The world's forest resources are the gifts of nature to mankind
The vegetation of the Earth can be conditionally divided intotwo large categories: wild and cultivated flora. At present, out 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. The 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 nevertheless can be restored. This type of natural reserves is used for a variety of different purposes and performing all sorts of tasks.
The world's forest resources are traditionally characterized bythree main indicators, including woodiness, the size of the occupied area, as well as the stock of standing timber. However, despite the fact that there is an annual increase in each indicator, several problems should be noted.
The world's forest resources have been used forconstruction and arrangement of dwellings of ancient as well as 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 implementation of various measures to preserve 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 activedevelopment of agriculture. In turn, this has 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 existing 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 marshes,is 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
| Region | Area, million hectares |
| Peace | 4170 |
| Europe | 200 |
| Asia | 530 |
| North America | 850 |
| South America | 850 |
| Africa | 740 |
| Australia and Oceania | 200 |
Analyzing this table, it can be noted thatthe 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.
