What happens if you cut down forests? What will thoughtless deforestation lead to? Where are we losing forests?

Trees and other vegetation are key to preserving the Earth's climate. IN last years The issue of preserving forests on the planet has become especially acute. The number of green spaces and their condition in cities and other populated areas monitored by the competent authorities.

Sanitary felling of trees on the site is possible only after agreement with utility companies.

Sanitary felling

Trees, like other living organisms, are susceptible to diseases, they age and become unsafe. The spontaneous collapse of such a tree can lead to accidents and injuries, as well as the collapse of power lines, damage to cars and other property.

Regular cutting down of trees within settlements is necessary for:

• timely removal of diseased, old or damaged plants that can cause harm to people or property;
• rejuvenation of the garden and landscaping, as new plants will be planted in place of old trees;
• carrying out construction work during the construction of new buildings, laying roads or communications.

All these activities must be carried out in accordance with current legislation after approvals.

For industrial purposes, wood is obtained by cutting down forests. This process must be controlled by the state. IN Lately Cases of illegal logging have become more frequent; in this case, no one cares about preserving nature and reducing harm to the forest ecosystem.

As a result, it is applied irreparable damage nature:

• after the destruction of the forest ecosystem, many species of animals and plants disappear;
• the decline in the diversity of flora affects the quality of life of the planet's population;
• an increase in carbon dioxide in the planet's atmosphere leads to the greenhouse effect, resulting in global climate change;
• there is a constant washout of the soil, destruction of the top fertile layer, which leads to the formation of deserts;
• increased soil moisture provokes waterlogging in areas where trees have been cut down;
• the destruction of green spaces on mountain slopes leads to rapid melting of glaciers.

Smooth Negative consequences possible by planting new plants, as well as reducing the consumption of wood and paper products. Recycling paper also allows us to partially solve the problem of cutting down trees.

Deforestation can lead to sad consequences, look at the video:

"and today we will not look at animal world, but to vegetable. Or rather, how gradually this vegetable world doesn't disappear. “Why would you suddenly be interested in the scale of deforestation and available solutions to the problem? - you ask. To which we will answer - we have been for a long time environmental problems. But there was still no solution...

Whereas recently, in relation to forests, we finally came up with an answer. But first, let’s talk about the problem. Deforestation is happening all over the world. The main sources consuming forest are the production of cellulose, and primarily for paper. And then there is furniture and other wooden structures.

So, the solutions to the “deforestation” problem promised at the beginning. There may be many of these solutions, but each person personally can easily apply only a few. Which we will describe. But first, the scale of deforestation in order to realize the reality of the problem.

The scale of deforestation can be imagined using the service http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation-tracker/ - spectroradiometric information about each section of the Earth's surface with an area of ​​5 km2 comes from the Aqua and Terra satellites. This information is compared with information received a year ago. If 40% of the area of ​​a five kilometer square loses green color, then a new point appears on the map, signaling deforestation.

Data about South America:

Data about the west of Russia:

Oddly enough, there is no data on Russia on deforestation over the past 2 years. It looks like the scale is so large that they decided to hide it :)

We came up with the first solution against deforestation while watching Jamie Oliver's Breakfast Sea show. This is a culinary program with an environmental focus.

The main idea: now there is uneven fishing. The most popular are 2-3 varieties of fish, and it is these varieties that are sold. Consequently, these types of fish are under threat of destruction, because people eat a lot 🙂 While there are plenty of other fish that are no less tasty than traditional ones - which no one knows about. And which Jamie presents, showing how to cook them INSTEAD of traditional fish.

Its logic is simple: if people start asking sellers for other fish, even though it is not on the shelves, then the increased demand will create supply - sellers will start ordering this fish. And the pressure on traditional fish will stop.

That is, easily, simply, without politicians and mega-investments of money, Jamie proposes to solve the problem of extinction of fish species.

One solution to saving forests, similar to the fish solution, is to create demand for alternative, non-wood-based paper. Did you know that paper can be made from any cellulose fiber? Not just from trees, but from any other sources of cellulose? And this is exactly so. Moreover, other sources of cellulose are restored MUCH faster than forests, since they are grasses.

The most common and accessible “fast” plants:

• cotton
• seaweed.

Why don't paper manufacturers use these sources? Most likely, because production is already “tailored” to wood. Whereas no one will redo the line without future income. But the “future income” is the increasing demand for paper made from cotton and seaweed. And the more such requests there are, the faster paper manufacturers will move, and the faster deforestation will slow down.

So, the first solution to reduce deforestation: ask sellers for paper made from cotton or seaweed.

So, there are more than 7 billion people living on Earth, and in 10 years there will be more than 8. What if each person plants a tree? And not just once, but once a month?

The consequences are simple: within 20 years, the number of forests will not only be restored, but will be greater than before.

The second solution to deforestation is to plant trees yourself.

Of course, it will not be possible to organize all the inhabitants of the planet at once... But gradually, step by step, by personal example - so, you see, in 100 years we will pass on to our descendants not a barren desert, where it is impossible to live without an oxygen mask, but a flourishing Earth :)

The most important thing is that every person can afford to buy a seedling and plant it in the nearest forest belt. Well, tell everyone about this decision :)

Good luck solving the problem of the scale of deforestation!

What ideas do you have about this?

One of the most important sectors of the Russian economy is the logging industry. Russia is one of the largest producers and exporters of wood - fifth place in the world, second place in Europe.

According to UN statistics, half of the territory of our country is covered with forests, and the total forest area of ​​Russia (851 million hectares) is one fifth of the forest area of ​​planet Earth. Two thirds of these forests are suitable for use in the timber industry.

However, despite the huge resource potential, the efficiency of the Russian forest industry is extremely low. According to estimates from a representative of the Union of Timber Industrialists and Timber Exporters of Russia, the Russian timber industry is characterized by a low technical level of production, a technological lag behind global trends, low profitability and an unstable financial position of industry enterprises, poorly developed road and industrial infrastructure, low level forestry engineering. Therefore, as experts say, forest industry in Russia is low-income - the producer’s income per cubic meter of wood is several times less than the average on the international logging market.

A separate serious problem for the Russian timber industry is illegal logging and the subsequent sale of illegally obtained timber (“”). According to World Fund Russian wildlife and World Bank, up to 20% of wood harvested in Russian Federation, is of illegal origin. Then it turns out that the volume of illegal forest products in our country in 2015 amounted to 40–50 million cubic meters. meters of wood, since in total that year 206 million cubic meters were harvested. meters.

- Government bodies at all levels should be interested in establishing independent control over the industry(""). Everything must be monitored and recorded in open sources: from work on the plots to transactions for the sale of timber, and first of all, the activities must be taken under control large companies. All information should be as organized, accessible and transparent as possible.

The involvement of a large number of people in illegal logging is a consequence of the negative socio-economic situation in the regions, low incomes of the population and - most importantly - high unemployment. Targeted prosecutions and punishments of individual violators mainly only lead to people looking for new ways to circumvent the law and law enforcement agencies. It is necessary to create jobs, develop infrastructure, work to improve the standard of living of the population, give the territories the opportunity to develop, encourage them to pay taxes and put things in order. Only such measures, affecting the socio-economic environment as a whole, can radically change the situation with small-scale poaching.

- The Russian economy needs a shift in emphasis from resource extraction to manufacturing. This is an extremely important task for the forestry industry. Thus, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 2014, in the structure of Russian exports of wood and wood products, 69% were sawn timber and unprocessed timber, and wood carpentry made up only 2% (“”).

To summarize, there is now a flow of timber exported from the country, and a significant part of the forest is cut down in a barbaric, chaotic and illegal manner. Thus, the country is not just selling Natural resources abroad - it also does not receive a significant part of the income from these sales, the timber is simply stolen. The primary task is to combat illegal logging. However, in strategic terms no less important task is the transition from exporting raw materials abroad to processing wood within the country. It can only be accomplished through government incentives, since at present there are no conditions in the market under which it would be profitable for entrepreneurs to invest in the retraining of enterprises.

Essay

The problem of forest loss.

Completed by: Mikhaleva K.S.,

2nd year student of natural sciences

Faculty of Geography

specialty "Geography"

Checked by: Lyubimov V.B.,

professor, doctor of biology

chemical sciences

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………3

1.Forest fires……………………………………………………………….4

2. Deforestation…………………………………………………………………...5

3. Global solutions to the problem of forest loss……………………………..7

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….11

References……………………………………………………………12

Introduction

The forest filters water and regulates the water cycle in nature. It retains moisture in the soil longer than a non-forested area, since evaporation from the forested soil and the release of moisture from tree leaves occurs much more slowly. Thus, the forest makes it possible to more evenly fill streams and rivers with water, especially during the period of snow melting. The risk of flooding in wooded areas is much lower than in areas with few trees. The forest reduces the removal and erosion of soil by wind, water, scree and snow avalanches and thereby prevents karsting of the landscape. In addition, the groundwater level is protected from falling due to the root system of trees. The forest is a carbon store because it constantly binds carbon from carbon dioxide adsorbed in leaves and needles. One kilogram of dry wood contains approximately 500 grams of carbon. By absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and sequestering carbon in wood, the proportion of CO2 in the atmosphere, which causes the greenhouse effect, is reduced.

It is estimated that around 32 million acres are lost each year worldwide.

forests. Over the past 20 years (1970 - 1990), the world has lost almost 200 million hectares forest areas, which is equal to the area of ​​the United States east of the Mississippi.

Depletion poses a particularly great environmental threat. tropical forests- “the lungs of the planet” and the main source of the planet’s biological diversity. About 200 thousand are cut down or burned there every year. square kilometers, which means 100 thousand species of plants and animals are disappearing. This process is especially fast in the regions richest in tropical forests - the Amazon and Indonesia.

Forest fires

Fires are among the important abiotic factors influencing the nature of communities formed in an ecosystem. The fact is that some areas are regularly and periodically exposed to fires. IN coniferous forests, growing in the southeastern United States, and treeless shrouds, as well as in steppe zone fires are a very common phenomenon. In forests where fires occur regularly, trees usually have thick bark, which makes them more resistant to fire. The cones of some pine trees, such as the Banks pine, release seeds best when heated to a certain temperature. Thus, the seeds are sown at a time when other plants con. Number of forest fires in one of the regions of Siberia over two centuries: In some cases, the soil after fires is enriched with biogenic elements, such as phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium. As a result, animals grazing in areas exposed to periodic fires receive more nutritious nutrition. By preventing natural fires, humans thereby cause changes in ecosystems, the maintenance of which requires periodic burning of vegetation. Nowadays, fires have become a very common means of controlling the development of forests, although the public consciousness has difficulty getting used to this idea. Protecting forests from fires. The Earth's forests suffer severely from fires. Forest fires destroy 2 million tons of organic matter annually. They apply great harm forestry: tree growth decreases, forest composition deteriorates, windbreaks increase, soil conditions and windbreaks deteriorate, soil conditions deteriorate. Forest fires contribute to the spread of harmful insects and wood-destroying fungi. World statistics claim that 97% of forest fires occur due to human fault and only 3% due to lightning, mainly ball. The flames of forest fires destroy both flora and fauna in their path. In Russia, great attention is paid to protecting forests from fires. As a result of measures taken in recent years to strengthen preventive fire-fighting measures and implement a set of works to timely detect and extinguish forest fires by aviation and ground forest fire units, the area of ​​forests covered by fire, especially in the European part of Russia, has been significantly reduced.

However, the number of forest fires is still high. Fires occur due to careless handling of fire, due to a deep violation of the rules fire safety during agricultural work. An increased risk of fires is created by clutter in forest areas.

Deforestation

The process of forest destruction is actual problem in many parts globe, since it affects their environmental, climatic and socio-economic characteristics. Deforestation leads to a decrease in biodiversity, wood reserves for industrial use and quality of life, as well as to an increase in the greenhouse effect due to a decrease in the volume of photosynthesis.

The full extent of the consequences of deforestation is unknown and has not been verified by sufficient scientific data, which causes active controversy in scientific community. The scale of deforestation can be seen in satellite images Lands that can be accessed, for example, using the program

Define real speed deforestation is quite difficult, since the organization responsible for recording these data (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO) mainly relies on official data from the relevant ministries of individual countries. According to estimates of this organization, the total losses in the world over the first 5 years of the 21st century amounted to 7.3 million hectares of forest annually. According to World Bank estimates, 80% of logging is illegal in Peru and Bolivia, and 42% in Colombia. The process of disappearing Amazon forests in Brazil is also happening much faster than scientists thought.

Globally, the rate of deforestation decreased in the 1980s and 1990s, as it did from 2000 to 2005. Given these trends, forest restoration efforts are projected to increase forest area by 10% over the next half century. However, reducing the rate of deforestation does not solve the problems already created by this process.

Consequences of deforestation:

1) The habitat for forest inhabitants (animals, mushrooms, lichens, herbs) is being destroyed. They may disappear completely.

2) The forest retains the top fertile layer of soil with its roots. Without support, the soil can be carried away by the wind (you get a desert) or water (you get ravines).

3) The forest evaporates a lot of water from the surface of its leaves. If you remove the forest, the air humidity in the area will decrease, and the soil moisture will increase (a swamp may form).

The thesis that after cutting down a forest the amount of oxygen will decrease is incorrect from an ecological point of view (a forest, as a developed ecosystem, absorbs as much oxygen from animals and fungi as it produces by plants), but it may work in the Unified State Examination.

The true wealth of the world is moist evergreens rainforests are being destroyed at an unprecedented rate. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, deforestation has increased by 8.5 percent this decade compared with the 1990s.

Asia has the highest rate of deforestation at 1.2% per year since 1990, followed by Latin America at 0.8%, and Africa at 0.7%. However, during the same period, the total area of ​​deforested areas per year in Latin America is 7.4 million hectares, in Africa – 4.1, Asia – 3.9.

Brazil contains 30% of the world's tropical forests and has the highest rates of deforestation. And this despite the fact that the Amazon forest, located in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, is the largest tropical forest on the planet and contains about a fifth of all clean water in the world, which speaks of its enormous importance.

Deforestation is the process of converting forested land into land without tree cover, such as grasslands, cities, wastelands and others. Most common reason deforestation - cutting down forests without sufficient planting of new trees. In addition, forests can be destroyed due to natural causes such as fire, hurricane or flood, as well as other anthropogenic factors eg acid rain.

Deforestation leads to a decrease in biodiversity, wood reserves for industrial use and quality of life, as well as an increase in the greenhouse effect due to a decrease in photosynthesis.

According to Greenpeace, to produce 1 gram of paper, approximately 4-5 cubic centimeters of coniferous wood are consumed (depending on the type and quality of the paper and the manufacturer). 1 ton of waste paper saves 5 cubic meters of wood, or up to 20-25 trees.

Global solutions to deforestation

At present, the rights of forest state protection to combat violators of fire regulations in forests and bring them to justice have been significantly expanded officials and citizens violating fire safety requirements. In populated areas with intensive forestry, the protection of forests from fires is ensured by forestry enterprises and their specialized units - fire-chemical stations. In total, there are about 2,700 such stations in the country. To increase the fire resistance of forests, work is carried out on a large scale on the fire protection of the forest fund, systems of fire breaks and barriers, a network of roads and reservoirs are created, and forests are cleared of clutter. Fires occurring in the forest are detected mainly with the help of fire observation stationary points, as well as forest guards during ground patrols. Forest fire units are armed with tank trucks, all-terrain vehicles, soil meters and foam generators. Cord charges of explosives are widely used, as well as

artificially caused precipitation. Television equipment is being introduced,

facilitating the work of observers. It is planned to use infrared aircraft detectors to detect fires from the air in conditions of heavy smoke. Information obtained from artificial satellites Earth. Increased efficiency in detecting and extinguishing forest fires will be facilitated by the introduction of computer-calculated optimal operating modes for air forest protection units. In sparsely populated areas of the North, Siberia and the Far East, helicopters and airplanes with teams of paratroopers and paratroopers-firefighters are used to protect forests. A barrier on the way forest fire

there may be a solution timely applied to the soil at the border of the burning area. For example, a solution of bischofite, which is cheap and harmless. An important section of fire prevention is well-organized fire prevention propaganda using radio, print, television and other means mass media. Forestry workers familiarize the population, forest workers and expeditions, and vacationing tourists with the basic requirements of fire safety rules in the forest, as well as with the measures that must be applied in accordance with current legislation to persons who violate these rules. Protecting the forest from harmful insects and diseases. To protect forest plantations from damage, preventive measures are used aimed at preventing the appearance and mass reproduction of forest pests and identifying diseases. Extermination measures are used to destroy pests and diseases. Prevention and extermination control provide effective protection of plantings, provided that they are applied in a timely and correct manner. Protective measures are preceded by a forest entomological survey, identifying the places of distribution of harmful insects and diseases. Based on the data obtained, the question of the advisability of using certain protective measures is decided.

Measures to combat forest pests and diseases are divided according to the principle of their action and technical application into groups: forestry, biological, chemical, physical-mechanical and quarantine. In practice, these methods of forest protection are used comprehensively, in the form of a system of measures. A rational combination of control methods ensures the most effective suppression of vital activity pests In the woods. Forestry measures in forest protection have a predominantly preventive purpose: they prevent

spread of harmful insects and diseases, increase biological

acquires a microbiomethod based on the use of pathogenic microorganisms. A number of bacterial preparations have been proposed: dendrobacillin, insectin, taxobacterin, exotoxin, bitotoxybacillin, gomelin, etc. Protection of forests from pests and diseases should be carried out using methods that do not harm humans and environment. The chemical method of combating harmful insects and diseases is based on the use of toxic substances against insects - insecticides, and against fungal diseases - fungicides. The action of insecticides and fungicides is based on chemical reactions them with substances that make up the cells of the body. The nature of the reaction and the strength of the effects of toxic substances manifest themselves differently depending on their chemical structure and physicochemical properties, as well as on the characteristics of the body. Chemical control methods are carried out using ground vehicles, airplanes and helicopters. Along with chemical and biologically physical and mechanical methods are also used: scraping egg clutches gypsy moth, cutting off the spider's nests of goldentails and pine shoots affected by whirligigs and pinworms, collecting sawfly larvae and May beetles, beetles, etc. These techniques are labor-intensive, therefore they are used rarely and only in small areas.

Forest protection measures. The main objectives of forest protection are its rational use and restoration. Measures to protect forests in sparsely forested areas are becoming increasingly important due to their water protection, soil protection, sanitary and health-improving roles. Particular attention should be paid to the protection of mountain forests, as they perform important water-regulating and soil-protecting functions. With the right

in forestry, repeated felling in a particular area

should be carried out no earlier than after 80 - 100 years, upon reaching full ripeness. Important measure By rational use forests is the fight against wood loss. Significant losses often occur during timber harvesting. In the felling areas, branches and needles remain, which are valuable materials for preparing pine flour - vitamin-rich feed for livestock. Forest cutting waste is promising for obtaining essential oils.

The forest is very difficult to restore. But still, forest is restored in deforested areas, sown in areas not covered by forest, and low-value plantings are reconstructed.

Along with artificial forest growing, work is widespread

on natural regeneration of the forest (leaving seeders, caring for self-seeding economically) valuable species and etc.). Much attention is paid to preserving undergrowth during forest cutting. New products have been developed and put into production technological schemes logging operations, which ensure the preservation of undergrowth and young growth during forest exploitation.

A significant factor in increasing forest productivity and enriching their composition is the breeding of new valuable forms, hybrids, varieties and introduced species. The study of form diversity and selection of economically valuable forms is carried out on a new theoretical basis, based on the analysis of pheno- and genotypic structures of natural populations and selection based on comparative analysis biotypes with certain valuable traits. When selecting valuable forms in nature and evaluating hybrids, attention is paid to plants that have not only high productivity at the age of quantitative or technological ripeness, but also plants that are characterized by high growth intensity in the initial period of ontogenesis. They are necessary for high-intensity plantations with short cutting rotations. Plantations are a special independent form of crop production in forestry to obtain a certain type products (wood, rod, chemical substances, medicinal raw materials, etc.). Intensive agrotechnical measures are used on plantations. They serve as a powerful lever for the intensification and specialization of forestry production.

In many regions of Russia, illegal and uncontrolled cutting of trees is carried out systematically. According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates, Russia is losing about $1 billion due to illegal logging. In the Arkhangelsk region alone last year, inspectors recorded 359 cases illegal logging, losses from which amounted to 410,500,000 rubles ($12 million). You can find enough detailed information about changes in forestry that have occurred in recent years.

Most high level illegal logging is observed in the north-west of Russia and in Far East. Increasing restrictions on timber harvesting in China has increased the demand for Russian timber. So the timber from the Far East is shipped to China, where sawmills and their Western customers destroy the valuable hardwoods of which we have less and less. Agency environmental research(The Environmental Investigation Agency, EIA) states that “80% of valuable timber is cut down illegally in the Far East.”

Half of all timber imported from Russia to the EU goes to Finland. Sweden, Germany, Great Britain and Italy are also major importers of wood from Russia.

Systematic destruction of forests causes significant damage wildlife, destroys the ecosystem, displaces animals from their original habitats. Intensive logging, according to WWF, threatens the existence of such animals as capercaillie, white-backed woodpecker, Amur tiger And amur leopard. Ash, linden, oak and cedar are disappearing. Also, deforestation is one of the main reasons for the increase in the greenhouse effect.

Despite the scale of the problem, lack of human resources, low salaries of foresters, lack of control directly in the forests and gaps in legislation make it difficult to prevent such criminal acts. Companies, under the guise of cutting down diseased trees, harvest healthy, valuable wood. Some tenants of plots transfer the right to cut to other companies, which harvest more than the permitted volumes, and the tenants then buy the wood from them along with the surplus. Poachers must be caught by the hand in order to law enforcement agencies were able to bring them to justice. When the trees are removed from the place where they were cut down, it is no longer possible to present anything to the poachers. Sale of timber has become the main source of income for unscrupulous foresters and officials. In addition, many people resort to deforestation due to poverty and unemployment in order to feed their families.

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