The area of all forests in the world is. Forest area and forest cover in individual countries of the world. World Forest Resources Map
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the total area of forests in the world exceeds 3.4 billion hectares or 27% of the earth's land area. FAO estimates are based on the determination that all ecological systems with tree cover density of at least 10% in developing countries ah and at least 20% in developed countries are identified as forests.
In addition, according to the accepted methodology for classifying forests, 1.7 billion hectares of land occupied by tree and shrub vegetation must be added to this area. More than half of the world's forest area (51%) is located in four countries: Russia - 22%, Brazil - 16%, Canada - 7%, USA - 6%
The FAO estimate of the total timber stock in the world's forests was compiled from data from 166 countries, which contain 99% of the world's forest area. In 2000 it amounted to 386 billion cubic meters.
Total Aboveground woody biomass in the world is estimated at 422 billion tons. About 27% of aboveground woody biomass is concentrated in Brazil and about 25% in Russia (due to area).
The average amount of woody biomass per hectare of forests on the planet is 109 tons/ha. The maximum amount of woody biomass per hectare was recorded for South America as a whole. The largest supply of wood per hectare is also noted here (in Guatemala - 355 m3/ha). The countries of Central Europe also have very high wood reserves per hectare (in Austria - 286 m3/ha).
The global forest assessment is based on information provided by each country to FAO based on a recommended format. It is also customary to combine these data according to the identified forest growth zones: tropical, temperate and boreal zones based on the conditional division of the surface of the globe into physical-geographical zones.
Forest zones are natural land areas of boreal, temperate, subtropical, tropical, subequatorial and equatorial belt, in the natural landscapes of which forest trees and shrubs predominate. Forest zones are common in conditions of sufficient or excessive moisture. The most typical climate for forest growth is humid or humid. According to
geomorphological classification, the climate of areas with excess moisture is considered humid, when precipitation exceeds the amount of moisture that goes into evaporation and seepage into the soil, and excess moisture is removed river flow, which contributes to the development of erosional landforms.
The typical vegetation of landscapes with a humid climate is forest. There are two types of humid climate: polar - with permafrost and phreatic - with groundwater.
The world's tropical forests cover an area of 1.7 billion hectares, which is about 37% of the land area of countries located in the tropical zone of our planet. Subequatorial monsoon forests grow in the tropical zone, uh quatorial tropical rainforests, tropical humid evergreen forests, tropical humid deciduous and semi-deciduous forests, including mangrove forests and savannas.
All forests of this belt of earth develop on the so-called red soils - ferrallitic soils that formed on the weathering crust of the ancient landmass of the earth, which underwent deep weathering (ferrallitization), as a result of which almost all primary minerals are destroyed. The humus content in the upper horizon of these soils ranges from 1-1.5 to 8-10%. Sometimes ferruginous armored crusts form on the soil surface.
Ferrallitic soils are common in southern and Central America, Central Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Northern Australia. After deforestation, Hevea plantations are created on these soils to harvest natural rubber, oil or coconut palms, as well as a classic set of tropical crops: sugar cane, coffee, cocoa, banana, pineapple, tea, black and white pepper, ginger, etc. culture.
Temperate forest zones of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres include taiga zone, mixed forest zone, deciduous forest zone and monsoon forests temperate zone.
A characteristic feature of temperate forest zones is the seasonality of natural processes. Coniferous and deciduous forests with a relatively simple structure and a small variety of plant cover are common here. Podzolic and brown earth types of soil formation predominate.
Temperate forests cover an area of 0.76 billion hectares in five regions of the world: eastern North America, most of Europe, the eastern part of the Asian subcontinent, a small part in the Middle East and Patagonia (Chile).
Boreal forests grow in the latitudinal zone between the arctic tundra and temperate forests. The total area of forest land in the boreal belt of the planet is estimated at 1.2 billion hectares, of which 0.92 billion hectares are closed forests, including 0.64 billion hectares of forests called operational ones.
Boreal forests grow mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. Their total area in North America and Eurasia accounts for almost 30% of the total forest area of the planet.
In general, the area of boreal forests accounts for 82.1% of the total forest area of the six countries in which they grow. In Canada, boreal forests are 75% of forests, in the USA (Alaska) - 88%, in Norway - 80%, in Sweden - 77%, in Finland - 98% and in Russia - on average about 67%.
For tropical forests characterized by a thick weathering crust and intense runoff. The subzone of permanently moist forests is dominated by evergreen forests with exceptional species diversity on red-yellow lateritic soils. In the subzone of seasonally wet forests, along with evergreen forests, deciduous forests on red ferrallitic soils are common.
Zones of equatorial tropical forests are distributed on both sides of the equator in South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the islands of Oceania. In zones equatorial forests there is almost no seasonal rhythm of natural processes, moisture is abundant, temperatures are constantly high, rivers are high-water, soils are laterite podzolized, sea coasts- mangrove communities.
The forest growing here is commonly known as tropical evergreen rain forest. This forest has become a symbol of the struggle for forest conservation and the preservation of biological diversity, as it represents multi-tiered tree formations growing in conditions of year-round moisture and has a high density of animal population, especially in the upper tiers of the forest.
There are already less than 1 billion hectares of such forests left on the globe (718.3 million hectares), mainly in Brazil, i.e. about 41% of the total tropical forest area or about 16% of the planet's forest area.
Subequatorial monsoon forests are common in Central and South America, Africa, southern Asia and northeastern Australia. In these zones, the climate is characterized by the dominance of equatorial monsoons. The dry season lasts 2.5-4.5 months. The soils are red-colored lateritic. Mixed deciduous-evergreen and deciduous forests predominate.
Moist tropical evergreen, semi-deciduous and deciduous forests are the predominant type of vegetation in the eastern sectors of the continents within tropical zones Northern and Southern hemispheres (southern Florida, Central and South America, India, the island of Madagascar, Southeast Asia, Australia, the islands of Oceania and the Malay Archipelago. They occupy mainly the windward slopes of mountain areas. The climate is tropical humid or seasonally humid with the dominance of humid oceanic trade winds.
According to the data information system according to forests (FORIS), created by FAO, of the total area of tropical forests (1756.3 million hectares), lowland forests account for 88%, mountain forests - 11.6% and high-mountain areas not occupied by woody vegetation - 0.4%. Among lowland tropical forests, the largest area is occupied by rain evergreen tropical forests (718.3 million hectares in 1990), the forest cover of these territories is 76%. Following them are tropical tropical deciduous forests, the area of which is 587.3 million hectares (forest cover 46%). Dry deciduous tropical forests occupied only 238.3 million hectares (forest cover 19%). The area of mountain forests was 204.3 million hectares (forest cover 29%).
Land released from virgin rainforest for agricultural use quickly loses its fertility. Abandoned farmland is overgrown with so-called secondary tropical forest within a few years; secondary after virgin.
The most typical feature of tropical secondary forest is that it is depleted and fairly uniform in environmental characteristics species composition trees - edificators.
Tree species of secondary tropical forests are characterized by relative photophilia, rapid growth and the ability to effectively disperse seeds, i.e. less dependent on consortia with seed-dispersing animals than trees in primary tropical forests. But as the secondary forest develops, it becomes increasingly closer in appearance to the parent formation.
Tropical forests are heterogeneous. The total number of woody plants in tropical forests exceeds four thousand. Moreover, the number of main forest-forming tree species exceeds 400 species. Therefore, the tropical forest is a complex mosaic of evergreen, semi-evergreen (semi-deciduous), mixed, deciduous and coniferous forests, which is formed under the influence of orographic and edapho-climatic factors.
The edapho-climatic types of tropical forest formations such as savannas, bamboo thickets, and mangrove forests stand apart.
Unlike other forest formations, the species composition of natural mangrove forests is small. The mangrove trees themselves, which determine the specific appearance of this formation, are species of two families Rhizophoraceae (genus Rhizophora and Bruguiera) and Verbenaceae (genus Avicennia); the core of the formation is formed by 12-14 species of mangrove trees.
It is believed that with the help of mangrove forests, not only the consolidation, but also the expansion of the land masses of the countries of the Pacific region occurs.
The mangrove forests of the world have been studied quite well and in detail. This is largely due to their diverse and ecological important role, starting from the creation of specific conditions for the reproduction and habitat of numerous marine and freshwater fish, crustaceans, etc., up to the use of mangrove wood for fuel, charcoal (from Rhizophoza), processing, etc.
In the countries of the Asia-Pacific region with their ancient civilizations Artificial mangrove forests are also widespread, in which up to 40% are Melaleuca leucadendra trees.
A significant part of the planet's population lives in forest sub- tropical zone. It is formed by a set of forest natural zones of the subtropics of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, sometimes considered as zones of monsoon mixed forests, a typical example of which are the Mediterranean zones. Forest subtropical zones characterized by mild winters, year-round vegetation of plants, significant differences in landscapes on slopes of different exposures.
The composition of tree species in temperate forests in different regions of the world is quite similar; it is dominated by maple, birch, juniper, chestnut, oak, beech, willow, magnolia, pine, spruce, fir, etc. The classic appearance of European temperate forests is most fully represented by pure and mixed beech and birch forests.
Beech never enters the growing zone of subtropical or boreal forests, unlike birch. The second group of species that shape the appearance of temperate forests are oaks. In total, there are more than 250 species of oaks in the genus Quercus, of which 111 species are widespread. Unlike beech, oak also penetrates into subboreal regions. For example, Quercus robur extends deep into the continental regions of Eurasia, and Quercus mongolica extends to the boreal regions Far East And Eastern Siberia and northeastern regions of China. However, only 6...7 species of oak are capable of reaching 50 O northern latitude. The main part of this group of species does not rise above 30 to the north. O- 35O northern latitude.
The picture of the appearance of forests growing in temperate zones, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, is completed by numerous species of birch (46 species are widespread), alder (23 species), willow (145 species) and poplar (41 species).
In North America, most of the temperate zone forests stretch from the east coast inland to 95 O western longitude, and in some places even further to the west. This lane is bounded north by 45 O northern latitude and from the south – 30 O northern latitude. Among the most common tree species in this strip, in addition to a limited set of conifers, there are 37 species of oak, 13 species of willow, 11 species of juniper, 10 maples, 8 magnolias, 6 birches, 5 species each of alder and walnut, 4 species each ash, chestnut, poplar, linden, elm, 2 types of honey locust, hornbeam, elm and more than 40 other types of tree species.
In Europe, temperate forests grow from Atlantic coast deep into the continent up to the boreal forest belt. The exception is the forests of the Iberian and Peloponnesian peninsulas, which are more characterized by the Mediterranean subtropical type of forest cover, although in some places there are islands of coniferous and deciduous forests of the temperate zone.
Such a far advance of temperate forests in Europe is due to the influence of the Gulf Stream, which forms a specific Atlantic type climatic conditions even in continental Europe.
The species composition of temperate forests in Europe is poorer than in North America. It includes, in addition to several species of pine, fir and spruce, 35 species of willow, 18 oak, 9 maples, 4 species each of birch, alder and poplar, 3 species each of ash, linden and elm, 2 species each of beech and hornbeam, one type of juniper, plane tree and chestnut and about 20 other types of tree species.
The third largest area occupied by temperate forests is the eastern part of Asia. These forests grow not only on the Asian mainland, starting from the eastern coast of Japan and Chinese seas, located from the river valley. Yangtze, partially reaching even the Kamchatka Peninsula (60 O northern latitude). On the mainland they are located over a vast area between 30 O and 50 O northern latitude and between 125 O and 115 O east longitude. These temperate forests also grow in Japan, especially in the northern and central parts.
The species composition of forests in Eastern Asia is the most numerous in the temperate zone. A significant part is made up of coniferous species; by the end of the 1970s, more than 1,200 species were described in the world.
More than half of them grow in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. coniferous species world, including 80 species of pine, about 50 - spruce (according to some sources from 36 to 80 species), 40 - fir, about 60 - juniper, 6 - larch, 12 - cypress and 4 types of cedar.
Breed composition deciduous trees in temperate forests, with the exception of larch, there are more than 800 species. There are especially many species of willow - 97 species, maples - 66, magnolia - 50, chestnut - 45, birch - 36, poplar - 33, hornbeam - 25, oak - 18 species.
In the Middle East, temperate forests, especially deciduous forests, represent the southeastern branch of European forests, extending through the Dardanelles into the Asian subcontinent. They stretch in a narrow strip across the northern part of Anatolia (Türkiye). Approaching the Iranian Plateau, this strip of forest expands to the south to 30 O northern latitude, capturing eastern part Black Sea region. In the foothills, in the lower and middle parts of the spurs of the Caucasus, deciduous and coniferous forests, characteristic of the temperate zone, also grow. The species composition of this part of the forests is very close to European forests.
The world's smallest temperate forests occur in Patagonia, in southern Chile. They stretched from 37 O up to 55 O southern latitude, occupying mainly river valleys and leeward hillsides. Their breed composition is small, including 47 species. The largest group is 10 species of Nothofagus of the family Fagaceae and 8 species of Myrceugenia of the family Myrthaceae.
The main appearance of boreal forests is determined by coniferous species. In North America there are 12 species, including 5 species of pine, 3 species of spruce, one species each of fir, hemlock and thuja. In Eurasia there are 14 species, of which 3 are pine, 4 are fir, 3 are spruce and 2 are larch. But due to the biological specificity of these species, the species composition of boreal forests includes a significant number of deciduous trees, mainly birch, aspen, and poplar. Depending on the degree of continental climate, certain species receive an advantage in breed composition. tree species.
The growing zone of boreal forests in Russia includes tundra, forest-tundra, subzones of the northern and middle taiga, and also partly the subzone of the southern taiga. The state forest fund of the country is distributed between these territories as follows:
§ tundra light forest subzone - 14% of the forest fund area, including 17% of the forest area and 13% of the forested area, i.e. the forests themselves;
§ northern taiga subzone - 10% of the total forest area, 9% of the forested area and 8% of the forested area;
§ middle taiga subzone - 33%, 38% and 41%, respectively;
§ southern taiga subzone - 18%, 20% and 20%, respectively.
A separate accounting unit within the forests of group I of Russia includes tundra forests, geographically located in the forest-tundra zone. It should be noted that the boundaries of the forest-tundra zone and the tundra forests do not coincide: the tundra forests of Russia are currently a conditionally economic unit, while the forest-tundra is a unit geographical zoning territories.
In the mountains and adjacent plains of the taiga regions of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, forests formed mainly by larch are common. In the mountainous regions of forest-tundra and tundra, in addition to larch forests, there are also open birch forests, thickets of willow trees, shrubby birches and often Siberian juniper.
In the mountainous regions of the forest-tundra and tundra of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, thickets of dwarf cedar are common, rising in the mountains to the subalpine belt. These tree species grow in the northern upper limit of the distribution of woody vegetation, including on the coasts of the Okhotsk and Bering seas, on Kuril Islands and on Sakhalin Island.
But in the northern latitudes of Russia, the upper limit of forest vegetation can also be represented by spruce forests and stone birch forests.
The full version of the work was published in 2001: Strakhov V.V., Pisarenko A.I., Borisov V.A. Forests of the world and Russia // M., In the collection: Bulletin of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation “Use and protection of natural resources of Russia”, M., 2001, No. 9, pp. 49-63;
The scientific literature often describes the role of forests and forest vegetation as an integral part of the biosphere. It is usually noted that forests form the largest ecosystems on Earth, in which most of the planet’s organic matter accumulates. That they are of great importance for photosynthesis, for the normal course of processes of stabilizing the oxygen balance of the atmosphere, the absorption of carbon dioxide, as well as for maintaining soil fertility and water purity. That they are the largest repositories of the gene pool of the biosphere, a habitat for a large number of plants and animals, an important source of wood, food, feed, technical, medicinal and other resources. In addition to all this, forests absorb noise and many air pollutants, thereby favorably influencing the quality of the natural environment, and indirectly the mood of people who find positive emotions in communication with nature. In short, the economic, environmental, and aesthetic significance of forests is always highly valued.
Various indicators are used to quantify the world's forest resources as an important component of terrestrial biological resources. The most important among them are indicators forest area, forest cover(proportion of forest area in the entire territory) and standing timber stock. However, when getting to know them, a rather significant difference in assessments attracts attention. If you try to compare the estimates of FAO, other international organizations and individual specialists in this field, then such a difference will be revealed quite easily. For example, various sources estimate the global forest area at 51.2 billion hectares; 43.2; 39.6; 36.0; 34.4;
30.0 billion hectares. Accordingly, there are also large differences in the indicators of forest cover on the earth's land (37%, 32, 30, 27%, etc.), as well as in indicators of wood reserves (385 billion m 3, 350, 335 billion m 3, etc.) .
This discrepancy is explained by the fact that some of these estimates relate to different categories of forest area. The highest of them refer to the area of all forest land, which, in addition to forest land itself, also includes shrubs, open areas, clearings, burnt areas, etc. The average ones correspond to a more strict approach to the definition of forest land, the lower ones - to forested land, i.e. . areas directly occupied by forests, and the lowest - to closed forests, which occupy no more than 2/3 of all forest areas and, perhaps, most accurately characterize the true forest cover of the territory. Sometimes statistics also take into account primary and secondary forests.
Table 28 gives an idea of regional differences in the distribution of the world's forest resources.
The following conclusions follow from the data presented in Table 28. Firstly, that Latin America occupies the leading place in the world in all important forest indicators. Secondly, that the CIS, North America and Africa fall into the “second echelon” according to these indicators. Thirdly, that foreign Asia, which is distinguished by high overall indicators, has - as one might expect - the lowest provision of forest resources per capita. And fourthly, that for all the main indicators included in the table, large regions close the ranking foreign Europe and Australia and Oceania.
Table 28
DISTRIBUTION OF THE WORLD'S FOREST RESOURCES AMONG LARGE REGIONS
* Without CIS countries.
Along with the distribution of the world's forest resources across large regions of the world, their distribution across the main forest belts is also of great interest (Fig. 24). Figure 24 clearly shows the distribution of coniferous forests of the cold zone (or coniferous boreal forests), stretching in a wide strip across the northern parts of Eurasia and North America. To the south lies a belt of mixed temperate forests. Forests of dry areas are most characteristic of Africa (where they are represented by sparse forests and shrubs of the savannah zone), but are also found in North and South America and Australia. Equatorial rain forests grow in a belt with constant high temperatures and heavy rainfall north and south of the equator. Their main massifs are located in the Amazon and Congo river basins, as well as in South and Southeast Asia. Tropical rain forests are generally much less well preserved and should be sought only in isolated areas of Central and South America, Africa and South Asia. Finally, warm temperate rainforests occur in isolated, fairly large areas in North and South America, East Asia, and Australia.
Rice. 24. Schematic map of the world’s forests (according to I. S. Malakhov): 1 – coniferous forests of the cold zone; 2 – mixed forests of the temperate zone; 3 – forests of dry areas; 4 – equatorial rain forests; 5 – tropical rainforests; 6 – moist forests of the warm temperate zone
Figure 24 also provides the basis for a more generalized approach to identifying forest belts, which is more often used in educational literature. It consists of combining them into two main forest belts of the Earth– northern and southern, which are separated by a wide belt of arid territories.
Square northern forest belt– 2 billion hectares (including 1.6 billion hectares under a closed tree stand and 0.4 billion hectares under shrubs and open forests). The largest forest areas in this belt are located within Russia, Canada, and the USA. Coniferous trees occupy 67% of the total forest area, and deciduous trees - 33%. The diversity of species in the forests of the northern zone is not so great: for example, in foreign Europe there are approximately 250 species of trees and shrubs. Wood growth also occurs rather slowly. Thus, in the coniferous forests of Russia, on average, 1.3 m 3 grows per 1 hectare per year, in Finland - 2.3 m 3, in the USA - 3.1 m 3. In the mixed forest zone this increase is noticeably greater.
Square southern forest belt– also approximately 2 billion hectares, but 97% of it consists of broad-leaved forests. At the same time, half of the entire forest area is occupied by tall-stemmed forest, and the rest is accounted for by low-density sparse forest, shrubs, and forest fallow. In the southern forest belt, the tree stand is much more diverse than in the northern one: in all tropical forests per 1 hectare you can find more than 100 and even 200 different species of trees. The average annual growth of wood per 1 hectare here is several times greater than in the forests of the northern zone. And the average stock of standing timber reaches 250 m 3 /ha, which is tens of times higher than the stock in some types of forests in the northern zone. Therefore, the total supply of wood in the forests of the southern belt is greater.
Naturally, countries with the largest forest areas should be sought within either the northern or southern forest belts (Fig. 25). These same belts also include countries with the highest forest cover: in the northern belt these are primarily Finland and Sweden, and in the southern belt - Suriname and Guyana in Latin America, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, Papua New Guinea in Oceania.
Russia is the richest country in forest resources in the world. From Figure 25 it follows that this applies to both its forested and forested area (the latter is 22.1% of the world). The total timber reserves in Russian forests—82 billion m3—exceed those of any major foreign region, with the exception of Latin America. This means that Russia accounts for more than 1/5 of the world's timber reserves, including almost 1/2 of the coniferous timber reserves. According to the corresponding per capita indicators (5.2 hectares and 560 m3), it is second only to Canada. However, Russia's forest resources are distributed very unevenly across its vast territory: almost 9/10 of the entire forested area is located in the taiga zone, especially within Eastern Siberia and the Far East.
Rice.25. Top ten countries by forest area
Wood is one of the world's most essential renewable resources. And wood, both in ancient times and now, is made into various Construction Materials, interior components and other things people need. Of course, the forest can recover much more slowly than it is cut down by people.
The luckiest countries are those countries that have the most forests. That is, roughly speaking, while one area is being cut down, the rest are already growing rapidly. There are countries where there are practically no forests at all, and there are states where forests occupy the main part. In total, the forest area on the planet exceeds four billion hectares. Those countries with large timber reserves are included in the ranking.
10. India, 65 million hectares of forest
It would seem that the territory of this country is not so much, but, for some reason, India is already in tenth place in the ranking. The fact is that Indian forests are located in the subtropical and tropical zones, that is, deciduous moist forests.
They grow much faster than the familiar oaks, pines and birches. Moreover, in India there are sacred trees that are prohibited from being cut down by the laws of this state. There are a lot of nature reserves where there are even restrictions on entry. Even though trees are sacred, they are still considered a natural resource. There have been repeated news reports that unprotected forests are often cut down. India became the leader in logging in 2010.
9. Peru, 70 million hectares of forest
Not everyone famous state. Located in South America. Jungle, broadleaf forests, which not only grow quickly, but are also practically not cut down by anyone.
Peru's population is small, which means there are few domestic consumers. Peru is a small country, the Amazon River flows only through a small part of it, where forests usually grow more intensively.
8. Indonesia, 90 million hectares of forest
Small state, but the forest area is also good. Just like in Peru, the forest is practically not cut down and international trade forest resources are not managed. The forests are broad-leaved, tropical, and therefore grow quickly in large quantities. Indonesia also has many nature reserves where deforestation and hunting are prohibited.
7. Republic of the Congo, 135 million hectares of forest
The African state of Congo is ahead of Indonesia, as it has more territory, and the forests are already closer to the equatorial areas. A huge number of reserves (15% of the entire territory) do not allow poachers to cut down trees. Wet equatorial forests They grow even faster than the others.
The soils of the Congo allow forests to grow, since this state stands on the largest river of the same name, which feeds the entire coastal zone with water. Also, this geographical location is characterized by heavy equatorial rains.
6. Australia, 165 million hectares of forest
Similar to the Congo, the number of nature reserves is very large: many sacred places that, according to local residents, should not be visited at all. Sometimes the punishment is death.
The vegetation of this continent corresponds to the types of subequatorial and equatorial forests. It is ahead of the previous leader, most likely due to the difference in territories. Australia has one of the most big trees in the world - eucalyptus. Approximately 100 species of woody plants are of industrial importance.
5. People's Republic of China, 200 million hectares of forest
Despite very frequent incidents in terms of poachers, it is in fifth place in the ranking of leaders in timber reserves. Vegetation is transitional: subtropical and tropical. There are also areas where temperate forests predominate.
The same forest performs two functions at once, one of which is growing silkworm for the extraction of the famous Chinese silk. The relatively large area of China is not characterized by heavy forest cover, as the population density is off the charts.
4. USA, 305 million hectares of forest
Vegetation of temperate latitudes is characteristic of this country. It is important to note that the forests of the USA are almost the same as Taiga, only smaller in size. The forest is almost never cut down, and on top of that, liability for neglect of nature has been tightened. Such forests are characterized by cedars, birches, oaks, pines, spruces and other valuable species. In general, Americans themselves are thrifty, they buy everything they can and save their own.
Do not forget that there are also a lot of forests on the Alaska Peninsula, only they are characterized by a more forest-tundra feature. One of the largest forests in the United States is the National Forest. It is considered a federal land.
3. Canada, 310 million hectares of forest
Almost the lowest population density is characteristic of Canada. The Canadian forest seems endless to many locals. It is precisely the low population density that is associated a large number of forests, since part of Canada is a tundra zone where practically nothing grows. The forests, like those of the USA, are taiga in Russia.
The most popular plant in this country is the Canadian maple, the image of which is featured on the national flag. The most extensive are the Laurentian and Eastern forests of Canada.
2. Brazil, 480 million hectares of forest
At all, geographical position very beneficial for its citizens. Brazil occupies about forty-eight percent of the area of all of South America. Many archipelagos and islands. Brazil's forests belong mainly to tropical and equatorial zones.
It comes in second place in the ranking, since forests are growing rapidly and the territory is larger than that of the listed tropical countries. The largest river in South America, the Amazon, also flows here, feeding great amount soil In addition, forests in Brazil are almost never cut down.
1. Russian Federation, 810 million hectares of forest
World leader in timber reserves. This state has always had a lot of forests, despite very frequent poaching (this also applies to foreign poachers) deforestation, pollution, intensive sale and use of wood. The largest forest in Russia is Taiga. It is located from Ural mountains all the way to the Far East. The taiga is still sparsely populated and in some places has not even been studied.
In addition to Taiga, there are others in Russia large forests, for example, the forests of the Caucasus, Central regions and so on. Large rivers and lakes, large territory countries, fertile layer, protection of nature reserves and national parks- all this is favorable for growth forest areas.
Increased food production. Food resources. Green revolutions. Natural resources Earth. Scheme. Main types of renewable resources. Grading. Population size. Excess consumption. Types of agricultural production. Hydroponics. Extinction surge. Providing oxygen diffusion. Farming system. Small-scale agriculture. Soil ecosystem. Preservation of fertile soils.
"Humanity and Natural Resources" - Use of natural resources. Problem!!! Classification of natural resources. An important component of natural resource conservation is environmental protection. Natural resources. Natural resources are an important component of the economic potential of any country. The assessment of natural resources can be in both quantitative and monetary terms. Resource assessment. Conservation of natural resources.
“Geography of the world’s natural resources” - Agroclimatic resources of the world. Forest resources peace. Production natural gas. Land resources of the world. The largest reservoirs in the world. Copper ores. Oil. DPR world map. Largest countries world in terms of arable land area. Recreational resources peace. Untouched forests of the world. Non-metallic minerals. Change of land fund. Inventories. Bauxite. Water resources peace. Copper reserves. Natural gas. Hydropower resources of the world.
“Classification of natural resources” - Bioresources. Land resources. Resource cycle diagram. Source of energy. Classification of natural resources. Preservation individual species. Irrational use of natural resources. Conservation of biological resources. Natural resources. Forest resources. Nature management. Mineral resources. This is the totality natural objects that are used by humans. Natural resources Tomsk region. Results of recycling resources.
“Resources of the natural environment” - Agricultural lands. Lack of fresh water. Problem. Human. Chernozems. Water resources of the world. Volume of logging. Land fund. Natural resources of the world. The challenge for global agriculture. Types of natural resources. Forest resources of the world.
“Natural resources of the biosphere” - Our society. Advantages and disadvantages of PES. Environmental consequences of subsoil development. Soils. Share of hydropower. Ecological functions of the forest. Natural resources. Scheme of influences on environment NPP. Chernobyl. Change in forest area. Energy use of biomass. Alternative energy. Wangari Maathai. World natural gas reserves. Environmental impact diagram. Disadvantages of nuclear energy.
: wood, resin, cork, mushrooms, fruits, berries, nuts, medicinal plants, hunting and commercial resources, etc., as well as beneficial features forests - water protection, climate control, anti-erosion, health, etc. Forest resources are renewable resources. World forest resources are characterized by two main indicators: the size of forest area (4.1 billion hectares or about 27% of the land area) and standing timber reserves (350 billion m3), which, due to constant growth, increase annually by 5.5 billion. m 3. However, forests are being reduced to arable land and plantations, and for construction. In addition, wood is widely used for firewood and wood products. As a result, deforestation has become rampant. The world's forest area is decreasing annually by at least 25 million hectares, and global timber harvest is expected to reach 5 billion m 3 in 2000. This means that its annual growth will be fully used.
The largest area of forests remains in Eurasia. This is about 40% of all the world's forests and almost 42% of the total timber supply, including 2/3 of the volume of timber from the most valuable species. Australia has the least forest cover. Since the sizes of the continents are not the same, it is important to take into account their forest cover, i.e. ratio of forested area to total area. According to this indicator, South America ranks first in the world. In the economic assessment of forest resources, such a characteristic as wood reserves is of paramount importance. On this basis, the countries of Asia, South and North America are distinguished. Leading positions in this area are occupied by countries such as Russia, Canada, Brazil and the USA. Bahrain, Qatar, Libya, etc. are characterized by a virtual absence of forests.
The forests of the world form two huge forest belts - northern and southern. The northern forest belt is located in the temperate zone and partly subtropical climate. It accounts for half of the world's forests and almost the same share of all timber reserves. The most forested countries within this belt are Russia, the USA, Canada, Finland, and Sweden. The southern forest belt is located mainly in the tropical and equatorial climate zone. It also accounts for about half of the world's forests and total timber supply. They are concentrated mainly in three areas: the Amazon, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia.
IN Lately tropical forests are being destroyed at a catastrophic rate. In the 80s 11 million hectares of such forests were cut down annually. They are under threat of complete destruction. Over the past 200 years, the forest area has decreased by at least 2 times. Every year, forests are destroyed on an area of 125 thousand km 2, which is equal to the territory of countries such as Austria and Switzerland combined. The main causes of forest destruction are: expansion of agricultural land and deforestation for timber use. Forests are being cut down due to the construction of communication lines. The green cover of the tropics is being destroyed most intensively. In most developing countries, logging is carried out in connection with the use of wood for fuel, and forests are also burned for arable land. Forests in highly developed countries are shrinking and degrading from air and soil pollution. Massive drying out of tree tops occurs due to their damage acid rain. The consequences of deforestation are unfavorable for pastures and arable land. This situation could not go unnoticed. The most developed and at the same time forest-poor countries are already implementing programs to preserve and improve forest lands. Thus, in Japan and Australia, as well as in some Western European countries, the area under forests remains stable, and depletion of the forest stand is not observed.
