Nadine Jansen - At Home

What is a forest?

The year 2011 has been regarded as the international year of forests, but what is a forest?

A forest is not as simple as saying that "it is a set of trees, the forest is more complex organization of the plant world in which each species has its role, sometimes more depending on others, and competing if in other cases.

Trees have the dominant role and shape the whole, but are associated with a specific shrub and herbaceous, depending on climate and soil type in which they live. It also developed fungal and specific microorganisms that decompose organic matter and contribute to soil formation. All this serves to support other living things including ourselves.

The forest bears witness to the evolution of climate and flora, and the use that men have made the world in which we live, because it is a system that is alive and as such is allowed by shape changes that occur in nature or that man caused.

Knowing this, do you think now that the plantations of single species man-made (such as eucalyptus, spruce or pine) is a forest?.

Importance forest

prevent erosion. When it rains in the forest leaves goteelentamente allow water on the soil and decaying organic matter makes it easier to infiltrate into the subsoil. The roots hold soil keeping the soil in place and preventing slippage. When there are no trees in the rain falls hard on the unprotected soil sediments dragging and causing flooding. In addition to sediment to reach streams and rivers, destroy the habitat of animals living in them.
influence on climate. In inland areas more than 50% of the air humidity is caused by water pumped through the roots and the leaves transpired by vegetation. Without forests, the climate in many regions would be much drier.

absorb carbon dioxide of the atmosphere and convert it through photosynthesis, storing carbon in the form of Matera and vegetation. L soil organic matter of forests also acts as a reservoir of carbon stored in forests total more than unbillón tons of carbon. At present this function is of particular interest because it helps curb the negative effects of excess emissions of CO2 from human sources that are causing the greenhouse effect. By taking us deuelve CO2 O2, an oak makes the oxygen they need ten people to live (a car, by contrast, consumes in one hour the same oxygen that 800 people a day).
biodiversity reserves. Diversity has to be considered at different levels, from landscape to ecosystems and from species to genes. Forests provide a multitude of different habitats found in a variety of species and a wide availability of genetic diversity of application in biotechnological advances.