What is a forest?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

What was the forest for primitive man? First of all, it is a source of food. And also the beginning of labor activity: gathering for women, hunting and fishing - for men. In this way, the distribution of work between members took place

tribe. The forest determined the national character of architecture: for the ancient Slavs, a log building became a typical building. To this day, in rural areas, houses are built from this material, and its choice is due to environmental friendliness.

What is the forest during the Great Conquests? Excellent protection against the expansion of regular troops, as a rule, having battle tactics in open spaces. Free tribes living in wooded areas, in small groups, could utterly defeat a well-prepared and trained army. And many years later, during the Great Patriotic War, in the wooded places in the occupied territories of Belarus and Ukraine, the troops of the Soviet government continued to operate in the forests.

What is the forest these days? Of course, these are the “lungs” of our planet. They are the ones who are the mostinvolved in the oxygen cycle in the Earth's atmosphere. Thanks to the huge mass of forests, the necessary proportion of this gas is maintained, which can ensure the vital activity of living beings.

However, in recent decades there has been an increased accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the emergence of a greenhouse effect. Only the forest ecosystem can solve these problems and give the planet's population a chance to find a way to restore balance.

The more complete the biomass of vegetation, that is, the richer the layers of the forest, the greater the concentration of carbon dioxide. Due to this, plant masses are able to remove this harmful substance from the atmosphere and prevent the development of the greenhouse effect. Forest ecosystems contain 92% of carbon dioxide.

What is a forest for human economic activity? Of course, it remains a source of food: honey, game, mushrooms, berries. The "forest source of energy" - firewood - is still relevant. The material for the construction of houses and other buildings - wood - to this day successfully competes with others, due to its environmental friendliness, comfort and coziness. It is also a source of raw materials for various industries. The participation of the forest in the regulation of natural processes is also important: windbreaks help maintain the fertility of the land.

But, unfortunately, from year to year the volume of deforestation is growing, exceeding the natural and artificial reforestation. In many countries where environmental issues are taken seriously, nothey only systematically plant forest plantations, but also completely prohibit any felling in some areas. Be it private or industrial blanks. Thanks to such sanctions, the biomass of forests in these countries does not decrease. For example, in Germany there is a "primordial forest", the age of trees in which reaches four hundred years. It has never carried out any cutting work. Probably, the Russians should seriously think about their forest.