Forest is our wealth! Importance, protection and protection of forests. Forests of Russia

Even under the Soviet Union there were slogans "The forest is our wealth" or "Take care of the forest". Indeed, this is a resource of wood, which can be used for a variety of purposes. This is fuel, and construction material, and paper production, and other areas of human activities. And if you treat this resource carefully and in a businesslike way, you can get considerable economic benefits and improve the ecology of the whole country.

What is a forest?

Forest from the geographical and biological point of view - this is a land of large sushi, overgrown with trees, bushes between them and other vegetation. Forests of Russia occupy an area of about 850 million hectares of the total territory (1712518700 ha - the area of the state).

Forest is an ecosystem that is closely related to living and non-living organisms. The first include all plants, micro-organisms and wildlife. The second - air, water and soil. And the composition of the forest, its flora and fauna depends on the inanimate component (abiotic).

The role of forests in nature

If before the forest plantations were simply consumer, today the situation is somewhat different. Many people from various economic and political spheres began to understand that the forest is our wealth, and they began to call for a more rational use of it. The environmental impact is as follows:

• Participation in the water cycle in nature and support of water balance.
• Formation of soil cover.
• The presence of forests contributes to the formation of weather and climate.
• Forests reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, thereby reducing the greenhouse effect.

The role of forest in the economy of the state

Even in the times of Kievan Rus, the forest was of great importance. Our wealth was in many directions of its use. For example, this is:

• The source of animal and plant foods;
• construction material;
• Source of fuel (wood, charcoal, biofuel);
• Raw materials for such industries as pulp and paper, chemical, woodworking;
• Source of food for animals.

Green plantations of trees - both spontaneous and controlled - have a big impact on human health. The forest is able to convert part of the pollutants, especially atmospheric ones. These properties are mostly coniferous, birch and linden forests. They absorb dust and industrial pollution very well, which is why forests are planted in the form of parks or groves in cities. The phytoncides released by some tree species contribute to healing. Therefore, we should always remember that the forest is our wealth, and it is carefully and rationally used.

Harm to irrational tree cutting

Although the forest is a self-replicating and self-regenerating ecosystem, it needs protection from various disastrous factors. This is due to the long inefficient use of wood and increased environmental pollution. It is difficult to overestimate the value of the forest. But the fact that its role has not been determined for a long time has caused irreparable harm to some regions of the Russian Federation.

The greatest disaster was caused by deforestation of the forest on the coast of the Aral Sea. Due to the destruction of trees, the balance of the water cycle in the adjacent areas and on the lake itself was disturbed. As a result, increased evaporation and even uncontrolled water intake for irrigation of agricultural land. The Aral Sea has become so shallow that it is divided into two lakes.

The destruction of trees along the Volga coast led to a similar situation. The river has become so shallow that vessels with deep draft can not pass along the channel. Mass planting of the forest is necessary, so that in a few decades the level of the ecological disaster is reduced. Perhaps then the water level will rise slightly.

Forests of Russia and their protection

Since trees play a large role in nature and affect the ecological situation, they require careful treatment and protection. In Russia, for their protection, federal laws have been issued that regulate the use of forest tracts, as well as measures to protect and restore them.

According to the Law on Environmental Protection, the RF Constitution, the Forest Code, the Civil Code, the UN Declaration and other normative acts, the protection and protection of forests is carried out through monitoring, creation and maintenance of the forest inventory, development of forestry. All these measures, their correct organization allow more rational use of natural resources. The greatest importance among them is tying forestry - with their help a lot of issues related to the protection of trees and other green spaces are being solved.

Forests and forestry

The forests of Russia require protection and careful treatment of themselves. The main body that deals with this is forestry. It has the following functions:

• Protection of forest plantations from unauthorized cutting;
• Protection and prevention of pests;
• Timely removal of dry matter to reduce the risk of fire;
• Provision of fire safety;
• Protection of fauna from extermination;
• Planting new seedlings to restore the forest.

Such measures allow to preserve quantitatively and qualitatively the forests of Russia. Forestry enterprises can control the number of trees of each variety by cutting and planting seedlings, thereby preserving the forest in its original form. If such control was not carried out, some trees would be replaced by others uncontrollably, in connection with which the rest of the animal and plant world would change. Only by all complex measures can the forest be preserved. Our wealth must be multiplied, not diminished every year.

Forests and their protection against fires

Despite the fact that many understand that the forest is our wealth, and it needs to be protected, fire is still the greatest problem. Especially often there are forest fires in the summer, which is characterized by low air humidity, high temperature and no precipitation for a long period of time. Especially quickly the fire spreads in a strong wind. Despite the adopted laws, the material base for implementing full-fledged measures for prevention and firefighting is very weak.

Such a failure is indicated by fires, from which the forests of Russia and even populated areas suffered. In 2014, the fires were so frequent that in June a special resolution was issued on introducing amendments to the rules for monitoring the reliability of information on fire safety. This happened after the fires in Transbaikalia (April 2014), Amur (April 2014) and Irkutsk region. In many regions, emergency regimes have been introduced and forestry to residents of neighboring settlements is prohibited.

Perhaps in the future, equipment and technologies will prevent fires in the forests, but to date the area of the arrays covered by fire is increasing. When the whole population takes more care of trees, a full-scale material and technical base will be created, then protection will be more effective.