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Spongy jungles
It works like this: the roots of the trees hold together the soil,
the leaf litter gets broken down—and then combined with
minerals—take the shape and character of gigantic sponges. These
sponges then slowly release water to
the surrounding area. They refill aquifers, that is, the
water-holding layers under the earth’s surface. Did you know that
Montane "cloud" or "fog" forests are special kinds of woodlands that
scrape out moisture from the clouds or fog?
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CREATURES OF THE JUNGLE: From large mammals to
creepy crawlies to microorganisms, the forests provide
shelter to all. |
Forests absorb rain, and slow down floods. In fact, they play a
vital role as watersheds. Confused, huh? Let me help you. A
watershed is the region of land that drains into a specified body of
water, such as a river, lake, sea, or ocean. The bulk of the earth's
rainfall is received by mountains, thus forming the headwaters of
the land's water distribution channels.
There is more…forest ecosystems are usually the best cover for
safeguarding water quality from sediments and chemicals. So the
jungles also act as Nature’s water purifiers!
No forest no water
So what happens when the forests start disappearing? Lush green
lands turn into barren deserts. Just consider the case of
Cherrapunjee, in Meghalaya. It is one of the wettest spots in the
world, with an average annual rainfall of 11,000 mm (the global
average being
800 mm). It was once part of a subtropical forest. But largescale
deforestation led to severe erosion, as the soil—weakened by loss
of trees—gets washed away by
the torrential rains. Result? Cherrapunjee is a virtual desert.
Earth's lungs
Besides water, what is the other natural resource that every living
organism requires to live? Air, of course. Well, forests are
Nature’s air purifiers as well! This is how it works: Just as our
lungs absorb carbon dioxide from the blood and infuse it with
oxygen, green plants absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and
release oxygen into the atmosphere in return. You must have all read
about photosynthesis in your biology text books.
In tune in Intag
If Cherrapunjee is a depressing site, the Intag region of
North Eastern Ecuador, is a picture of hope. Here, the
people, with the help of a local environmental group, DECOIN,
are striving to protect their forests, damaged by unplanned
farming and overuse of pesticides. They are reviving “forest
patches” (with stunningly diverse native cloud forests),
which are the micro watersheds that provide them their
essential water supplies. “Work is going on bit by bit,
hectare by hectare. For the people drinking safer water and
learning first hand the value of conservation, it's
amazing,” says a member of DECOIN. |
It is the production of energy
in the presence of light by the chlorophyll — containing plant parts
— for the subsistence of the organism. Because trees live for a long
time and have significant ‘mass’, large quantities of carbon and
other nutrients remain tied up in their structure. So they form an
effective sink for the carbon dioxide produced as a result of animal
respiration, burning of fossil fuels, volcanoes and other natural
and human-induced phenomena.
And a by-product of
photosynthesis is oxygen. So the forests are the Earth's air
purifiers, given the large amounts of carbon dioxide they absorb
from the atmosphere. Now you know why forests are also known as
‘Earth’s lungs’.
Feeling breathless
What happens when these lungs shrink in size? The problems are
multiple and catastrophic. Find out what they are. Let me give you a
hint. There is a rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide, because the
disappearing carbon sinks can no longer offset the impact of fossil
fuels. Do you feel breathless already?
Habitat haven
The oceans may have been the original home of all life on earth, but
forests, too, provide shelter to a gigantic number of land-based
creature. Its soil is full of microbes, insects, and fungi, which
recycle organic matter. Other organisms, which do not have the same
ability to create food from air and water, feed on plants. And make
forests their home.
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BINDING FORCE: The roots help preserve soil moisture and
nutrients |
Larger animals live on
forest floor, and birds thrive in shrubs and canopy layers. We have,
till date, been able to identify about 1.6 million species in the
world (a vast number still remain undiscovered, say scientists).
Many, many of these spend their lives roaming in forests—or flying
through trees. Let’s take the rainforests as an example. They cover
about six per cent of the earth’s surface, but they provide shelter
to around 50 per cent of the plant and animal species found on this
planet!
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All ancient texts like the Agni Purana mention forest 
