It is impossible to imagine our planet without trees. Trees are not just a forest, they are a whole Universe, a parallel world that has existed next to people for many millions of years. Forest feeds a person, provides materials for construction, cleans the air. People flee from the bustle of the city to the woods to collect the gifts of nature: mushrooms, berries, nuts, healing herbs, breathe the best and cleanest air, and give the nervous system a rest. A variety of forests grow on our planet: taiga in the North, and equatorial and tropical in a hot climate, and they are all very beautiful and unique. This article is a selection of the most interesting and informative facts about the forests and trees of our planet.
Forests are called the lungs of the planet, because without them there would be no life on our planet. On other planets there are no forests that give oxygen, so life is not found there even in the form of primitive organisms. A land without forests would be just a lifeless ball, where there would be no atmosphere or it would be unsuitable for living and breathing.
Thanks to forest trees, the Earth has an atmosphere with oxygen, and trees are perfectly able to rid our planet of unnecessary carbon dioxide. More than half of the animals that inhabit the land live in forest open spaces. Currently, forests make up almost 30% of the Earth’s land, their total area is almost 40 million square kilometers. But two hundred years ago, forests grew on twice as much area. Further uncontrolled deforestation can lead to environmental disaster.
About a quarter of the forests of our planet are taiga massifs. Every year about 100 million trees are cut down on our planet. On Earth, the number of trees is 60 times the total population. Birch trees grow the most in the forests of our planet. About eighty percent of the territory of the Russian Federation is occupied by the taiga, which plays an important role not only for the country, but for the whole world. The most common tree in Russia is larch.
The most forested European country is Finland. In this state, more than 70% of the territory is occupied by forests. Every year on our planet, the total forest area is reduced by three million hectares, which is equal to the area of a large European state. Every fourteenth tree in the world is specially planted by man. The tiny and impoverished state of Bhutan is trying to plant trees wherever it turns out. In this country, the poor people are very respectful of the forest and trees. Most forests are cut down in Malaysia.
Due to the connivance of local authorities in this state, almost all forests have been destroyed. Schmidt’s birch grows in Russian forests. This species of tree is one of the hardest on the planet, the ax of the lumberjack will not be able to cope with this tree. Every year, Russian taiga forests absorb 15 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide, which is equal to five hundred million tons.
About one hundred million tons of this gas is absorbed by the remaining forests of Russia. Almost 50% of all coniferous trees of the planet grow in the Russian Federation. From the atmosphere, trees receive 90% of the nutrients they need, the rest they take from the earth. Every year, the forests of our planet take two billion tons of carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into oxygen. Tree growth occurs throughout life. Thanks to the world’s forests, the greenhouse effect is decreasing.
Eastern Slavs praised the birch as a symbol of spring during the so-called green Christmas time, in the seventh and eighth week after Holy Easter, until the Trinity. Our ancestors rejoiced at the revitalization of nature and worshiped the birch as a symbol of inexhaustible vitality.
Out of a thousand trees, you can make about four thousand tons of paper. Over 80% of deforested forests are regenerated naturally or with the help of people. Tropical rainforests serve as an antibiotic by nature, they give a fifth of the medicines produced in the world. Taiga occupies vast expanses of land, but half of the forests of our planet grow in tropical climates. Over a ten-thousand-year period, people destroyed two-thirds of all the forests of Eurasia.
To save the tree from felling, you need to collect about 80 kilograms of waste paper. Mahogany is the tree with the most valuable wood. Of this plant, which is also called the mahogany tree, make expensive furniture and the best musical instruments. Unfortunately, this leads to massive felling of these beautiful trees. Since the time of the first Russian emperor Peter the Great, spruce has become a New Year tree for Russians. Lithuania is proud of a tree nicknamed the “Old Man”, which is about 2000 years old.
Sequoias are giant trees, these giants stretch upwards and are the tallest trees. For example, an evergreen sequoia 111 meters high grows in California forests. Amazonian forests absorb up to one hundred and twenty billion tons of carbon dioxide annually. Forest air has a healing property: a person in the forest evens pressure and pulse, stresses disappear, breathe smoothly and calmly. Forest walks are an excellent prevention of many diseases. Unique people live in the world who have lived all their lives in the forest. The most famous taiga woman in Russia is Agafya Lykova. This hermit was born in 1944 in the taiga of Khakassia and lived with her family of Old Believers.
Nowadays, all her relatives have already died and she lives alone, eating natural food. She is treated with herbs, keeps goats, lives in perfect harmony with nature. The forest gives her everything she needs for food. It is occasionally visited by journalists and geologists, and bring gifts in the form of products and tools. The Russian forest is a harmonious bioenergetic oasis in which there are donor trees and energy consuming trees. They treat a person by taking away negative energy and recharging them with positive energy. From ancient times, a Russian man conducted bioenergy sessions, communicating with trees. Aspen is known to take negative energy, and birch and pine give off energy. The most successful moment for communicating with trees is the spring period before their flowering, in the morning. From linden make excellent toys and angels – the guardians of the house and its inhabitants.
Linden wood is used to make musical instruments. Craftsmen from Tula, for example, from linden wood, have long made wooden parts for accordions. And linden dishes are still used in Russian villages, where many people like to eat from linden dishes. Druids are an ancient people who lived in complete harmony with nature. They came up with a horoscope of trees, learned many secrets of the forest, mastered the art of healing using healing herbs and trees. Druids believed that people descended from trees, this faith was supported by priesthood. In the horoscope of the Druids, they are not twelve, but thirteen months, and the new year begins at the end of October.
According to the myths of the Druids, each person was born under the sign of “his” tree. About a square kilometer of the Kaliningrad region is the so-called fabulous “Drunken Forest” with surprisingly curved pine trees. The ancient Slavs believed in Leshiy – the master spirit of the taiga, making sure that no one in his possessions was engaged in sabotage. He helped find ways out of the forest for lost people, if they were good, and he forced evil people to wander through the forest.
Lesha had the image of a long-bearded old man, on whose hair there were moss and leaves of trees. The British cut down almost the entire forest, so in England only six percent of the country is covered with forests. This state is the poorest forest in Europe. In an oak tree trunk grows annually per meter. The most forested region of Russia is Siberia. Here, more than twelve million square kilometers are covered with forests, 60 percent of them are taiga. On March 21, the international community annually celebrates International Forest Day.
Each tree produces approximately 100 cubic meters of oxygen per year. About 650 gift wraps can be made from the wood of one tree. In the world, energy is obtained from a variety of natural sources: gas, oil, coal, solar and wind energy, but about 40 percent of all energy comes from tree wood, and charcoal and firewood are still the most popular types of fuel.
About 1 million people worldwide work in the woodworking industry. The rainforest is filled with dead silence during the day. Vocal birds and loving monkeys live here, but they begin to make sounds and cries only when there is disturbance, for example, hearing the sound of a woodcutter ax or a shot, or seeing an approaching predatory enemy.
