1. Maintaining the water supply - forest help to collect and store water within a water catchment. - eg. central catchment Nature Reserve in Singapore consisting of 4 reservoirs surrounded by tropical rainforest (24.34 km)
i .Quantity of water in forested areas - transpiration of vegetation in the forest encourages formation of clouds as water vapour is released into the atmosphere. - rain will fall and replenish water in the rivers and reservoirs. - the leaves and branches of vegetation in the forests intercept and reduce the impact of water falling on the surface of the ground.
ii. Quality of water in forested areas - forest helps in the filtering process of water and this makes the water suitable for drinking and supporting life. --> filtering process a. rain is intercepted by the leaves and branches of the trees. b. the interception process reduce the amount of rainwater flowing over the ground surface. c. fewer soil particles are washed into the rivers and reservoirs. d. soil also traps impurities in the rainwater and filters it before it flows into rivers or reservoirs. - quality of water in the rivers and reservoirs change when forests are cleared and converted to urban settlement.
8. A source of useful materials
i. Source of building materials - timber from forest ahve many uses a. Manufacture furniture and paper b. To construct buildings - timber trade in the world is worth > than S$ 32 billion a year
ii. Fuelwood and Charcoal - forest provide fuelwood to many people living in the developing countries for cooking and heating - charcoal that is obtained from mangrove trees such as Rhizophora.
iii. Food - people depend on the forest for food
iv. Medicines - some plants from the forest have medicinal value - eg. Quanine --> is a drug for treating malaria is obtained from the Cinchona tree - forest may have potential cures to diseases
v. Chemicals - also extracted from the plants in the forest -egs a. Bark of Rhizophora provides tannin to treat leather
9. Habitat for people - forests are home to people - approx 60 million people living in the forest of South America, Southeast Asia and Africa - Groups that live in forest a. Hunter gatherers b. Shifting cultivators
10. Recreation - Recreational activities like hiking, camping can be carried out in the forest eg. Wparks mansges reserves and parks in Singapore which has provided boardwalks and walking trails to make the forests accesible to the public
7. Habitat for flora and fauna - habitat is the environment where plants and animals live in - forests are natural habitats for many and diverse flora and fauna of the world - tropical rainforest , monsoon forest and mangrove forest are home to the flora and fauna.
11. Research and Education - scentific research can be conducted in the forest - eg. Scientists study forest plants to develop new medicines and varieties of crops --> banana, coffee, cocoa which is used to grow wild in the rainforest are now cultivated for food
2. Replenishing Oxygen and Carbon dioxide - forest are the green lungs of the earth - they replenish the oxygen supply and remove carbon dioxide from the air - during photosythesis, the trees and other plants in the forest take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
3. Maintaining nutrients in the soil - decomposing vegetation on the forest floor releases nutrients back into the soil - the roots of the vegetation hold the soil particles together and prevent rain or wind from removing the soil --> forest maintain the quality of the soil by preventing nutrients from being eroded away.
4. Preventing floods - the roots of the plants in the forest hold the soil together - less soil eroded away - less soil is deposited on the river bed shallower --> the likelihood of flooding is lower when forest is not cleared
5. Protecting coasts - mangrove forest protects the coastal areas and reduces the destructive effects of storms and string waves - eg. 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami --> presence of mangrove forest prevented the destruction of some of the coastal villages in southeastern India
6. Natural treatment of waste water - mangrove forest also help to process and trap waste materials before they are carried by water like streams and rivers into the sea - egs of waste materials--> dead animals and fish, household rubbish, vegetation and human waste - the soil contains bacteria which breaks down the biodegradable wastes and convert them into nutrients for the mangroves - thus some countries channel their sewage to mangrove forest to take advanatage of the natural of mangroves but there is a limit
