July 15, 2019 | Forest Industry Task Force

Forests conservation in Australia?

Royce StevensonJuly 15, 2019

Forestry

Forests are often called the “green lung of the earth” because they store CO2 and produce oxygen. The forests of Australia contains an important ecological value, since, in addition to fulfilling an important role in the release of oxygen, they conserve and enrich the soil, provide well-being and balance in […]

A forest is a large area dominated by trees.[1] Hundreds of more precise definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing and ecological function.[2][3][4] According to the widely used[5][6] Food and Agriculture Organization definition, forests covered 4 billion hectares (9.9×109 acres) (15 million square miles) or approximately 30 percent of the world's land area in 2006.[4] Forests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem of Earth, and are distributed around the globe.[7] Forests account for 75% of the gross primary production of the Earth's biosphere, and contain 80% of the Earth's plant biomass. Net primary production is estimated at 21.9 gigatonnes carbon per year for tropical forests, 8.1 for temperate forests, and 2.6 for boreal forests.[7] Forests at different latitudes and elevations form distinctly different ecozones: boreal forests around the poles, tropical forests around the Equator, and temperate forests at the middle latitudes. Higher elevation areas tend to support forests similar to those at higher latitudes, and amount of precipitation also affects forest composition. Human society and forests influence each other in both positive and negative ways.[8] Forests provide ecosystem services to humans and serve as tourist attractions. Forests can also affect people's health. Human activities, including harvesting forest resources, can negatively affect forest ecosystems.