Forests are not the “green lungs” of our planet at all. Forests, lungs of the planet? What is called the lungs of our planet

Introduction

Forest is a special wealth of any country. This is a beautiful natural complex capable of restoring, on which, often, the entire ecosystem rests.

The term "forest management" usually refers to the use of all forest resources, all types of forest resources.

There are several adverse effects that adversely affect the forest. The first unfavorable factor is the cutting of wood. Usually, it is customary to call overcutting the moment when more trees are cut down than grow in a year, but sometimes this is not the most important factor in a critical attitude to the forest. The fact is that in most cases, when cutting, they take away good, strong trees, leaving the sick, and this, in turn, leads to even greater environmental damage. During cuttings lagging behind in terms of wood growth, a second unfavorable factor is observed - undercutting, which, in particular, leads to aging of the forest, a decrease in its productivity, and diseases of old trees. Therefore, both overcutting leads to the depletion of forest resources and undercutting leads to underutilization of logging.

So far, the cutting of forests prevails on the planet. The emergence of environmental problems can be associated not only with the scale of deforestation, but also with the methods of deforestation. Today, selective logging is a more costly form, but it has much less environmental damage. At least 80-100 years should be allocated for the renewal of forest areas. Along with the problems of reforestation, which can be carried out by self-restoration of forest plantations and, to speed up - by creating forest plantations, there is the problem of careful use of harvested wood. Deforestation must be opposed by the desire for the full use of wood, the use of gentle logging methods, as well as constructive activities - reforestation.

World ecological catastrophe of forestry

The state of forests in the world cannot be considered safe. Forests are intensively cut down and not always restored. The annual felling volume is more than 4.5 billion m 3 .

To date, about 160 million hectares of tropical forests have degraded, and only a tenth of the 11 million hectares that are cut down annually are restored by plantations. These facts are of great concern to the world community. Tropical forests covering 7% of the earth's surface in areas close to the equator are often referred to as the lungs of our planet. Their role in the enrichment of the atmosphere with oxygen and the absorption of carbon dioxide is exceptionally great. Tropical forests are a habitat for 3-4 million species of living organisms. 80% of insect species live here, 2/3 of known plant species grow here. These forests supply 1/4 of the oxygen supply. For rational use, all forests are divided into three groups.

First group . Forests of great importance in water protection and soil protection, green areas of resorts, cities and other settlements, protected forests, protective strips along rivers, highways and railways, steppe groves, ribbon forests of Western Siberia, tundra and subalpine forests, natural monuments and some other.

Second group . Plantations of a low forested zone, located mainly in the central and western regions of the country, having a protective and limited operational value. Third group. The operational forests of the country's multi-forested zones are the regions of the European North, the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East.

Third group . This group includes the industrial felling regime. It is the main base for timber harvesting.

The forests of the first group are not used, they are only cut for sanitary purposes, rejuvenation, maintenance, lightening, etc. In the second group, the felling regime is limited, the use is in the amount of forest growth.

The importance of the forest in shaping the biosphere

A review of the literature data and the author's logical constructions show that in the life cycle of an individual tree and their totality, the amount of oxygen that is released by their live weight due to photosynthesis exactly corresponds to the amount of oxygen that is consumed by the plant for respiration during life and for its decay after death.

With the complete destruction of the planet's forests, the oxygen concentration, in accordance with the calculations presented by the author, will decrease by 0.001%.

Atmospheric oxygen is a necessary condition for the preservation of many forms of life on Earth, in particular humanity. At the same time, the ever-increasing flows of fuel involved in the combustion process (oil, gas, coal, etc.) increase the alarmist mood of a certain part of the world's population, fueled by emotional publications in the media and some specialized publications. For example, there is a point of view according to which the consumption of oxygen is an order of magnitude higher than its income, amounting to 1.16·1010 and 1.55·109 t/year, respectively.

According to many, the tendency to reduce the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere is all the more dangerous because it develops against the backdrop of a reduction in the planet's forest cover. It originally made up 75% of its surface, but has now fallen to less than 27%. The area of ​​tropical forests, equal to 0.95 billion hectares, or 56% of the total forest area, is declining especially rapidly. Of these, 11 million are cut down annually, and only 1 million hectares are restored.

On this basis, it is concluded that humanity is worsening the conditions of its existence, since vegetation, and above all, a huge mass of forests, is a powerful source of oxygen production by the photosynthesis reaction:

6 CO2 + 6 H2O + 2822 kJ 6 C6H12O6 + 6 O2 - chlorophyll light.

Since the positive role of forests in the production of O2 is usually not in doubt, it is believed that measures are needed to stimulate the international community of those countries in whose territory the "lungs" of the planet are located. One of them is the tropical forests of the river basin. Amazons (Brazil), another - the boundless forests of Russia, primarily Siberian. It is impossible to enumerate the number of articles on the topic “Russia – the lungs of the planet”. Let us point out only the last two in one of the issues of the journal claiming leadership in ecology and nature management:

“Russia, on whose territory there are large forest tracts, where carbon dioxide is converted into plant fiber carbon and free oxygen, should have preferential quotas for reducing CO2 emissions”; "it seems appropriate that oxygen-producing countries receive payment for it and use these funds for the maintenance of forest areas."

It is noted that within the framework of the UN, proposals from “sparsely forested” countries (Germany and others) are being considered to preserve and increase Russian forests in the interests of the entire planet. And regarding tropical forests, a similar agreement was adopted in the early 90s. Developed Nordic countries pledged to pay developing African countries a kind of bonus of $10 for every ton of carbon dioxide processed into oxygen. And such payments began in 1996. “It has been calculated,” continues V.M. Garin with co-authors, “that one hectare of forest absorbs about 8 liters of carbon dioxide per hour (the same volume is released when two hundred people breathe at the same time)”

At the same time, such widespread alarmist expectations do not find confirmation in the data of fundamental science.

Thus, fears about a possible decrease in the amount of atmospheric oxygen due to an increase in the combustion of fossil carbon are not justified. It is estimated that the one-time use of all deposits of coal, oil and natural gas accessible to mankind will reduce the average oxygen content in the air from 20.95 to 20.80%. Comparison with the most accurate analyzes of 1910 shows that, within the measurement error, there was no change in the oxygen content in the atmosphere by 1980.

The disappearance of oxygen in the hydrosphere, even when most modern waste is dumped into it, also does not threaten with danger. From Broker's calculations, it follows that with a ten billion population of the planet (about 1.7 times more than now), the annual discharge into the sea of ​​100 kg of dry organic waste per inhabitant (much higher than the current norm) will require about 2500 years to use up all oxygen supply of the hydrosphere. This is more than the duration of its renewal.

Broker concludes that the O2 content of the atmosphere is not limited in comparison with human requirements for it, and that an almost similar pattern is observed for the hydrosphere. He writes: “If the existence of the human race is seriously threatened by the danger of environmental pollution, then it will die more likely for any other reason than due to lack of oxygen” (cited in ).

The role of forests in ennobling the atmosphere (the absorption of CO2 and the production of oxygen) is also not as unambiguous as it seems to alarmists. The spread of emotional points of view is the result of an unprofessional assessment of the impact of forests on the state of the environment. We note the features of the problem, which are usually not noticed intentionally or consciously in such cases.

Yes, indeed, the reaction of photosynthesis is indisputable. But the reverse reaction to it is also indisputable, manifesting itself in the process of respiration of living organisms and during decay (oxidation) of mortmass (soil respiration). Therefore, at present in nature there is a stable balance between the amount of oxygen formed in the process of photosynthesis and absorbed during the respiration of living organisms and soil (decay)

After the death of the plant during the decay of the mortmass, a very complex structure of organic matter turns into simple compounds such as CO2, H2O, N2, etc. The source of oxidation of the mortmass is oxygen produced in excess of what is necessary for plant respiration. At the same stage, CO2, previously bound during photosynthesis, is released and enters the environment. In other words, after the death of an organism, all its carbon is oxidized again, binding the amount of oxygen, which is the difference between its mass released during photosynthesis and used for plant respiration during their life.

There is an opinion that the "lungs of the planet" are forests, since it is believed that they are the main suppliers of oxygen to the atmosphere. However, in reality this is not the case. The main producers of oxygen live in the ocean. These babies cannot be seen without the help of a microscope. But all living organisms of the Earth depend on their vital activity.

No one argues that forests, of course, must be preserved and protected. However, not at all due to the fact that they are these notorious "light". Because in fact, their contribution to the enrichment of our atmosphere with oxygen is practically zero.

No one will deny the fact that plants have created and continue to maintain the oxygen atmosphere of the Earth. This happened because they learned how to create organic substances from inorganic ones, using the energy of sunlight (as we remember from the school biology course, this process is called photosynthesis). As a result of this process, plant leaves release free oxygen as a by-product of production. This gas we need rises into the atmosphere and then is evenly distributed throughout it.

According to various institutes, in this way, about 145 billion tons of oxygen are emitted into the atmosphere on our planet every year. At the same time, most of it is spent, as it is not surprising, not at all on the respiration of the inhabitants of our planet, but on the decomposition of dead organisms or, simply put, on decay (about 60 percent of what is used by living beings). So, as you can see, oxygen not only gives us the opportunity to breathe deeply, but also acts as a kind of stove for burning garbage.

As we know, any tree is not eternal, therefore, when the time comes, it dies. When the trunk of a forest giant falls to the ground, thousands of fungi and bacteria decompose its body over a very long time. All of them use oxygen, which is produced by the surviving plants. According to researchers, about eighty percent of the “forest” oxygen is spent on such “cleaning up the territory”.

But the remaining 20 percent of oxygen does not enter the "general atmospheric fund" at all, and is also used by forest dwellers "on the ground" for their own purposes. After all, animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms also need to breathe (without the participation of oxygen, as we remember, many living beings would not be able to get energy from food). Since all forests tend to be very densely populated areas, this residue is only enough to meet the oxygen needs of only its own inhabitants. For neighbors (for example, residents of cities where there is little vegetation of their own), there is nothing left.

Who, then, is the main supplier of this gas necessary for breathing on our planet? On land, this, oddly enough ... peat bogs. Everyone knows that when plants die in a swamp, their organisms do not decompose, since the bacteria and fungi that do this work cannot live in swamp water - there are many natural antiseptics secreted by mosses.

So, the dead parts of plants, without decomposing, sink to the bottom, forming peat deposits. And if there is no decomposition, then oxygen is not wasted. Therefore, the swamps give to the general fund about 50 percent of the oxygen they produce (the other half is used by the inhabitants of these unfriendly, but very useful places themselves).

Nevertheless, the contribution of swamps to the general "charitable fund of oxygen" is not very large, because there are not so many of them on Earth. Microscopic oceanic algae, the totality of which scientists call phytoplankton, are much more actively involved in “oxygen charity”. These creatures are so small that it is almost impossible to see them with the naked eye. However, their total number is very large, the account goes into millions of billions.

The entire world's phytoplankton produces 10 times more oxygen than it needs to breathe. Enough to provide useful gas to all the other inhabitants of the waters, and a lot gets into the atmosphere. As for the cost of oxygen for the decomposition of corpses, in the ocean they are very low - about 20 percent of the total output.

This happens due to the fact that dead organisms are immediately eaten by scavengers, of which a great many live in sea water. Those, in turn, after death, will be eaten by other scavengers, and so on, that is, corpses in the water almost never lie stale. The same remains, which are no longer of particular interest to anyone, fall to the bottom, where few people live, and there is simply no one to decompose them (this is how the well-known silt is formed), that is, in this case, oxygen is not consumed.

So, the ocean supplies about 40 percent of the oxygen produced by phytoplankton to the atmosphere. It is this reserve that is consumed in those areas where very little oxygen is produced. The latter, in addition to cities and villages, include deserts, steppes and meadows, as well as mountains.

So, oddly enough, the human race lives and thrives on Earth precisely due to the microscopic "oxygen factories" floating on the surface of the ocean. It is they who should be called the "lungs of the planet." And in every possible way to protect from oil pollution, heavy metal poisoning, etc., because if they suddenly stop their activities, we will simply have nothing to breathe.

I think each of us has heard the expression: - "Forests are the lungs of our planet." Indeed, this is true, but unfortunately these very "vital organs of the Earth" have been cut down at an unrealistic rate over the past 30 years. The statistics are as follows - every 2 seconds, on planet Earth, a part of a forest the size of a football field is cut down. Due to this, some species of animals and plants are disappearing.
The world-famous organization "Greenpeace" claims that by 2050, the extinction of animals and plants will be 1000 times faster than now.
It would be a pity to part with such beauty ...

I think each of us has heard the expression: - "Forests are the lungs of our planet." Indeed, this is true, but unfortunately these very "vital organs of the Earth" have been cut down at an unrealistic rate over the past 30 years.

The "lungs of our planet" are in the Amazon. It is the Amazon rainforest that is the most powerful producer of oxygen on Earth. The Amazon covers approximately 7,000,000 square kilometers in 9 states - Brazil (60%), Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
The Amazon represents more than half of the remaining rainforests in the world, and they grow around the world's largest river of the same name, making the entire Amazon region a unique center of the planet. Along with all this, the biodiversity of this area is striking, although most of the Amazon has not even been studied yet.

Both flora and fauna surprise with their richness. Imagine that there are more than a MILLION different types of plants and animals living here.

According to scientists, there are 1,500 species of flowers, 750 species of trees, 125 species of mammals, 400 species of birds and countless insects per 10 square meters of rainforest.

On the picture: Red and green macaw

The San Rafael Falls is the largest waterfall in Ecuador. The Salado River falls into the gorge in two steps from a height of 150 meters and 100 meters, creating a stunningly beautiful view.

On the Tambolpata River, in the Amazon region of Peru, a group of children were playing football on a tiny island of sand in the middle of the river.

Three-toed sloth. Locals believe that a pregnant woman should not look at him, otherwise her child will look like him.

Yacumana and Chullachaqui are two demons from local legends. Yakumana is a water demon, and Chullachuki can transform any person's facial expressions. Look at his legs, so you can identify him - he always has one big leg.

The Amazon rainforest, also known as the Amazonia, is one of the world's most valuable natural resources. Because its vegetation continuously converts carbon dioxide into oxygen, it has been called "The Lungs of Our Planet". About 20 percent of the Earth's oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest.

All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in ecology

school stage. 6th grade.

Task number 1. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. The maximum is 10 points.

Choose one correct answer from the given options:

1. An individual is:

a) species

b) a single living organism

c) animal community

d) a family of living organisms

2. Ecology in Greek means:

A. heat, light;

B. plants, animals;

B. house, dwelling.

D) environmental protection

3. Birds mark their territories:

a) excrement

b) sounds

c) feathers

d) nests

1. The main component of the ecosystem that creates organic matter:

a) plants

b) bacteria

c) mushrooms

d) animals

1. Phytocenosis is:

a) different kinds of animals

b) different types of plants

c) different types of bacteria

d) different types of mushrooms

6. Habitat is:

A. Predators affecting organisms.

B. only light affecting organisms;

B. only water affecting organisms;

G. living and inanimate nature affecting organisms;

1. Autotrophs are:

a) bacteria

b) plants

c) insects

1. The phenomenon of suffocation, i.e. mass death of fish is caused by:

a) lack of food

b) lack of oxygen

c) lack of light

9. What features are not typical for the inhabitants of the soil environment:

A. the presence of gills;

B. skin respiration;

B. elongated body;

G. burrowing limbs

10. What is the name of the profession of a person who works with animals in nature reserves?

a) huntsman;
b) forester;
c) a poacher.

d) observer

Task number 2. Each correct answer is worth 0.5 points. The maximum is 12.5 points.

Choose several correct answers (from one to five) from the options provided:

1. The plant organism is affected by:

A. other plants;

B. animals;

B. inanimate nature;

G. man.

D. bacteria and fungi

2. What types of plants prevail in the coniferous forest:

A. birch;

B. aspen;

V. pines;

G. willow.

Delhi

E. larch

3. Among fish, those with caviar are distinguished by low fertility:

A) It is large.

B) Protected by the female.

C) floats in the water column.

D) Buried in the sand.

d) is small

4. Which of the measures are most effective in the protection of rare species of animals and plants:

a) Protection of each individual separately.

b) Protection of habitats.

c) Protection of breeding sites.

d) Protection of food resources of these species.

e) Cultivation in artificial conditions.

5. Examples of competition are the relationships between:

a) Predators and prey.

c) Species using the same resources.

d) Individuals of the same species.

e) symbiotic organisms

Task number 3. Each correct answer is worth 1 point.

The maximum is 10 points.

Choose the correct sentences:

1. The life of organisms outside the habitat is impossible.
2. Weeds are less hardy than cultivated plants.
3. Species living in strictly defined conditions have a wide ecological fitness.
4. Plants of different life forms form tiers.
5. Human activity does not affect the living conditions of plants.
6. Plants grow throughout their lives.
7. Short day plants are natives of the northern regions.
8. Light is absorbed by the green pigment chlorophyll.
9. Plants need oxygen for respiration.
10. Loosening the soil does not affect the soil inhabitants.

Task number 4

Answers to the tasks of the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in ecology

school stage. 6th grade.

Task number 1.

1-b, 2-c, 3-b, 4-a, 5-b, 6-d, 7-b, 8-b, 9-a, 10-a.

Task number 2.

1-a, b, c, d, e.

2-c, e, f.

3-a, b.

4-c, d.

5-in, city

Task number 3.

1,4, 6, 8, 9.

Task number 4.

Why are green plants called the "lungs of the planet"? (3 points).

ANSWER: Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen during photosynthesis. All living organisms use oxygen for respiration. Like lungs, green plants provide all organisms on the planet with the oxygen they need to live.

There is a misconception that has even entered textbooks, that forests are the lungs of the planet. Forests actually produce oxygen, while lungs consume it. So it's more like an "oxygen cushion". So why is this statement false? In fact, oxygen is produced not only by those plants that grow in the forest. All plant organisms, including the inhabitants of water bodies, and the inhabitants of the steppes, deserts constantly produce oxygen. Plants, unlike animals, fungi and other living organisms, can themselves synthesize organic substances using light energy for this. This process is called photosynthesis. As a result of photosynthesis, oxygen is released. It is a by-product of photosynthesis. Oxygen is released very, very much, in fact, 99% of the oxygen that is present in the Earth's atmosphere of plant origin. And only 1% comes from the mantle, the underlying layer of the Earth.

Of course, trees produce oxygen, but no one thinks about the fact that they also spend it. And not only them, all other inhabitants of the forest cannot be without oxygen. First of all, plants breathe on their own, this happens in the dark when photosynthesis does not occur. And you need to somehow dispose of the stocks of organic matter that they created during the day. That is, to eat. And in order to eat, you need to spend oxygen. Another thing is that plants spend much less oxygen than they produce. And this is ten times less. However, do not forget that there are still animals in the forest, as well as fungi, as well as various bacteria that do not produce oxygen themselves, but nevertheless breathe it. A significant amount of oxygen that the forest produced during the daylight hours will be used by the living organisms of the forest to support life. However, something will remain. And this is something about 60% of what the forest produces. This oxygen enters the atmosphere, but does not remain there for very long. Further, the forest itself withdraws oxygen, again for its own needs. Namely, the decomposition of the remains of dead organisms. In the end, the forest often spends 1.5 times more oxygen on the disposal of its own waste than it produces. It is impossible to call it the oxygen factory of the planet after that. True, there are forest communities that work on a zero oxygen balance. These are famous tropical forests.

The rainforest is generally a unique ecosystem, it is very stable, because the consumption of matter is equal to production. But again, there is no surplus left. So even tropical forests can hardly be called oxygen factories.

So why, then, after the city it seems to us that the forest has clean, fresh air, that there is a lot of oxygen there? The thing is that the production of oxygen is a very fast process, but the consumption is a very slow process.

peat swamp

So what then are the planet's oxygen factories? In fact, these are two ecosystems. Among the "terrestrial" are peat bogs. As we know, in a swamp, the process of decomposition of dead matter is very, very slow, as a result of which the dead parts of plants fall down, accumulate, and peat deposits are formed. Peat does not decompose, it is compressed and remains in the form of a huge organic brick. That is, during peat formation, a lot of oxygen is not wasted. Thus, marsh vegetation produces oxygen, but oxygen itself consumes very little. As a result, it is the swamps that give exactly the increase that remains in the atmosphere. However, there are not so many real peat bogs on land, and of course it is almost impossible for them alone to maintain the oxygen balance in the atmosphere. And here another ecosystem, which is called the world ocean, helps.

There are no trees in the oceans, grasses in the form of algae are observed only near the coast. However, vegetation in the ocean still exists. And most of it is made up of microscopic photosynthetic algae, which scientists call phytoplankton. These algae are so small that it is often impossible to see each of them with the naked eye. But the accumulation of them is visible to all. When bright red or bright green spots are visible on the sea. This is what phytoplankton is.

Each of these little algae produces huge amounts of oxygen. She consumes very little. Due to the fact that they are intensively dividing, the amount of oxygen produced by them is growing. One phytoplankton community produces 100 times more per day than a forest occupying such a volume. But at the same time they spend very little oxygen. Because when the algae die, they immediately fall to the bottom, where they are immediately eaten. After that, those who ate them are eaten by other, third organisms. And so few remains reach the bottom that they quickly decompose. There is simply no such long decomposition as in the forest, in the ocean. There, recycling is very fast, as a result of which oxygen is actually not wasted. And so there is a "big profit", and that's it stays in the atmosphere. So the "lungs of the planet" should not be considered forests at all, but the oceans. It is he who makes sure that we have something to breathe.