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Forests. Resource we all need for living. Forestry. Forest ecosystems have come to be seen as one of the most important components of the biosphere. Forestry has emerged as a vital field of science and technology.
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Forests Resource we all need for living
Forestry • Forest ecosystems have come to be seen as one of the most important components of the biosphere. • Forestry has emerged as a vital field of science and technology. • Forestry is the practice of studying and managing forest and plantations, and related natural resources. • Modern forestry generally concerns itself with: assisting forests to provide timber as raw material for wood products; wildlife habitat; natural water quality regulation; recreation; landscape and community protection; employment; aesthetically appealing landscapes; and a 'sink' for atmospheric carbon dioxide.
World’s forest area 27% 14% 14% 5% 17% 23% Forests cover 30% of the total land area!
Facts • Trees are a renewable resource. We can plant more trees, and we do! • ¾of the world's people rely on wood as their main source of energy. • 40 million km² of forest in the world.An average of 0.62 ha per capita. • In Ethiopia, between 100,000 and 200,000 hectares of forest are cut down every year. Still, at least 200 million people lack enough wood to cook their food properly. • Destruction of forests creates numerous environmental catastrophes, including altering local rainfall patterns, accelerating soil erosion, causing the flooding of rivers, and threatening millions of species of plants, animals and insects with extinction. • One mature tree absorbs approximately 6 kilograms of carbon dioxide a year.
Facts • 0.004km2of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and produces four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of eighteen people. • For every 10,000 miles (16,000km) driven in a vehicle plant 15 trees to offset the CO2 production. • Each year about 1.4 billion tree seedlings are planted - roughly four million a day - more than making up for those that are harvested. If you include naturally regenerated trees the net growth exceeds the harvesting by 33% due to good forest management. • Tropical forests cover 23 per cent of the Earth's land surface, but they are disappearing at a rate of 4.6 million hectares a year. Asia leads losses with 2.2 million hectares a year, Latin America and the Caribbean together lose 1.9 million and Africa loses 470,000 hectares of rain forest every year.
Wide variation in number of native tree species: from 3 in Iceland to 7780 in Brazil <50 50–200 200–1000 >1000 No data
Classification • Tropical, Subtropical, Temperate, Boreal • Rainforest : Amazon, Central Africa, South East Asia and Australia • Coniferous forest : North Canada, Eurasia • Temperate forest : USA, Europe
Rainforest Coniferous forest Temperate forest
One-third of the world’s forests are primarily used for production of wood and non-wood products
Coniferous Vs non-coniferous • development has encouraged the establishment of fast-growing plantations of hardwood species across the world.
Paper Production of rubber by major rubber producers
Total forest area continues to decrease but the rate of net loss is slowing
Facts • Between May 2000 and August 2006, Brazil lost nearly 150,000 square kilometres of forest—an area larger than Greece—and since 1970, over 600,000 square kilometres of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed. • An area of forest equal to 20 football or rugby fields is lost every minute. • Currently, 12 million hectares of forests are cleared annually
Causes Deforestation is brought about by the following: • conversion of forests and woodlands to agricultural land to feed growing numbers of people; • development of cash crops and cattle ranching, both of which earn money for tropical countries; • commercial logging (which supplies the world market with woods such as meranti, teak, mahogany and ebony) destroys trees as well as opening up forests for agriculture; • felling of trees for firewood and building material; the heavy lopping of foliage for fodder; and heavy browsing of saplings by domestic animals like goats. • To compound the problem, the poor soils of the humid tropics do not support agriculture for long. Thus people are often forced to move on and clear more forests in order to maintain production.
Consequences • The carbon cycle • The water cycle • Soil erosion • Silting of water courses, lakes and dams • Extinction of species • Desertification • Aboriginal rights • Drineage basin
Countries with high net change in forest area, 2000–2005 >0.5% decrease per year >0.5% increase per year Change rate below 0.5% per year
Plantation forests are increasing but still account for less than 5% of total forest area
Forest disturbances can be devastating –but they were severely underreported Portugal in 2003 : 4,249 km² United States in 2006: 17,400 km²
Around 10 million people are employed in forest management and conservation
11% of the world’s forests are designated for the conservation of biological diversity
84% of the world’s forests are publicly owned, but private ownership is on the rise
Resources Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 seven thematic studies providing additional information on planted forests, mangroves, bamboo, forest fires, forest insect pests, ownership of forests and trees, and forests and water (available later in 2006). A set of 20 global tables and individual reports from each of the 229 countries and territories included in FRA 2005 are available online at www.fao.org/forestry/fra2005.
Presentation by: • Aurimas Liutikas • YilikalAyino • FatehWarraich
