Forest destruction is accelerating. The green lungs of the planet are being cut down to seize land for other purposes. According to some estimates, we lose 7.3 million hectares of forest every year, which is roughly the size of the country of Panama.
INjust some facts
- About half of the world's rainforests have already been lost
- Forests currently cover about 30% of the world's land mass
- Deforestation increases annual global carbon dioxide emissions by 6-12%
- Every minute a forest the size of 36 football fields disappears on Earth.
Where are we losing forests?
Deforestation occurs all over the world, but tropical forests suffer the most. NASA predicts that if the current rate of deforestation continues, tropical forests could disappear completely within 100 years. Countries affected include Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Congo and other parts of Africa, and some areas of Eastern Europe. The biggest danger is facing Indonesia. Since the last century, the state has lost at least 15.79 million hectares of forest land, according to the University of Maryland and the World Resources Institute.
And although deforestation has increased over the past 50 years, the problems go back deep into history. For example, 90% of the native forests of the continental United States have been destroyed since the 1600s. The World Resources Institute notes that indigenous forests remain to a greater extent in Canada, Alaska, Russia and the Northwest Amazon.
Causes of forest disappearance
There are many such reasons. As stated in the WWF report, half of the trees illegally removed from the forest are used as fuel.
Other reasons:
- To free up land for housing and urbanization
- Extraction of wood for processing into products such as paper, furniture and building materials
- To highlight marketable ingredients such as palm oil
- To free up space for raising livestock
In most cases, forests are burned or cut down. These methods lead to the land remaining barren.
Forestry experts call clear-cutting an "ecological trauma unmatched in nature except, perhaps, by a large volcanic eruption."
Forest burning can be done using fast or slow techniques. The ashes of burnt trees provide food for plants for some time. When the soil becomes depleted and the vegetation disappears, farmers simply move to another plot and the process begins again.
Deforestation and climate change
Deforestation is recognized as one of the factors contributing to global warming. Problem #1: Losing forests impacts the global carbon cycle. Gas molecules that absorb thermal infrared radiation are called greenhouse gases. The accumulation of large amounts of greenhouse gases causes climate change. Unfortunately, oxygen, being the second most abundant gas in our atmosphere, does not absorb thermal infrared radiation as well as greenhouse gases. On the one hand, green spaces help combat greenhouse gases. On the other hand, according to Greenpeace, 300 billion tons of carbon are emitted annually into environment precisely because of the burning of wood as fuel.
Carbon is not the only greenhouse gas associated with deforestation. water vapor also falls into this category. The impact of deforestation on the exchange of water vapor and carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and the earth's surface is the biggest problem in the climate system today.
Deforestation has reduced global vapor flows from the earth by 4%, according to a study published by the US National Academy of Sciences. Even such a small change in steam flows can disrupt natural weather and change existing climate models.
Some more consequences of deforestation
A forest is a complex ecosystem that affects almost every species of life on the planet. Removing forests from this chain is tantamount to destroying the ecological balance both in the region and throughout the world.
INspecies extinction: National Geographic says that 70% of the world's plants and animals live in forests, and cutting them down leads to habitat loss. The local population, which collects wild plants, also experiences negative consequences. plant food and hunting.
Water cycle: The trees are playing important role in the water cycle. They absorb precipitation and release water vapor into the atmosphere. According to North Carolina State University, trees reduce pollution by trapping polluting runoff. In the Amazon, more than half of the water in the ecosystem comes through plants, reports the National Geographic Society.
E Rosa soil: Tree roots are like an anchor. Without forests, soil is easily washed away or blown away, which negatively affects vegetation. Scientists estimate that a third of the world's arable land has been lost to deforestation since 1960. Crops such as coffee, soybeans and palm trees are being planted in place of former forests. Planting these species leads to further soil erosion due to the small root systems of these crops. The situation with Haiti and the Dominican Republic is clear. Both countries share the same island, but Haiti has much less forest cover. As a result, Haiti is experiencing problems such as soil erosion, floods and landslides.
Anti-deforestation
Many people think that to solve the problem you need to plant more trees. Planting can mitigate the damage caused by deforestation, but it will not completely solve the situation.
In addition to reforestation, other tactics are being used. This is humanity's transition to a plant-based diet, which will reduce the need for land that is cleared for livestock farming.
One of the main topics of our time is the problem of disruption of the natural functioning of the ecological system of our planet and, as a consequence, an environmental disaster that we cannot stop. There are many problems that put humanity on this slippery slope. And one of the main ones is deforestation. In Russia this phenomenon is last decades has acquired alarming proportions. After all, the territory has enormous resources. And if earlier we were worried about the loss of tropical forests, today mass deforestation in Russia has brought our country to a leading position in the world.
Why do we need forests?
We all remembered from school that only green plants, thanks to the unique process of photosynthesis, replenish our atmosphere with oxygen. Not many people remember that as a result of this process, plants take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - a product of our respiration and fuel combustion. It is precisely the presence of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere we are obliged greenhouse effect and climate change on the planet. According to some estimates, it is to deforestation in Russia and around the world that we owe the formation of about 20% of all greenhouse gases in the planet’s atmosphere.
Forests are part of the drainage system of our planet. Just as in the human body, disturbances in the functioning of the blood circulation lead to stagnation and various types of tissue damage, so in the ecosystem of the planet, forests filter groundwater and provide hydrological regime rivers, lakes, seas and oceans. Forests prevent drainage, sand encroachment, soil erosion and washout, floods and landslides. Global floods, which previously occurred on the planet on average once every 50 years, today in some areas “delight” people every 4 years.
And that is not all
And not the last argument for the vital necessity of forests is the preservation of biodiversity on our planet. In ecology, the resilience of an ecosystem is determined by the number of species of living organisms living in it. According to some reports, our planet has already entered the era of the fifth global extinction. The Red Data Books of the regions are constantly updated with species that are in danger of extinction from the face of the Earth. The well-known “butterfly effect,” when the disappearance of one species of moth over 100 years led to changes in the topography of the Amazon floodplain, is not a fairy tale or the subject of a blockbuster. This is our harsh reality.
Forest is considered a renewable natural resource. This may indicate that no matter how much we take, nature will restore its quantity. But current rates of logging do not allow forest ecosystems to regenerate themselves. And humanity is losing forests, introducing the planet into a phase of ecological crisis.
Ecological problem
Deforestation in Russia and in the world leads to such negative consequences for the ecology of the entire planet:
- Disappearance and reduction in the number of representatives of flora and fauna.
- Depletion of species biodiversity.
- An increase in the share of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
- Lithospheric changes - soil erosion, desertification, waterlogging.
This is not a complete, but significant, list of problems that are directly related to deforestation of our planet.
Global problem
Deforestation in Russia is only part of a planetary process, as a result of which the planet loses up to 200 thousand hectares of forest annually.
Recent data from the World Resources Institute and the Maryland Institute, together with Google, based on an analysis of satellite images, showed that Russia occupies a leading position in deforestation. We are followed by Canada, together with which we are responsible for 34% of all forest loss on the planet.
Statistics indicate the loss of 20 hectares of forest on the planet in 1 minute. At the same time, 13 million hectares of the world's forests disappear irrevocably every year. Consider the scale.
Why are we cutting down forests?
Of course, the reason is obvious - it is to ensure our livelihoods and technological progress.
Wood is a valuable resource in many economic sectors and an essential component of progress.
But the main reason is our general existence on the planet. Our biological species, which, due to certain evolutionary advantages, has proven successful on this planet, as evidenced by the growth in the number of individuals and the general expansion of territories. There is not a single biological species whose habitat is absolutely the entire territory of the planet. Our number has already exceeded 7 billion and continues to grow.
With the advent Agriculture we have destroyed half of the planet's forests. Just look at the distribution maps natural areas on our continent and this becomes obvious. Zone coniferous forests there are also in Europe, but where have you seen a forest similar to Siberian? And we continue to increase the area of agricultural land.
In nature, everything is interconnected. Climate change, which was also caused by deforestation of the planet, has led to more frequent wildfires. Even without our help, they are reducing forest areas and replenishing the atmosphere with carbon dioxide.
And yet we need to cut down the forest; how to do it is another matter.
Forest can be different
Forests in Russia and around the world are cut down for the extraction of minerals, timber, and clearing of agricultural land. All forests on the planet are divided into three categories:
You can chop in different ways
In this regard, there are several types of cutting:
- Final felling (selective, clear, gradual). Their goal is to harvest wood.
- Cuttings for plant care. This is the thinning of the forest with the destruction of plants Bad quality. As a result, technologically produced wood is also obtained.
- Complex reforestation felling. The goal is to reconstruct forest areas for restoration beneficial properties forests.
- Sanitary fellings are used to create landscapes and firebreaks.
From what has been said, it is clear that the problems of deforestation in Russia are associated with final cuttings, especially clearcuts. Here the concepts of “undercut” and “overcut” appear, which are equally bad for the forest. But that's all if the logging is legal.
Forest certificate - solution to the problem
Since the mid-1990s, the world community has accepted the concept of sustainable development. Part of which was the concept of sustainable forest management. In accordance with it, deforestation must meet certain requirements, which must ensure reasonable and controlled consumption of this resource - forest. The introduction of special technologies will create a balance between the need for wood and the ecological functions of the forest. It will also take into account the interests of future generations of people.
Today, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certificates are received by legal logging companies, which are given quotas for deforestation. Our country is second in the world, after Canada, in the number of certified forests (38 million hectares). Certificates were issued to 189 forest management entities, and there are about 565 thousand forest management entities in our country. And it is they who receive state quotas for the volume of deforestation in Russia and are required to label the wood rare breeds when exporting (for now).
This is what legal logging activity looks like. But this is the tip of the iceberg, and the main turnover of the forest is there, under water.
For your information. IN Irkutsk region, which, according to some estimates, accounts for 50% of all illegal logging in Russia, in the summer of 2017, a pilot project “Lesregister” was launched, which provides for the marking of all harvested wood in order to track its turnover.
"Black" lumberjacks
The statistics of illegal deforestation in Russia are striking in their scale. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the country loses about $1 billion due to illegal deforestation. In 2017 only in Arkhangelsk region 359 illegal logging was recorded, the losses from which amounted to 12 million dollars. Facts about deforestation in Russia are recorded in the northwestern part of the country and the Far East. This worries environmentalists and ordinary residents.
Statistics on deforestation in Russia from the International Environmental Investigation Agency indicate that 80% of valuable forest species (linden, oak, cedar, ash) in the Far East are cut down illegally.
The public is concerned
A wave of indignation swept across the media about illegal deforestation in Russia by the Chinese. Over the past 20 years, when restrictions on timber logging were introduced in China, many loggers from the Middle Kingdom appeared in the border areas (Lake Baikal and the Far East). According to the International non-governmental organization According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, 50-80% of timber exported from Russia to China was obtained in circumvention of official quotas through illegal logging on leased lands.
The public and environmentalists, foresters and officials are making certain attempts to stop the uncontrolled destruction of forests.
But legal logging sometimes leads to completely opposite results. For example, in Ust-Ilimsk, a criminal case was opened against the head of the forestry department, who, under the guise of sanitary felling, destroyed healthy trees on a total area of 83 hectares. Damage - 170 million rubles.
Large-scale fight against deforestation
The solution to the problem of deforestation in Russia must be carried out at all levels: international, state, regional and personal.
The main measures should be:
- Formation of a balanced legislative framework for forest resource management at the federal and international level.
- Introduction of a strict system of accounting and control over logging. Improving wood marking systems.
- Tightening penalties for illegal logging and use of uncertified wood.
- Measures to increase the area of forests and create zones with special conservation status.
- Improving fire prevention activities.
- Activation of secondary wood processing and reduction of the use of this resource in the industrial sector.
- Expansion of social programs and public awareness about careful attitude to this natural resource. Environmental education and education of all segments of the population, starting with preschoolers.
Certain steps have already been taken at many levels. Latest appeals from the public of the Irkutsk region to the President Russian Federation Vladimir Putin was led to revise quotas for deforestation, which contain valuable tree species (in particular, cedars). Labeling wood and its circulation within the country is finding more and more supporters.
And then what?
It’s high time for us to think about the state of the ecosystem of our beautiful home. Otherwise we risk being left without it. And everyone needs to start - with themselves. Caring for nature, separate waste collection, economical use of natural resources, planting trees, purchasing products made from recycled materials (they are labeled “recycled”) - this is a very small list of what everyone can do to preserve the unique forests of Russia.
Don't forget about the spiritual component of the forest. Over the course of thousands of years, it has shaped the culture and customs of many ethnic groups. We cannot exist without nature. But on the other hand, civilization is impossible without forest resources.
Environmentalists say that it will take us 100 years to fully restore our country's forest area, which accounts for 20% of the world's forest area. And this despite the fact that cutting down will stop. Of course, these are utopian dreams. But we can still do something so that our children and grandchildren recognize the smell coniferous forest not from air fresheners in hygienic rooms.
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A forest is a complex ecosystem that affects the climate, air and water conditions of our planet. Forests help purify the air by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and producing oxygen. In addition, it is very good noise protection. Coniferous trees disinfect the air. The forests are home to birds and plants, including medicinal ones.
But forest is still a material for construction, as well as fuel and raw materials for production. Forests are cut down to obtain timber to expand areas for agriculture. economic needs, for mining.
There are several groups of forests:
Prohibited for logging (reserves, national parks).
Limited use. They are located in densely populated areas. Their recovery is monitored.
Operational forests. They are completely cut down and then replanted.
Main types of tree felling.
- Main cabin. Solid. All trees except seed trees are cut down. It hurts great harm territories.
- Selective. Individual trees are cut down.
- Gradual. Felling takes place in several stages.
- Plant care cutting. Poor quality trees are removed, the forest is thinned out, and lighting improves. The remaining trees get more food.
- Complex felling. They are carried out when the forest begins to lose its useful qualities. The forest is freed from blind and young wood. More light enters the forest and root competition is eliminated. Valuable breeds develop better.
- Sanitary cabin. Conducted to improve the health of the forest. Sick, old, broken, fire-damaged trees are cut down. The most useful of all types.
Damage caused by deforestation.
The problem of deforestation is relevant all over the world. Forests are capable of regeneration, but the problem is that the volume of deforestation is many times higher than the volume of reproduction. This leads to the disappearance of rare tree species and plant species. Animals are forced to leave their habitats and move to other territories. Deforestation leads to temperature changes, changes in wind speed and direction, changes in precipitation, and changes in soil composition.
When forests are cut down, the composition of the soil changes, as the fertile layer is washed away by precipitation. New trees do not grow or grow very slowly and the felled areas become deserted. Animals, plants and birds die. Ecosystems are being destroyed. Rare species disappear forever.
There are many problems that need to be solved. Lack of human resources and low wages for foresters. Gaps in legislation. Large companies Valuable species are cut down under the guise of small diseased trees.
Measures to help reduce damage from logging.
Preserve forest landscapes and their biological diversity.
- Prevent depletion of forest resources.
- Conduct moderate forest management.
- Strengthen government control over logging.
- Improve legislation.
- Plant new forests.
- Create new reserves and expand the territories of existing ones.
- Protect forests from fires, fight diseases and pests that destroy forest areas.
- More effectively protect forest areas from poachers.
- Develop effective and safe methods felling.
- Reduce wood waste and look for ways to use them.
- Eco-tourism should also be encouraged. Perhaps people will see the current situation with their own eyes and think about the problem, begin to use paper rationally, begin to participate in landscaping in their cities, plant trees next to their homes, and become more careful about nature.
To maintain ecological balance, it is necessary to maintain a balance of deforestation and reforestation.
Collecting waste paper is another important way to save forests from deforestation. Moreover, it is also paid. For example, if you type in search engine“waste paper price per 1 kg Saratov”, then you can find out how much a kilogram of waste paper costs in this city.
Today, the problem of forest destruction is one of the first places in the world. global problems humanity. The phenomenon of mass destruction of forests is widespread throughout the European territory of Russia and Siberia.
As for the forests of the planet, in most cases they are destroyed not on a whim, but in order to survive and not die of hunger.
Radiation exposure is a consequence of the death of forests
The death of forests due to strong radiation throughout history since the beginning of the atomic era (about 50 years) was noted in the traces of radioactive fallout from the Kyshtym and Chernobyl radiation accidents and came from the influence high levels exposure in the first 1-2 years after the accident.
In total, the area of completely destroyed forest plantations was no more than 10 km2. The share of forests that died from radiation damage in the entire history of the nuclear industry is 0.3-0.4% of the annual loss of forests in the country (2-3 thousand km2).
Death and deforestation
One of the reasons for the death of forests in many regions of the world is acid rain, the main culprits of which are power plants. Emissions of sulfur dioxide and their transport over long distances lead to such rain falling far from the sources of emissions.
Over the past 20 years (1970 - 1990), the world has lost almost 200 million hectares of forestland, which is equal to the area of the United States east of the Mississippi.
Especially big environmental threat represents the depletion of tropical forests - the "lungs of the planet" and the main source of the planet's biological diversity. There, approximately 200 thousand square kilometers are cut down or burned annually, which means 100 thousand species of plants and animals disappear. This process is especially fast in the regions richest in tropical forests - the Amazon and Indonesia.
Forest and tourism
Young trees die not only under fires, but also under axes, and even simply under the feet of numerous visitors. Forests often visited by tourists are so thoroughly littered with cans, bottles, rags, paper, etc., and bear traces of large and small wounds, that this negatively affects natural reforestation.
Not least in causing damage is the custom of decorating New Year trees. Picking mushrooms, flowers and berries undermines the self-renewal of a number of plant species. A fire completely disables the piece of land on which it was laid out for 5-7 years. The noise scares away various birds and mammals and prevents them from raising their offspring normally. Breaking branches, nicks on trunks and other mechanical damage to trees contribute to their infestation by insect pests.
Protecting forests from fires. The Earth's forests suffer severely from fires. Forest fires destroy 2 million tons annually organic matter. They cause great harm to forestry: tree growth decreases, forest composition deteriorates, windbreaks increase, soil conditions and windbreaks deteriorate, soil conditions deteriorate. Forest fires contribute to the spread of harmful insects and wood-destroying fungi. World statistics states that 97% of forest fires occur due to human fault and only 3% due to lightning, mainly ball. The flames of forest fires destroy both flora and fauna in their path. In Russia, great attention is paid to protecting forests from fires. As a result of measures taken in recent years to strengthen preventive fire prevention measures and the implementation of a set of works for the timely detection and extinguishing of forest fires by aviation and ground forest fire units, the area of forests covered by fire, especially in the European part of Russia, has been significantly reduced.
However, the number of forest fires is still high. Fires occur due to careless handling of fire, due to a deep violation of the rules fire safety during agricultural work. An increased risk of fires is created by clutter in forest areas.
Humanity needs to realize that the death of forests is a deterioration of the environment. It will take centuries to stop its further destruction and delay the approach of an environmental catastrophe in the world.
We can only invite everyone to take care of the forest and its surrounding nature:
do not litter forests with household and industrial waste and natural landfills;
stop numerous constructions in forest zones ah dachas, cottages, roads, including spontaneous and uncontrolled ones;
do not damage or destroy forests as a result of industrial pollution;
do not cut down trees without control and without permission for economic needs;
protect from forest fires;
work more intensively to restore forests after logging;
Increased control
Problems of preserving the Earth's biological diversity
Biological diversity (BD) is the totality of all forms of life inhabiting our planet, this is the richness and diversity of life and its processes, including the diversity of living organisms and their genetic differences, as well as the diversity of the places where they exist.
According to the UNEP Global Biodiversity Assessment (1995), more than 30,000 species of animals and plants are at risk of extinction. Over the past 400 years, 484 animal species and 654 plant species have disappeared.
The reasons for the current accelerated decline in biological diversity are
1) rapid population growth and economic development, making huge changes to the living conditions of all organisms and ecological systems of the Earth;
2) increased migration of people, growth of international trade and tourism;
3) increasing pollution natural waters, soil and air;
4) insufficient attention to the long-term consequences of actions that destroy the conditions of existence of living organisms, exploit natural resources and introduce non-native species;
Impossibility in conditions market economy assess the true cost of biodiversity and its losses.
Over the past 400 years, the main immediate reasons extinctions of animal species were:
1) introduction of new species, accompanied by displacement or extermination of local species (39% of all lost animal species);
Destruction of living conditions, direct seizure of territories inhabited by animals and their degradation,
3) uncontrolled hunting (23%); and etc.
The main reasons for the need to preserve genetic diversity.
All species (no matter how harmful or unpleasant they may be) have the right to exist. Enjoying nature, its beauty and diversity has the highest value, not expressed in quantitative terms. Diversity is the basis for the evolution of life forms. The decline in species and genetic diversity undermines the further improvement of life forms on Earth.
There are many ways to protect biodiversity.
Reserve. The goal is to preserve nature and natural processes in an undisturbed state.
2.National park. The goal is to preserve natural areas of national and international importance for scientific research, education and recreation. 3.Nature monument. These are usually small areas.
Managed natural reserves.
Protected landscapes and coastal species.
6. Resource reserve created to prevent premature use of the territory.
An anthropological reserve created to preserve the traditional way of life of the indigenous population.
Territory of multi-purpose use of natural resources, focused on sustainable use of water, forests, animals and flora, pastures and for tourism.
Biosphere reserves. They are created to preserve biological diversity.
World Heritage Sites. They are created to protect unique natural features of global importance.
The main reason for the global energy problem should be considered the rapid increase in the consumption of mineral fuels in the 20th century. The increase in the production of fuel and energy resources has resulted in a serious deterioration of the environmental situation.
An extensive way to solve the energy problem involves a further increase in energy production and an absolute increase in energy consumption. Energy crisis of the 70s. accelerated the development and implementation of energy-saving technologies and gives impetus to the structural restructuring of the economy.
In modern conditions, a ton of energy saved as a result of conservation measures is 3-4 times cheaper than a ton of additionally extracted energy. Under the influence of the energy crisis, developed countries in the 70-80s. carried out a large-scale structural restructuring of the economy in the direction of reducing the share of energy-intensive industries.
At the same time, many countries with emerging markets (Russia, Ukraine, China, India) continue to develop energy-intensive industries (ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical industry etc.), as well as use outdated technologies. In these countries, we should expect an increase in energy consumption both due to an increase in living standards and changes in the lifestyle of the population, and due to the lack of funds in many of these countries to reduce the energy intensity of the economy. Therefore, in modern conditions, it is in countries with emerging markets that the consumption of energy resources is growing, while in developed countries consumption remains at a relatively stable level. Thus, the global energy problem in its previous understanding as a threat of an absolute shortage of resources in the world does not exist. Nevertheless, the problem of providing energy resources remains in a modified form.
37. Alternative energy is a set of promising methods of obtaining, transmitting and using energy, which are not as widespread as traditional ones, but are of interest due to the profitability of their use with, as a rule, a low risk of harm to the environment.
Today, there is a growing need for promising methods of obtaining energy through the development of alternative energy (AE), since it is beneficial to use and, as a rule, causes low harm to the environment. Its share compared to traditional energy is still quite modest. Most of The energy needs of the whole world are met by thermal and nuclear power plants. However, by-products of nuclear power plants are radioactive waste, the issue of burial of which has not yet been resolved. In addition, there is the threat of terrorism, which can lead to catastrophic consequences. As for fossil energy resources (oil, gas, coal, peat) used by thermal power plants, they are not unlimited and cause damage to the environment.
Energy is divided into non-renewable and renewable (alternative) energy sources. In turn, renewable energy is divided into two more groups - traditional (hydropower and biomass energy) and non-traditional energy sources (defined by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On Electric Power Industry”).
The main property of populations, like other biological systems, is that they are in continuous movement and constantly changing. This is reflected in all parameters: productivity, stability, structure, distribution in space. Populations are characterized by specific genetic and environmental characteristics that reflect the ability of systems to maintain existence in constantly changing conditions: growth, development, stability.
Main characteristics of populations: Number and density are the main parameters of a population. Number – total individuals in a given territory or in a given volume. Density is the number of individuals or their biomass per unit area or volume. In nature, there are constant fluctuations in numbers and density.
The dynamics of numbers and density are determined mainly by birth rates, deaths and migration processes. These are indicators that characterize population changes during a certain period: month, season, year, etc.
Structure and dynamics of populations. The dynamics, condition and reproduction of populations are consistent with their age and sex structure. The age structure reflects the rate of population renewal and the interaction of age groups with the external environment. It depends on the characteristics of the life cycle, which differ significantly among different species (for example, birds and mammalian predators), and external conditions.
IN life cycle individuals are usually divided into three age periods: pre-reproductive, reproductive and post-reproductive. Plants are also characterized by a period of primary dormancy, which they go through in the stage of dormant seeds. Each period can be represented by one (simple structure) or several (complex structure) age stages. Simple age structure Possessed by annual plants and many insects. A complex structure is typical for tree populations of different ages and for highly organized animals. The more complex the structure, the higher the adaptive capabilities of the population
The productivity of agricultural crops depends on many factors. Such as temperature conditions and solar radiation are not regulated by humans in an open field, but are taken into account in practice by choosing the timing of sowing, plant density, row direction, etc.
Other factors are provided by human production activities. The most important of them include: the presence of moisture in the soil; supply of plants with nutrients; variety; seed quality; protection of crops from pests, diseases and weeds; growth regulation; harvest.
The essence of intensification of agriculture and intensive technologies is the following: placement of crops according to the best predecessors in the crop rotation system; cultivation of high-yielding intensive varieties with good quality grains; high security plant elements mineral nutrition taking into account their content in the soil; integrated plant protection system from pests, diseases and weeds;
Application of fertilizers. There is an objective contradiction between agricultural productivity and soil fertility: the more we take per hectare of produce, the higher the removal of nutrients. This contradiction can only be overcome by replenishing and increasing the energy potential of the soil, adding organic, mineral substances, and microelements.
In this regard, the importance of chemicalization of agriculture can hardly be overestimated: it makes it possible to increase soil fertility, improve acidic and saline lands, better preserve and increase the nutritional value of feed, etc.
The use of mineral fertilizers can only slow down the rate of this process, but not eliminate it completely. The result is plowed soils, depletion of their humus reserves and a decrease in effective and potential fertility. This not only worsens the soil nutrition regime, but also negatively affects the physical and chemical properties, water-air and thermal regimes, the soil absorption complex and the biological activity of mineral fertilizers and leads to a significant shortage of crop yields.
Side effect mineral fertilizers. The chemicalization of agriculture, which is carried out at an increasing pace, occupies not the last place among the anthropogenic factors affecting soils and nature in general.
Industrial synthesis nitrogen fertilizers and their dispersion over the surface of the earth makes serious changes in its biogeochemical cycle. An increase in the amount of nitrogen in natural environments due to human activity is a dangerous phenomenon, since nitrates introduced in excess are not completely denitrified, and hence the balance between the processes of nitrification and denitrification is disturbed. Every year, the excess of nitrates reaches more than 9 million tons. They accumulate in the hydrosphere, plants, and subsequently in food products, causing severe poisoning.
Exhaust air from livestock buildings in the form of ventilation emissions also poses a certain threat to rural areas. As a result, air pollution and the introduction of large quantities of liquid manure into fields in the immediate vicinity of livestock farms can lead to pollution of an area of about 100 thousand hectares.
Without drawing up an environmental passport and implementing its recommendations, harmful emissions from the complexes will continue to be unregistered, and consequently the air, soil, surface and ground water will be polluted, and the requirements regulating the protection of the surrounding territory of the complexes and adjacent areas will not be met.
For these purposes, an environmental passport has been developed for livestock farms with industrial technology production of meat and milk. The basis for the development of an environmental passport is a permit for the use of natural resources, operating instructions for technological equipment, passports of treatment and production facilities, statistical reporting data, production indicators and regulatory and technical documents.
Thus, on the basis of the environmental passport of the livestock complex, environmental protection measures are developed, the implementation of which guarantees environmental protection and guarantees a healthy living environment for animals and humans
The MPC value is determined by calculation based on the ADI value and the amount of product in the daily diet. ADI and ADI are established on the basis of threshold doses, reduced by the safety factor. ADI and ADI values for many food additives and pesticides have been developed by a committee of experts of the Food and Agriculture Section of the United Nations and a WHO expert group (FAO/WHO).
Hygienic maintenance standards chemical substances characterize acceptable, rather than optimal, conditions of exposure to environmental factors. Therefore, their strict compliance is the minimum necessary measure to ensure chemical safety.
Soviet scientists (A.E. Fersman, N.N. Semenov, I.V. Petryanov-Sokolov, B.N. Laskorin, etc.) made a significant contribution to the concept of waste-free production. Waste-free production is based on the technogenic cycle of substances and energy. The need to create waste-free production arose in the 50s. 20th century due to the depletion of the world's natural resources and pollution of the biosphere as a result rapid development industries (oil refining, chemical industry, nuclear energy, non-ferrous metallurgy, etc.).
According to the ideas of D.I. Mendeleev (1885), the measure of production excellence is the amount of waste. With the development of science and technology, each production is increasingly approaching waste-free production. On at this stage To waste-free production These are essentially low-waste industries in which only a small part of the raw materials is converted into waste. The latter are buried, neutralized or sent to long-term storage for the purpose of their disposal in the future. In low-waste industries, emissions of harmful substances do not exceed the maximum permissible concentration, as well as the level at which irreversible environmental changes are prevented.
The main directions for creating low-waste production at a separate enterprise or in an entire industrial region: environmentally friendly preparation and complex processing raw materials combined with cleaning harmful emissions, waste disposal, optimal use of energy, water and gas cycles; the use of so-called short (low-stage) technological schemes with max. extraction of target and by-products at each stage; replacing batch processes with continuous ones using automated systems management and more advanced equipment; widespread involvement in the production of secondary resources.
Environmental monitoring
A comprehensive system of long-term observations, assessment and forecast of changes in the state of the environment under the influence of anthropogenic factors. The main tasks of monitoring: monitoring the state of the biosphere, assessing and forecasting the state of the natural environment, identifying factors and sources anthropogenic impacts on the environment, warning about emerging critical situations that are harmful or dangerous to the life and health of people and other living organisms.
Natural resources - natural objects, used by humans and contributing to the creation material goods. Natural conditions influence human life and activity, but do not participate in material production.
Natural resources are classified according to their characteristics: atmospheric, water, plant. Classification of natural resources according to their exhaustibility: animals, soil, subsoil, energy. Exhaustible resources include those that can be exhausted in the near or distant future. These are subsoil and wildlife resources. Inexhaustible resources are resources that can be used indefinitely. These are the resources of solar energy, sea tides, and wind. Water has a special position among resources. It is exhaustible due to pollution (qualitatively), but inexhaustible quantitatively.
Natural resources are an important part of a country's national wealth and a source of wealth and services. The process of reproduction is essentially a continuous process of interaction between society and nature, in which society subjugates the forces of nature and natural resources to satisfy needs. Natural resources largely determine not only the socio-economic potential of the country and region and the efficiency of social production, but also the health and life expectancy of the population.
By source and location: natural resources (bodies or natural phenomena) arise in natural environments (water, atmosphere, plant or soil cover etc.) and in space form certain combinations that change within the boundaries of natural-territorial complexes. On this basis, they are divided into two groups: resources of natural components and resources of natural-territorial complexes.
Resources of natural components. Each type natural resource usually formed in one of the components of the landscape shell. It is controlled by the same natural factors that create this natural component and influence its characteristics and territorial location. According to their belonging to the components of the landscape shell, resources are distinguished: 1) mineral, 2) climatic, 3) water, 4) plant, 5) land, 6) soil, 7) animal world. This classification is widely used in domestic and foreign literature.
Resources of natural-territorial complexes. Each landscape (or natural-territorial complex) has a certain set of various types natural resources. Depending on the properties of the landscape and the combination of types of resources, their quantitative and qualitative characteristics change. Almost any landscape has climatic, water, land, soil and other resources, but the possibilities economic use very different. In one case, favorable conditions may arise for the extraction of mineral raw materials, in others - for the cultivation of valuable cultivated plants or for organization industrial production, resort complex, etc. On this basis, natural resource territorial complexes are distinguished according to the most preferred (or preferred) type of economic development. They are divided into: 1) mining, 2) agricultural, 3) water management, 4) forestry, 5) residential, 6) recreational, etc.
By area of use
Based on the principle of replaceability
according to the principle of exhaustibility and renewability:
Exhaustible (renewable, non-renewable): They are formed in the earth's crust or landscape, but the volumes and rates of their formation are measured on a geological time scale. At the same time, the need for such resources from production or for the organization favorable conditions a habitat human society significantly exceed the volumes and rates of natural replenishment. As a result, depletion of natural resources inevitably occurs. The group of exhaustible resources includes resources with unequal rates and volumes of formation. Based on the intensity and speed of natural formation, resources are divided into subgroups:
Non-renewable, which include: a) all types of mineral resources or minerals. As is known, they are constantly formed in the depths of the earth’s crust as a result of the continuously ongoing process of ore formation, but the scale of their accumulation is so insignificant, and the rates of formation are measured over many tens and hundreds of millions of years, that practically they cannot be taken into account in economic calculations. The development of mineral raw materials occurs on a historical time scale and is characterized by ever-increasing volumes of withdrawal. In this regard, everything mineral resources are considered not only exhaustible, but also non-renewable. b) Land resources in their natural natural form- this is the material basis on which the life of human society takes place. The morphological structure of the surface (i.e., relief) significantly influences economic activity and the possibility of developing the territory. Once disturbed land (for example, by quarries) during large industrial or civil construction in its natural form are no longer restored.
Renewable resources, which include: a) resources of flora and b) fauna. Both are restored quite quickly, and the volumes of natural renewal are well and accurately calculated. Therefore, when organizing the economic use of accumulated reserves of wood in forests, grass in meadows or pastures, and hunting wild animals within limits not exceeding annual renewal, resource depletion can be completely avoided.
Relatively (not completely) renewable. Although some resources are restored over historical periods of time, their renewable volumes are significantly less than the volumes of economic consumption. That is why these types of resources turn out to be very vulnerable and require especially careful control by humans. Relatively renewable resources also include very scarce natural resources: a) productive arable soils; b) forests with mature tree stands; c) water resources from a regional perspective. Anthropogenic soil destruction has been occurring so intensely in recent decades that it gives grounds to classify soil resources as “relatively renewable.”
Inexhaustible ( solar energy, water resources, climatic resources): among the bodies and natural phenomena of resource significance, there are those that are practically inexhaustible. These include climatic and water resources:
Climate resources. Usually under climate resources understand the reserves of heat and moisture available in a particular area or region. Since these resources are formed in certain parts of the thermal and water cycles, constantly operating over the planet as a whole and over its individual regions, the reserves of heat and moisture can be considered inexhaustible within certain quantitative limits, precisely established for each region.
Water resources of the planet. The earth has a colossal volume of water - about 1.5 billion cubic meters. km. However, 98% of this volume is the salty waters of the World Ocean, and only 28 million cubic meters. km - fresh waters. Since technologies for desalination of salty sea waters are already known, the waters of the World Ocean and salt lakes can be considered as potential water resources, the use of which in the future is quite possible. Subject to the principles of rational water use, these resources can be considered inexhaustible. However, if these principles are violated, the situation can sharply worsen, and even on a planetary scale there may be a shortage of clean fresh water. In the meantime, the natural environment annually “gives” humanity 10 times more water than he needs to satisfy a wide variety of needs.
Deforestation as an environmental problem.
IN modern world The question of environmental catastrophe, problems that are associated with disruption of the natural functioning of the ecological system, is increasingly being raised. One of them is rapid deforestation and, as a result, deforestation of our planet. Thousands of years ago, the Earth was densely covered with forests. These are the territories of Northern and South America, Western Europe, Asia, Africa. But with the increase in population on the green planet, forest cover has decreased, under the influence of human activity. Today, forests cover about 30 percent of the world's land mass. Canada, Finland, Russia, USA, Brazil, Congo are countries rich in forest resources. More than half of all forests are tropical forests. Another type of forest plantation, no less important in the ecosystem, is the coniferous forest.
Under the influence of man There are no more than 20 percent of untouched forests left on earth. These are the so-called virgin forests, which have not been touched by human hands. Forest areas have preserved their natural ecosystem and are the habitat of many animals and plants. Deforestation of these forests will lead to the extinction of many species and their displacement by other species.
It is time for humanity to think about the preservation of natural forest resources, as well as to ensure their expansion and reasonable use.
What is a forest for an ecosystem?
The main function of forest cover is to provide oxygen to the planet. Ever since school, everyone remembers photosynthesis, which occurs in all plants. They absorb carbon dioxide, which is necessary to ensure the process of oxygen production. However, given the rapid pace of scientific progress and the active deforestation of the earth, serious problems arise in the functioning of the ecosystem.
The forest is also a kind of drainage system of the planet. It protects the soil from leaching, erosion, waterlogging, sand encroachment, and prevents floods and landslides. The forest also filters groundwater, provides a hydrological regime, ensures the filling of reservoirs, and prevents their drainage.
Woodlands provide diversity biological species, since they have special conditions for existence, without which many species of animals, birds, and insects will not be able to survive in the conditions of a developed forest. This is approximately 80 percent of all terrestrial species.
Forest and humanity
For man, since its inception, the forest has been the main source of his life support. Shelter over his head, food, medicinal plants - man found all this in the forest.
In the modern world, the role of forest plantations in human life has become not only an extreme necessity of life, but also a means of income and comfort. Humanity, as before, uses wood for construction and as fuel, the use of forest resources has been brought to the level industrial scale. Wood serves as a raw material in production building materials, furniture, paper, as well as in the railway and chemical industries. Wood is used to make many things that are consumed by humans.
The needs of humanity are growing, but the planet's resources are not limitless; their unreasonable use will lead to a violation of the ecological balance in nature. Deforestation around the world is rapidly reducing its area, which also affects climate change, and on the abundance and diversity of biological species.
Causes of deforestation
The first reason was the increase in population. People cost the city a place to live by cutting down green spaces for them. On January 1, 2016, the population was more than 7 billion people and this figure is growing every year.
For the development of agriculture, pastures and lands for cultivation were needed, which entailed the destruction of half of the forest that once existed. Nowadays, these needs are growing and the remaining plantings are under threat.
Today, wood remains a very valuable material in many industries. Deforestation has become profitable business. The problem is that this often happens illegally, uncontrollably, without taking into account the damage caused to forests and the environment.
Another reason for the destruction of forest plantations was the increasing frequency Forest fires. This leads to a decrease in forest area, and as a result, emissions of carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect.
Ways to combat deforestation
The solution to the problem of destruction of forest cover must be carried out at the international, state and regional levels. Also, every person should take care of protecting the environment.
Key measures to combat deforestation:
- Improving the legislative framework in the field of forest resource management at the state level. Development international conventions on the protection and conservation of forest cover.
- Introduction of accounting and control systems for deforestation, toughening of penalties for illegal destruction of forests.
- Conducting social programs among the population on caring for forest resources, protecting them and repairing the damage caused to humanity.
- Increase the area of new forest plantations, expand existing ones, create forest reserves, and protect undeveloped forests.
- Use effective measures to prevent forest fires.
- Development of measures to reduce the use of wood in industrial areas, introduction of secondary wood processing.
Humanity already now needs to think about the safety of the world around us, about the health of the ecosystem in which it lives. Every person is capable of caring for nature, planting a tree and economically using the earth's resources.
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