Forest areas are the most extensive on Earth. No corner of the planet is without them. Forests all over the world occupy about a quarter of the Earth’s surface.
A forest is understood as a biogeocenosis consisting of a set of plant and animal species that coexist in a certain space for a long time and constitute a certain ecological unity.
The forest provides people with materials for construction, medicine, raw materials for the paper industry, and food. Wood, needles, and bark of trees serve as materials for many branches of the chemical industry.
Forests perform many functions for mankind: climatic, hydrological, soil, economic, and health. They actively absorb atmospheric pollution and emit oxygen, which is essential for human life and a home for many animals. Phytoncides are active volatile substances released by coniferous plants, destroying pathogens.
Forest areas protect soils from erosion processes by preventing surface runoff of precipitation. The disappearance of forests is a global ecological problem.
One of the main tasks of ecology is to identify how the sustainable existence and development of communities is maintained, what effect changes in various environmental factors have on them.
The main causes of environmental problems are related to:
- changes in weather;
- Uncontrolled poaching and hunting;
- Increased frequency of forest fires;
- Garbage in the forests;
- Deforestation.
The environment is very important for the preservation of the natural balance. Its changes affect the forests. First of all, these changes are directly related to human activities.
Anthropogenic impacts have led to global problems, which include changes in demographics, atmospheric and climatic composition, the state of water systems, and the depletion of natural resources.
The atmosphere is the Earth’s protective layer, whose ozone layer serves as a filter against ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, whose energy is destructive to all life. Also, the atmosphere maintains a comfortable temperature for the surface of the Earth. The gas in the atmosphere is called air, which is of great importance in the life of the planet.
An essential role in atmospheric pollution is played by sources of anthropogenic character, such as transport and emissions from industrial enterprises, which include: agricultural activities; enterprises engaged in wood processing and pulp and paper pulping; chemical, fuel, metallurgical and machine-building industries.
Atmospheric pollution leads to the greenhouse effect and climate warming, depletion of the ozone layer and acidification of natural media. As a consequence, photosynthesis is disrupted, which slows down plant growth and then causes plant death. Gradually the forests become thin and disappear forever.