Sheltering from the wind and rain, gathering true hunting, the forest was once the earliest home of human ancestors. When the fire is discovered, the forest gives people new benefits by climbing branches to gather salary, heating and cooking.
In the early days of human history, two-thirds of the earth was covered by forests, with a forest area of about 7.6 billion hectares. However, almost every step of human progress is accompanied by the destruction of forests. "Kan Kan cuts sandalwood!" The beautiful singing of folk songs is the earliest portrayal of human beings asking for the forest! By the end of the 20th century, the forest area in the world was less than one third of the land area.
A historian said: "The history of mankind is the history of human destruction-understanding-restoration-destruction of forests." Today, we all realize that forests are the protectors of the earth. Without forests, there will be no tomorrow for mankind!
Only the old people who have experienced vicissitudes of life will remember the strong wind blowing in the western plain in 1934.
For three days and nights, strong winds rolled up 300 million tons of soil and turned it into overwhelming loess. In this year, crops withered and streams were cut off, and the national wheat production decreased by 654.38+0.02 billion Jin. This disaster shook the world, known as the "black storm" in history.
Only those who are familiar with history will know how spectacular the forests in North America are. From the massive migration in 17 and 18 centuries to the beginning of the 20th century, the forests in North America experienced the most brutal plunder in human history. In the past 300 years, the virgin forests in the United States have consumed two-thirds of the total 654.38+0.9 billion cubic meters. Many precious tree species have become extinct.
American historians estimate that immigrants alone cut down nearly 2 billion mu of virgin forest. In the area east of the Mississippi River, which accounts for 46% of the United States, 90% of the land was originally covered by forests. Under the knives and axes of plantation owners, adventurers and timber merchants, half of the forests disappeared in 100 years. This is the darkest page in American natural history. The destruction of forests has brought disastrous consequences to the United States, and natural disasters occur frequently. The whole country is determined to rebuild a green America from the painful experience.
Readers who have read Dialectics of Nature will be deeply impressed by Engels' famous saying: "We should not be too intoxicated with our human victory over nature. Every time such a victory, nature will retaliate against us. " European scholars have long studied the relationship between nature and human beings, the relationship between the rise and fall of forests and the rise and fall of civilizations.
Engels said: "The residents of Mesopotamia and Asia Minor destroyed forests in order to get cultivated land, but they never dreamed that these places became barren temples today, because they made these places lose forests and water accumulation centers and storage places. Italians in the Alps did not expect that when they cut down the carefully protected fir forest on the south slope of the mountain, they destroyed the foundation of alpine animal husbandry in this area. What they didn't expect was that by doing so, the mountain springs dried up for most of the year, and at the same time, more fierce floods poured on the plains in the rainy season.
Japan is the most cruel plunderer of forest resources in China. According to modern records, after the Russo-Japanese War, defeated Russia transferred the management right of the Northeast Railway to Japan, and at the same time transferred the landing right of the Yalu River to Japan. In 30 years, the Japanese cut down all the forests within 50 kilometers on both sides of the railway and shipped them back to Japan. After the "9. 18" incident, during the 14 years when Japan occupied the Northeast, it plundered 64 million cubic meters of timber, accounting for 2% of the total timber in the Northeast forest area at that time, and the logging area was 4 million hectares. At the same time, the Japanese plundered the green hand and extended to Southeast Asia with the iron hoof of conquest.
But at home, they regard greening as the foundation of the country. After the defeat, the greening of the country was taken as the basis of reconstruction. The government adopted the national afforestation resolution and established the Forest Protection Alliance, the National Greening Promotion Committee and the Greening and Forest Fund. The whole country is bent on planting trees. With the development of economy, wealthy Japanese have extended their hands to the virgin forests of Africa and South America.
The disappearance of forests leads to the desertification of100000 square kilometers of land in the world. 1997, more than 4,000 experts from 145 countries and regions signed a declaration from the perspective of safeguarding human development and the future of the planet, calling on all countries to shoulder stronger political responsibilities and ensure the sustainable development of forests.
Historically, two-thirds of the earth's land was covered by forests, with a forest coverage rate of 67% and a total area of 7.6 billion hectares. With the development of human society, especially after the industrial revolution in18th century, the national forests with advanced production technology have been destroyed. Under the predatory logging, the forests in Germany were on the verge of extinction at the beginning of the18th century. 95% of Britain's forests were destroyed, and by the beginning of the 20th century, the forest coverage rate had dropped to 5%. Only 10%- 15% of the forests in Italy, France and other countries are left. /kloc-At the end of 0/9, all the forests in Norway's coastal areas were destroyed, while Sweden cut down all the forests in the western region. Spain's forests once covered 85% of the country's area, but later, due to excessive logging, the forest area decreased sharply. By 1938, the forest coverage rate is only about 13%. The Netherlands used to be a country rich in animal and plant resources in history. By16th century, almost all forest resources were destroyed. Although it was restored later, the forest coverage rate was only 9.5%. At the beginning of the 20th century, the forests in Russia13 were destroyed, and the United States cut down all the virgin forests on the east coast, lakeside states and the south. In Asia, Africa, South America and other underdeveloped countries, the rate of forest area decline is also amazing. Nigeria is located in tropical Africa. Before the19th century, it was a country rich in forest resources, and most of the country's land was covered by dense tropical rain forests and savanna. However, in recent 100 years, forest resources have been seriously damaged due to plundering, long-term excessive logging and neglect of forest protection by colonists. At present, the forest coverage rate is only about 12%. 200 years ago, Sierra Leone was famous for its dense forests, and 3/4 of its territory was covered by tropical rain forests. /kloc-At the beginning of the 0/9th century, large-scale logging was started to open up farmland and pasture, and now the forest coverage rate is only 4%. Forests in Ethiopia have been reduced by 90%. Forests in some African countries are on the verge of extinction. India in Asia is a tropical country. Due to long-term agricultural development and "farming", the forest coverage rate is less than 17%. Bangladesh is located in the tropics, and there used to be dense forests in history. Due to long-term destruction, the forest coverage rate is only 18%.
Without forests, surface water evaporation will increase significantly, which will cause changes in surface heat balance and tropospheric heat distribution. The temperature near the surface will rise, and the temporal and spatial distribution of rainfall will change accordingly, resulting in climate anomalies and climate deterioration in some areas, such as the decrease of rainfall and the increase of sandstorms.
Deforestation reduces the ability of forests to absorb carbon dioxide and releases carbon originally stored in organisms and surrounding soil. According to FAO estimates, deforestation releases more than 654.38+500 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.
Forest ecosystem is one of the regions with the richest species. Due to the destruction of forests around the world, thousands of animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. The flora and fauna of the tropical rain forest may include half of the known species, but it is disappearing at the rate of 4.6 million hectares every year.
Large-scale deforestation usually causes serious soil erosion and aggravates natural disasters such as land desertification, landslides and mudslides.
Forest destruction also fundamentally reduces the water-holding capacity of soil, and the siltation of rivers and lakes caused by soil erosion leads to large-scale floods, which intensifies the impact and harm of floods.