A Meticulous Perspective...

  Forests provide highly valuable ecological and economic services. For example, through photosynthesis, forests remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in organic compounds (biomass). By performing this ecological service as a part of the global carbon cycle, forests help to stabilize average atmospheric temperatures and slow projected climate change. Forests also provide us with oxygen, hold soil in place, and aid in aquifer recharge and flood control. Scientists have attempted to estimate the economic value of this and other ecological services provided by the world’s forests and other ecosystems. ECOLOGICAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY FORESTS: Support energy flow and chemical cycling. Reduce soil erosion. Absorb and release water. Purify water and air. Influence local and regional climate. Store atmospheric carbon. Provide numerous wildlife habitats. ECONOMICAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY FORESTS: Fuelwood Lumber Pulp to make paper Mining Livestock grazing Recreation Jobs

  Forests are lands dominated by trees. The three main types of forest—tropical, temperate, and cold (northern coniferous, or boreal)—result from combinations of varying precipitation levels and varying average temperatures. 1. TROPICAL FORESTS: Tropical rain forests are found near the equator, where hot, moisture-laden air rises and dumps its moisture. These lush forests have year around, uniformly warm temperatures, high humidity, and almost daily heavy rainfall. This fairly constant warm and wet climate is ideal for a wide variety of plants and animals. These forests are often called jungle, but that word refers to the thickest and most dense parts of a tropical rain forest. Tropical rain forests have a very high net primary productivity. They are teeming with life and possess incredible biological diversity. Although tropical rain forests cover only about 2% of the earth’s land surface, ecologists estimate that they contain at least half of the earth’s known terrestrial plant and a