Forest

Over
Resources
exploitation of
Uses of forests
forests
Major causes of
deforestation
Consequences of
Deforestation

Some Useful Data

World total forest area: 3,90,00,000 km 2 (9.4% of
Earths surface or 26.19% of total land area)
World forestry day: 21st March of every year
Around 6 million hectares of the forests are
getting lost due to deforestation on annual
basis.
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 with
Amendments Made in 1988.

SO1

Forest Classification

Silent Valley

Tropical
Forest

Evergreen
forest

MANGROOVE
FORESTS

Coniferou
s forest

Deciduo
us forest

Forest Resources

SO1

List five commercial and ecological uses of forest

Uses of Forests
Commercial uses
Timber

Pulp wood
Fruits, species
Beverages
Fodder
Rubber, gum
Fibres
Drugs & Medicines

Ecological uses
Regulates water
cycle
Reducing global
warming
Produces oxygen
Pollution
moderators
4

Act as sink of

COMMERCIAL USES
Forests provide us a large number of
commercial
goods which include
Timber,
Firewood,
Pulpwood,
Food items,
Gum,
Resins,
Non-edible oils, rubber,
Fibers, bamboo canes, medicine, drugs and
many more items.
5

Ecological uses of forest

While a typical tree produces commercial goods worth about
Rs.30000 it provides environmental services worth nearly
Rs.1,00,000. The ecological services provided by our forests
may be summed up as follows
1. Production of oxygen:
The trees produce oxygen by photosynthesis which is so vital
for life on this earth. They are likely called as earths lungs.
2. Reducing global warming:
The main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) is
absorbed by the forests as a raw material for
photosynthesis.
Thus the forest cover acts as a sink for CO2 there by
reducing the problem of global warming caused
by greenhouse gas CO2.
3. Wild life habitat:
Forests are the homes of millions of wild animals
and plants. About 7 million species are found in the tropical6

Importance of Forest
They provide raw materials to Industry
They provide food, fodder, fuel, fertilizer
fibre.
They prevent soil erosion & preserve the
fertility of the soil.
They

provide

moisture

&

lower

the

temperature.
They are the home for many animals &
birds, thus , they preserve the

Over Exploitation of Forest

SO2
Exploitation of forests has taken place to meet human
demands in the
following ways:
Wood cutting & Large scale logging for raw
materials (Timber, pulp wood).
Deforestation due to road construction.
Forests Agricultural lands to meet the food
demands for growing population.
Encroachment of forests leading to destruction of
forests.
About 78% of forest is under Heavy Grazing.
Mining activities leading to clearing of forests.
Big Hydro-power projects Destruction of forests.
9

SO-2

Deforestation

Deforestation
is
the
elimination of forest and
woodland areas on the
large scale.
Most of it being chopped
down
for
housing,
industrialisation and river
projects.

10

If a tree is saved even at the cost

of one's head, it's worth it
Amirtha Devi

Amrita Devi
(Beniwal)sacrificed her life along with her three
daughters viz. Asu, Ratni and Bhagu in year1730to save green trees being
felled by the Maharaja of Jodhpur at a place known asKhejarliinMarwar,
Rajasthan. Along with her more than 363 otherBishnois, died saving
theKhejritrees (Vanni trees in Tamil).
The Government ofRajasthanandMadhya Pradesh, Department of
Forest, have started the prestigious state levelAmrita Devi Vishnoi Smriti
11
Awardfor excellent contribution to the protection and conservation of wild

SO-2 Reasons or Causes of deforestation

oPopulation explosion
oShifting cultivation
oFuel requirements
oRaw materials for industrial use
oGrowing food needs
oOvergrazing
oTimber extraction
oMining
oForest fires
oDevelopment projects
12

SO-2

Causes of deforestation

Population explosion:
Population explosion is the root
cause of all the environmental
problems, vast area of forests
are cleared for human
settlement.

Shifting Cultivation: Felling

and burning of forests followed
by cultivation of crop for few
years and abandon of cultivation
allow forests for re-growth cause
extreme damage to forest. There
are an estimated 300 million
people
living
as
shifting
cultivators who practice slash

SO-2

Growing food demand: To

meet the food demand of
rapidly
growing
population
more and more forests are
cleared off for agricultural
purpose.

Fire
wood:
Increasing
demand of wood for fuel
increases the pressure on
forests.

Raw material for wood

based industry: Increasing
demand of wood for making
furniture, plywood, match box
etc results into tremendous
pressure on forests.

 Infrastructure
development:
Massive
destruction of forest occurs
for
various
infrastructure
development like, big dams,
highways projects etc.
Over grazing: Overgrazing
of land by cattle result into
soil erosion, desertification.
Forest fires: Forest fires
may be natural or man made
cause a huge loss of forest
Natural
forces:
Floods,
storms, heavy winds, snow,
lightening are some of the
natural forces

SO-2

FA-1
1.
A renewable resource among the following is (R)
a.Forest
b.Coal
c.Minerals
d.Nuclear energy
2. During photosynthesis trees produces (R)
e.O2
f. CO2
g.N2
h.CO
3. Extensive planting of trees to increase green cover is called (R)
a. Afforestation
b. Agro forestation
c. Deforestation
d. Social forestry

SO-3

Effects/Consequences of Deforestation

Threatening of Wild life species

Loss of biodiversity: Loss of flora and
fauna result into loss of bio-diversity leading
to disturbance in ecological balance world
wide.
Lowering of Water table (hydrological
cycle): Lack of recharging of underground
reservoir, results into lowering of water
table

Soil erosion: The soil gets washed away

with rain water on sloppy areas in the
absence of trees leading to soil erosion.

Expansion of deserts: Due to strong

Afforestation
The conservation measure against
the deforestation is afforestation.
The

development

of

forest

by

planting trees on waste land is

called afforestation.
The

main

objective

of

afforestation is,
To control the deforestation
To prevent soil erosion
To

regulate

rainfall

and

What is a Green Economy?

A Green Economy is one that
results in increased human wellbeing and social equity, while
significantly reducing
environmental risks and
ecological scarcities.
A Green

Economy is an
economic
vehicle for
sustainable
19
development.