carefully. Each person can contribute to the revival of the planet's forests by planting at least one tree.

Forests remain one of the main components of the planet's ecosystems. They cover a little less than a third of the land surface. But this was not always the case, the Earth was covered with forest on a much larger scale until humanity reached it.

Farmers versus forest

Forests were cut down in ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, ancient China, and India thousands of years ago. Today, the planet continues to lose forests due to increasing human populations. We need more and more food, we need railways, territories, materials for economic and business activities. By cutting down forests and plowing lands for pastures, we degrade and destroy ecosystems and lose biodiversity.

The three large areas of rain forests on the planet are the Amazon basin, the Congo basin, and the Indonesian archipelago. They are homes to countless species. Due to deforestation and degradation of rain forests, we are losing the planet's biodiversity.

Thus, Brazil has lost 55 million hectares of forest since 1990, this is almost the area of ​​Ukraine, but Brazil is 13% of the entire forest of the Earth, it is in second place after Russia (20%). These lands are now used for farms and pastures.

Covering the Earth with Forests

"Beef, corn and bean farmers are pressuring the government to weaken forest protections, threatening the world's largest rainforest," said Emily E. Adams, an environmental researcher at Earth-policy.

Disappearance of tropical forests

Today, steps are being taken to correct the situation, for example UNREDD (United Nations Program to Reduce Deforestation and Forest Degradation) - a serious attempt to link forest conservation with the topic of climate change. The idea is to financially incentivize local farmers and communities to protect forests.

Forest loss in Radonia, Brazil

Annual net change in forest area

The rate of forest loss has dropped by more than half

The percentage of land area occupied by forest decreased from 31.7 to 30.7 (from 1990 to 2015). The main reason for the destruction of the planet's green cover is the repurposing of land for the development of agriculture and infrastructure. However, landscape restoration, afforestation and natural expansion of forests have led to an increase in forest areas. Intensive efforts to slow deforestation have resulted in global forest loss slowing from 7.3 million hectares per year in the 1990s to 3.3 million hectares per year between 2010 and 2015, the report says. Sustainable Development Goals 2016.

The growth and decline of forest areas can be seen in materials from the University of Maryland by clicking on the picture and selecting Forest Cover Loss 2000-2014 (Transparent) and Forest Cover Gain 2000-2012 (Transparent) on the right

Decrease and increase in the Earth's forest cover

• Maximum deforestation: Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Biggest increase: East Asia.

The loss of forests is destroying the planet's biodiversity. Forests are home to more than 80 percent of terrestrial animal, plant and insect species. Of the 8,300 known animal species, 8 percent are extinct and another 22 percent are critically endangered, according to the UN.

The destruction of tropical forests and the destruction of natural landscapes every year leads to a decrease in the species diversity of the Amazon and Central Africa. But these forests are not only a refuge for many species of animals, but also the lungs of the planet. Their predatory cutting also leads to shallowing of rivers, salinization of soils, and desertification. There are already various programs to protect forests, but the situation has not yet changed significantly. Population growth in the developing countries of South America and Africa is the main reason for the extinction of many tropical species of plants and animals, say ecologists.

They have developed strategies that draw on US experience in wildlife conservation. The projects involve reducing deforestation to a minimum, but today the implementation of these plans seems unlikely due to the low environmental literacy of indigenous peoples and the negative attitude of the leaders of some states (for example, Venezuela) towards the policies of the United States and the EU. However, scientists are not giving up, proposing measures that they believe are a kind of middle ground - allowing forests to be preserved while at the same time not slowing down the rate of urbanization. They hope that their models will help save the rich flora and fauna of the equatorial forests.

Water shortage

The total volume of water on Earth is approximately 1400 million cubic meters. km, of which only 2.5%, that is, about 35 million cubic meters. km, accounts for fresh water. Most of the fresh water reserves are concentrated in the multi-year ice and snow of Antarctica and Greenland, as well as in deep aquifers. The main sources of water consumed by humans are lakes, rivers, soil moisture and relatively shallow groundwater reservoirs. The operational part of these resources is only about 200 thousand cubic meters. km - less than 1% of all fresh water reserves and only 0.01% of all water on Earth - and a significant share of them is located far from populated areas, which further aggravates the problems of water consumption.

Renewal of fresh water depends on evaporation from the surface of the oceans. Every year the oceans evaporate about 505 thousand cubic meters. km of water, which corresponds to a layer 1.4 m thick. Another 72 thousand cubic meters. km of water evaporates from the land surface.

In the water cycle, of the total amount of precipitation that falls on the Earth, 79% falls on the ocean, 2% on lakes, and only 19% on the land surface. Only 2,200 cc. km of water penetrates into underground reservoirs per year.

Globally, about two-thirds of all precipitation returns to the atmosphere. In terms of water resources, Latin America is the most abundant region, accounting for a third of the world's water flow, followed by Asia with a quarter of the world's water flow. Next come the OECD countries (20%), sub-Saharan Africa and the former Soviet Union, each accounting for 10%. The most limited water resources are in the countries of the Middle East and North America (1% each).

About a third of the land area is occupied by arid (arid) belts. In the arid zone of the Earth, water shortages are acute. The most water-scarce countries are located here, with less than 5 thousand cubic meters per capita. m of water.

The largest consumers of water (by volume) are India, China, the USA, Pakistan, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Mexico and the Russian Federation.

Figures for the total volume of water consumed range from 646 cubic meters. km/year (India) to less than 30 cubic meters. km/year in Cape Verde and the Central African Republic.

99% of 4 thousand cubic meters. km/year of water used for irrigation, domestic and industrial consumption, and energy production comes from underground and surface renewable sources. The rest are from non-renewable (fossil) aquifers, this applies mainly to Saudi Arabia, Libya and Algeria.

According to the United Nations (UN), rising freshwater consumption, driven in particular by demographic growth and population mobility, new needs and increased energy demands, coupled with the tangible impacts of climate change, is leading to growing water scarcity.

Nearly 80% of diseases in developing countries, which kill nearly 3 million people every year, are related to water quality. Thus, 5 thousand children die every day from diarrhea, that is, a child dies every 17 seconds. Overall, almost 10% of the world's diseases can be avoided through improved water supply, water treatment, hygiene and effective water management.

Fresh water consumption has tripled over the past half century, and irrigated areas have doubled over this period, this is primarily due to demographic growth. According to estimates, the planet's population today is 6.6 billion people, with an annual increase of 80 million. This means an annual increase in the need for fresh water in the amount of 64 million cubic meters. At the same time, 90% of the three billion people on the planet who will be born by 2050 will increase the population of developing countries, where water is already scarce today.

About half of all forests on our planet are tropical forests (hylaea), growing in Africa, Southeast Asia, South and Central America. Tropical rainforests are located between 25° north latitude and 30° south latitude, where heavy rainfall occurs frequently. The rainforest ecosystem covers less than two percent of the Earth's surface, but is home to 50 to 70 percent of all life on our planet.

The largest tropical forests are found in Brazil (South America), Zaire (Africa) and Indonesia (Southeast Asia). Rainforest is also found in Hawaii, the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean.

Rainforest climate

The climate in the tropical forest is very warm and humid. Every year, between 400 and 1000 cm of precipitation falls here. The tropics are characterized by a uniform annual distribution of precipitation. There is practically no change in seasons, and the average air temperature is 28 degrees Celsius. All these conditions significantly influenced the formation of the richest ecosystem on our planet.

Soil in the rainforest

The soil of the tropics is poor in minerals and nutrients - there is a lack of potassium, nitrogen and other trace elements. It is usually red and red-yellow in color. Due to frequent precipitation, beneficial substances are absorbed by plant roots or go deep into the soil. That is why the natives of the tropical forests used the slash-and-burn agricultural system: all vegetation was cut down in small areas, it was subsequently burned, and then the soil was cultivated. Ash acts as a nutrient. When the soil begins to turn barren, usually after 3-5 years, the inhabitants of tropical settlements moved to new areas for farming. It is a sustainable farming method that ensures continuous regeneration of the forest.

Rainforest Plants

The warm, humid climate of the rainforest provides the ideal environment for a huge abundance of amazing plant life. The tropical forest is divided into several tiers, each characterized by its own flora and fauna. The tallest trees in the tropics receive the most sunlight, as they reach heights of over 50 meters. This includes, for example, the cotton tree.

The second tier is the dome. It is home to half of the rainforest's wildlife - birds, snakes and monkeys. This includes trees below 50 m in height with wide leaves, hiding sunlight from the lower floors. These are philodendron, strychnos poisonous and rattan palms. Lianas usually stretch along them towards the sun.

The third tier is inhabited by shrubs, ferns and other shade-tolerant species.

The last tier, the bottom, is usually dark and damp, since almost no sunlight penetrates here. It consists of rotted foliage, mushrooms and lichens, as well as young growth of plants of higher tiers.

In each of the regions where tropical forests grow, different types of trees are found.

Tropical trees of Central and South America:

• Mahogany (Sweitinia spp.)
• Spanish cedar (Cedrella spp.)
• Rosewood and Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa)
• Purple tree (Peltogyne purpurea)
• Kingwood
• Cedro Espina (Pochote spinosa)
• Tulipwood
• Gaiakan (Tabebuia chrysantha)
• Tabebuia rosea
• Bocote
• Jatoba (Hymenaea courbaril)
• Guapinol (Prioria copaifera)

Tropical trees of Africa:

• Bubinga
• Ebony
• Zebrano
• Rosewood

Tropical trees of Asia:

• Malaysian maple

They are widespread in the tropical rain forest and feed on captured insects and small animals. Among them, Nepenthes (Pitcher Plants), sundew, butterwort, and bladderwort should be noted. By the way, the plants of the lower level with their bright flowering attract insects for pollination, since in these layers there is practically no wind.

Valuable crops are grown in places where tropical forests are cleared:

• mango;
• bananas;
• papaya;
• coffee;
• cocoa;
• vanilla;
• sesame;
• sugar cane;
• avocado;
• cardamom;
• cinnamon;
• turmeric;
• nutmeg.

These cultures play an important role in cooking and cosmetology. Some tropical plants serve as raw materials for medicines, in particular anti-cancer drugs.

Tropical Plant Adaptations for Survival

Any flora needs moisture. There is never a shortage of water in the rainforest, but there is often too much of it. Rainforest plants must survive in areas that experience constant rainfall and flooding. The leaves of tropical plants help deflect raindrops, and some species are equipped with a drip tip designed to quickly drain precipitation.

Plants in the tropics need light to live. The dense vegetation of the upper layers of the forest allows little sunlight to reach the lower layers. Therefore, tropical forest plants must either adapt to life in constant twilight, or quickly grow upward in order to “see” the sun.

It is worth noting that in the tropics trees grow with thin and smooth bark, which is capable of accumulating moisture. Some plant species have leaves wider at the bottom of the crown than at the top. This helps allow more sunlight to reach the soil.

As for the epiphytes themselves, or air plants that grow in the rainforest, they obtain nutrients from plant debris and bird droppings that land on the roots and do not depend on the poor soil of the forest. In tropical forests there are such aerial plants as orchids, bromeliads, ferns, selenicereus grandiflora and others.

As mentioned, the soil in most tropical forests is very poor and lacks nutrients. To capture nutrients at the top of the soil, most rainforest trees have shallow roots. Others are wide and powerful, as they must support a massive tree.

Rainforest Animals

The animals of the tropical forests amaze the eye with their diversity. It is in this natural area that you can meet the largest number of representatives of the fauna of our planet. Most of them are in the Amazon rainforest. For example, there are 1,800 species of butterflies alone.

In general, the tropical forest is the habitat of most amphibians (lizards, snakes, crocodiles, salamanders), predators (jaguars, tigers, leopards, pumas). All animals of the tropics have bright colors, since spots and stripes are the best camouflage in the dense jungle. The sounds of the rainforest are provided by the polyphony of songbirds. The tropical forests have the world's largest population of parrots, and other interesting birds include the South American harpy, one of the fifty eagle species that is critically endangered. No less colorful birds are peacocks, whose beauty has long been the subject of legends.

The tropics are also home to a larger number of monkeys: arachnids, orangutans, chimpanzees, monkeys, baboons, gibbons, red-bearded jumpers, and gorillas. In addition, there are sloths, lemurs, Malayan and sun bears, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, tarantulas, ants, piranhas and other animals.

Disappearance of tropical forests

Tropical timber has long been synonymous with exploitation and plunder. The giant trees are the target of entrepreneurs who use them for commercial purposes. How are forests exploited? The most obvious use of rainforest trees is in the furniture industry.

According to the European Commission, around one-fifth of EU timber imports are from illegal sources. Every day, thousands of products from the international wood mafia pass through store shelves. Tropical wood products are often labeled as "luxury wood", "hardwood", "natural wood" and "solid wood". Usually these terms are used to disguise tropical wood from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The main exporting countries of tropical trees are Cameroon, Brazil, Indonesia and Cambodia. The most popular and expensive types of tropical wood that are sold are mahogany, teak and rosewood.

Inexpensive species of tropical wood include meranti, ramin, and gabun.

Consequences of tropical deforestation

In most tropical forest countries, illegal logging is common and a serious problem. Economic losses reach billions of dollars, and environmental and social damage is incalculable.

The consequences of tropical deforestation are deforestation and profound environmental changes. Tropical forests contain the world's largest . As a result of poaching, millions of species of animals and plants lose their habitat and, as a result, disappear.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, more than 41,000 plant and animal species are threatened, including great apes such as gorillas and orangutans. Scientific estimates of species lost vary widely, ranging from 50 to 500 species per day.

In addition, logging equipment used to remove timber destroys sensitive topsoil and damages the roots and bark of other trees.

Mining for iron ore, bauxite, gold, oil and other minerals also destroys large areas of tropical forests, such as in the Amazon.

The Meaning of Rainforests

Tropical rainforests play an important role in the ecosystem of our planet. Deforestation of this particular natural zone leads to the formation of a greenhouse effect and, subsequently, to global warming. The largest tropical forest in the world, the Amazon, plays the most important role in this process. 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to deforestation. The Amazon rainforest alone stores 120 billion tons of carbon.

Tropical forests also contain enormous amounts of water. Therefore, another consequence of deforestation is a disrupted water cycle. This in turn could lead to regional droughts and changes in global weather patterns - with potentially devastating consequences.

The rainforest is home to unique flora and fauna.

How to protect tropical forests?

To prevent the negative consequences of deforestation, it is necessary to expand forest areas and strengthen control over forests at the state and international levels. It is also important to raise people's awareness of the role forests play on this planet. Reducing, recycling and reusing forest products should also be encouraged, environmentalists say. Switching to alternative energy sources, such as fossil gas, can in turn reduce the need to exploit forests for heating.

Deforestation, including tropical forests, can be carried out without harming this ecosystem. In Central and South America and Africa, trees are cut down selectively. Only trees that have reached a certain age and trunk thickness are cut down, while young trees remain untouched. This method causes minimal damage to the forest, because it allows it to quickly recover.

Stunning vast forests, the lungs of our planet, producing most of the Earth's oxygen - these are tropical forests. This topic contains interesting facts about these forests, as well as fascinating photographs.

The most beautiful and lush tropical forests in the world, “the lungs of our planet,” are found in Costa Rica, South America, Malaysia and Australia. The Amazon rainforest, most of which is located in Brazil, is the world's largest natural resource (1.2 billion acres) but is rapidly disappearing, along with other rainforests around the world

We decided to draw attention to the problem of the disappearance of tropical forests in honor of Earth Day, since this is one of the most serious factors influencing global climate change. In future issues we will constantly pay attention to other global problems of humanity

Whereas just 50 years ago they made up 15% of the Earth's surface, today that number is only 6%. It is not difficult to imagine what this percentage will be in 10 years at the current rate of deforestation of rain forests

It is a proven fact that if deforestation continues at the same rate, by 2020 we will lose as much as 90% of all tropical forests. Every day, 200,000 acres of these precious oxygen generators, our planet's natural filter, are destroyed.

Along with the deforestation of rain forests, hundreds of thousands of species of rare birds, plants, and animals are disappearing, many of which are already on the verge of extinction

In the rainforest you can immerse yourself in a wonderful world of biodiversity, where exotic plants, trees, flowers and vines thrive in harmony with insects, snakes, monkeys, birds, butterflies, frogs, spiders and even jaguars

The history of these forests is very rich; hundreds of Indian tribes once lived here. Five centuries ago, the number of Indians living in tropical forests was more than 10 million people, but now there are less than 200,000. Since 1900, colonists have destroyed more than 90 unique and distinctive tribes

Currently, shaman healers still live here, keeping the secrets of their tribes. They have many healing secrets, but most of them are over 70 years old. The death of such a shaman can be compared to a burnt library - their knowledge is so valuable

One hectare of tropical forest can contain more than 750 species of trees, and 1,500 species of different plants. These forests are home to more than 3,000 different types of fruit, only 200 of which are known in Europe. Indians eat 2,000 of them

The easiest way to visit the rainforest is to take part in a specially organized eco-tour, or become a volunteer for a rainforest rescue organization.

The destruction of these forests is a real crime, comparable to the pollution of the world’s oceans, which we have already written about in the topic “Trash Island in the Pacific Ocean”. In the future, we will definitely continue the series of stories about rain forests; this topic can only be taken as a short excursion