On Tuesday, March 21, the world will celebrate World Forestry Day, which is designed to draw society's attention to the importance of forest conservation.
Forests play one of the most important roles in the fight against climate change, because they are the largest carbon sinks and the second producer of oxygen, after the oceans.
A forest is not just trees, but a complex ecosystem that combines herbaceous and woody plants, including dead plants, fungi, insects, mammals, and other animals. Forests are home to 80% of all biodiversity on land. And the disappearance of trees - the basis of forests - leads to the death of the entire ecosystem.
More than 13 million hectares of forests, the size of England, are lost every year. Forests are cut down to increase the area of agricultural land, lay new roads and extract minerals. Wood is used as a raw material for the production of paper, furniture, etc.
In addition to planned deforestation, trees are also destroyed by so-called black loggers. They usually choose the best trees in the forests.
The problems of forests also include the artificiality of plantations, because forests planted by humans mainly consist of trees of a specific species and of a recent age. Because of this, they become sensitive to diseases, pests and can dry out en masse.
Forests are also victims of climate change, as the intensity and number of heat waves increases, and the amount of precipitation decreases. This increases hot and dry conditions that help fires spread faster, burn longer and burn more intensely. In addition, due to global warming, the fire season is starting earlier. For example, more than half a million hectares burned in the EU in 2021, making it the second worst forest fire season in the bloc after 2017.
Ukrainian forests also suffer from people's habit of setting fire to dry vegetation in order to "cleanse" the land in spring and autumn. Fires kill all living things, including animals and soil microorganisms. Over time, such land becomes unsuitable for ecosystem restoration.
As a result of Russian aggression in Ukraine, almost 3 million hectares of forest, i.e. almost a third of all forests in the country, have been damaged. In addition, 500,000 hectares are currently occupied or are in the war zone.
That is why forests need increased protection. For this, it is necessary to create new objects of the nature reserve fund, as well as to use natural resources sparingly. In particular, recycle paper and cardboard to preserve the life of trees. Thus, 100 kg of waste paper saves 1 tree.
Everyone can participate in forest conservation. For this it is worth:
- choose digital versions of documents, bills and statements;
- refuse printed checks;
- give preference to e-books and magazines;
- instead of a diary and stickers, use notes in your smartphone;
- scan rather than photocopy;
- use both sides of the sheet when printing;
- do not pick flowers in the woods;
- do not break branches for bonfires and observe fire safety in nature;
- choose cloth towels instead of napkins.
It is worth noting that the Ukrainian start-up Re-leaf launched the technology of paper production from fallen leaves.
