FOREST RESOURCES
definition of forest and its nature -- …. all lands bearing vegetative associations dominated by trees of any size ,exploited or not ,capable of producing wood or of exerting an influence on the local climate or On The Water regime, aur providing shelter for livestock and wildlife .it includes bamboo ,wattle ,Savanna types with average density of tree cover at least 0.05 per hectare .--World forest inventory , Rome
The
gathering of large trees over a wide area is called forest. According to FAO,
gathering of different types of plants which can affect the local climate or
water distribution, provide shelter to wildlife, provide timber to people, is
called forest. To do this, such plants need to be grouped on at least 0.05
hectare of land per hectare.
Temperature, rainfall, sunlight, soil and topography primarily control
the nature and characteristics of forests. Population Decentralization The
regional distribution of economic activity depends on the demand for land, the
progress of urbanization, and so on.
Forests are primarily a gift of
nature. However, people in many parts of the world are working to create new
forests for their own needs. All those man-made forests have been able to meet
different needs.
TOTAL
FOREST COVER OF
THE WORLD- According to World Development Indicators, the
total forest cover in 2001 was 386 crore hectares.
South America ranks first in the world in terms of forest size. 53.33%
of the continent's total land area is covered by forests. Asia has only 18
percent of the world's forest area.
According to world development indicators, tropical deforestation in
Congo, Brazil, etc. is declining at an average rate of 0.4% per year.
The size of the forest according to the continent
South America - 87.89 crore hectares
Europe------------89.16 crore hectares
North America - ------76.78 crore hectares
Africa ------------------65.74 crore
hectares
Asia --------------------50.10 crore hectares
source --world development indicators, 2001
ECONOMIC
AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPORTANCE
OF FOREST RESOURCES- Forests are used by people in many ways .So a major resource for
other people .This is a livelihood in the developing world and commercial in
the developed world.
Wood
is one of the most functional and omnipresent human materials. The woods used
for the building industry and the various industrial and domestic applications
for fibre-boards, chipboards, paper, newsprints and cardboards are the items
produced from wood in any modern field of life.
Wood is solid, lightweight, robust, versatile and simple to work as a building material. It has really strong isolating effects. In comparison, wood can be processed and shipped for structural and architectural use, such as mortar, concrete, metals and plastics with little energy required and green materials are typically bio-degradable .
Wood
is also important economically. In the previous decade, the global market for
wood and wood goods has grown by 1 to 2% each year. In 1990, gross global
industrial timber production amounted to approximately 1 600 million cubic
meters, about three quarters of which were generated by developed countries.
Paper production amounted to about 235 million tons and the production of wood
paste amounted to 160 million tons; in both cases the developed world accounted
for more than 80% of volume.
They involve many who have spent centuries
residing there, sometimes referred to as indigenous peoples or tribal peoppers.
Lately, the community has come into the region, sometimes identified as
migrants, squatters, or predators. The estimates differ over time and in
multiple regions, but when it comes to forest conservation, both have to be
taken into account.
Unlike common beliefs, aboriginal people
are not only hunter-gatherers, but may even be moving settlers, who have no
effect on forests. They have typically been supported with a secure life by
their conventional slash and burn fallow schemes, but with a poor quality of
living while maintaining the simple frameworks of forestry. But the diminishing
area of forest accessible for cultivation and increasing communities
contributes to shorter fallow times and a less efficient method for citizens
maintenance.
Settlers are also "shifted"
farmers who were unable to find the land sufficient for their roots to produce
enough food. When they venture through the bush, owing to the lack of local
understanding and traditional expertise in indigenous cultures, they are even
more disruptive, easily weaning off a patch of land with farming methods that
are insufficient for local circumstances. Some might primarily be involved to
clear a field and sell the wood to raise sufficient money to establish a small
company in the town. Others could be assisted by wealthy citizens who want to
expand their lands to areas of woodland by clearing and declaring.
Owing to the lack of heavy machinery, most
pioneers cannot penetrate deep into thick forests; hence, they prefer to work
on the margins. When roads are constructed into the trees, however, they offer
settlers quick access to forestry, mining or transport. A significant part of
the logging in the moist tropics takes place along these paths.
Forests
and forests play a major function at the local and even federal level in
preserving the ecosystem. This especially applies to steep sloping rivers, in
which the roots of the tree are essential for the binding and preservation of
the soil.
In addition to its local impacts, unregulated forest clearance from such
upland areas can also have significant downstream implications. The degraded
land provided by rivers and streams is stored largely in irrigation and
hydropower reservoirs, diminishing capacity and shortening the existence of
these expensive investment ventures.
In places riddled with snow in winter, woods may also play a significant function. In the spring, forests lead to controlling the snow melts pace and at the same time reducing the chance of avalanches. For instance, in Colorado, United States, snowmelting control is considered to be the most important advantage of the forest cover on pistes during the spring.
Trees will also offer certain environmental advantages at a local level.
They provide wind erosion security. It will lead towards rising the rate of
rain water runoff and groundwater recharge. Carefully utilized in agriculture
systems, they preserve soil productivity as leaf fall recycles the nutrients
provided by their roots to the top layer of the soil. They provide animals and
humans a shelter; under the trees the microclimate may be more cold and humid
than out of the shade. Mangroves defend their territories from sea erosion and
offer spawning grounds for fish and shrimps in shoreline areas.
Genetic fluid plays a vital part, as well as supplying humans with
building blocks for selection and reproduction for adjusting plants and animals
to diverse habitats and end uses; it provides a tampon for environmental
adjustments . Intensive breeding and selection have been conducted for
agricultural crop plants for improved production and uniformity for many years.
While such choices may boost such traits in the short timeframe,
genetically-developed pathogens can also limit their capacity to adapt to
evolving environmental conditions (including attacks on pests and diseases) or
to change human needs by utilizing more genetically standardized communities
for several centuries. Consequently, the usage of narrowly-based genetic
materials grown for short-term productive purposes must often be followed by
protection by the creation of reserves and controlled resource areas and the
incorporation of genetic conservation issues in improving and reproducing
strategies.
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