The world's forest resources are the gifts of nature to mankind

At present, the very active rates of development of economic activity on a world scale have led to a significant reduction in natural resources. The world's land and forest resources are subjected to harsh exploitation in connection with the ever increasing population of the planet.

The vegetation of the Earth can be divided into two broad categories: wild and cultivated flora. Currently, of the six thousand species that are listed, emphasis should be placed on widespread varieties. In total, there are 15-20 such crops, such as rice, wheat, corn, soybean and others. Forest resources of the world represent a significant part of the wild category of the Earth's flora. Like many other types of natural funds, these are exhaustible sources, which can nevertheless be restored. This type of natural reserves is used for a variety of different purposes and performing all sorts of tasks.

Forest resources of the world are traditionally characterized by three main indicators, including forest cover, the size of the area occupied, as well as the stock of standing timber. However, despite the fact that there is an annual growth in each of the indicators, several problems should be noted.

Forest resources of the world since ancient times were used for the construction and arrangement of dwellings of ancient and modern people. Currently, almost half of the harvested wood goes to the above-described goals. At the same time, technological progress does not detract from the attractiveness of natural textures. Designers and architects all over the world successfully apply similar materials in their projects. However, despite the holding of various measures to conserve natural resources, consumption far exceeds supply, and this leads to the fact that the world's forest resources are gradually decreasing.

In addition, since ancient times there has been an active development of agriculture. In turn, it also caused deforestation of the planet. It is estimated that annually the forest area is reduced by about 0.5 percent. This means that even the available increase in the forest cover and other indicators described above can not cover all the needs of mankind.

But it is the forest mass, as well as the swamps, that are the "lungs" of the planet. This means that they are responsible for replenishing oxygen stores in the atmosphere. It should be noted that the reduction of forests also leads to the destruction and erosion of soil cover, which aggravates agriculture.

Forest resources of the world. Table of distribution of forest area

Analyzing this table, it can be noted that the forest resources of the world form two main regions, called belts: southern and northern. In this case, the timber reserves are distributed approximately equally. The southern belt is located in the tropical and equatorial climate, while the northern belt covers the temperate and subtropical climatic zone.