The world's tropical forests, which circle the globe, are interestingly diverse. Ranging from the steamy jungles of the rain forests to the dry forests and savannas, they provide habitat for millions of species of plants and animals. Once covering some 15.3 billion acres (6.2 billion ha), these tropical forests have been reduced through cutting and clearing by 210 million acres (85 million ha) between 1985 and 1990. All types of tropical forests are defined and their products and benefits to the environment are presented and discussed. Modern forest practices are shown as a means of halting forest destruction while still providing valuable forest products and protecting and preserving the habitats of many endangered species of plants and wildlife. The Luquillo Experimental Forest is presented as a possible model to exemplify forestry practices and research that could manage and ultimately protect the tropical forests throughout the world.
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NEW DIRECTIONS IN TROPICAL FORESTRY5
The conservation issues
of the past seem simple compared with those of today. As we move toward the
21st century, human societies are concerned with global warming, deforestation,
species extinction, and rising expectations. Growing populations must be fed,
clothed, and sheltered, and people everywhere want higher standards of living.
Global Warming
Warming of the earth's atmosphere
is a major environmental issue. Air pollution, deforestation, and widespread
burning of coal, oil, and natural gas have increased atmospheric concentrations
of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons. These gases
trap heat from the sun and prevent it from radiating harmlessly back into space.
Thus, the 64 greenhouse" or warming effect is created.Because of natural variations
in climate, it is difficult to measure warming over large areas. Scientists
agree, however, that increases in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases
will cause higher temperatures worldwide. Even an increase of a few degrees
might cause serious melting of the polar icecaps, a gradual rise in sea level,
a disruption in normal weather patterns, a possible increase in forest fires,
and the extinction of species.
Role of Forests
Trees, the largest of all
land plants, act as a kind of environmental "buffer" for the ecosystem
they dominate. They help ameliorate the extremes of climate (heat, cold, and
wind) and create an environment where large land mammals, including people,
can live comfortably. Trees complement animals in the global environment. Mammals
take in oxygen from the air and exhale carbon dioxide. Plants use the carbon
dioxide in their growth processes, store the carbon in woody tissues, and return
oxygen to the atmosphere as a waste product. This process, known as photosynthesis,
is essential to life. Carbon captured from the atmosphere by photosynthesis
is eventually recycled through the environment in a process known as the carbon
cycle. Trees have an especially important role in the carbon cycle. Tree leaves
also act as filters to remove atmospheric pollutants from the air. This effect
is particularly beneficial in urban areas.
Forestry Issues
Two key issues will dominate
forestry in the years ahead: (1) maintaining long-term productivity of managed
forests, and (2) preventing further loss of tropical forests. Both problems
will require new approaches to forest management.Traditionally, forestry
has focused on growing crops of wood in plantations or in managed natural stands.
In this "agricultural mode," other benefits of forest such as watershed
protection, wildlife habitat, climate moderation, and outdoor recreation, have
received less attention than wood production.Perhaps more importantly,
the sustainability of the full range of forest benefits has not been measured.
There is no question that trees can be grown for crops of wood in managed stands.
With intensive management-short rotations, species selection, genetic improvement,
fertilization, thinning, and other cultural treatments-more wood can be produced
in less time than in natural forests. But for how long? And at what cost in
other benefits?
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As more and more of the world's original forests have been cut, the ecological value of forests has come to be more appreciated. In recent years, increased emphasis has been put on what some are calling "ecosystem management." In this model, the health and long-term stability of the forest are paramount, and timber production is considered a byproduct of good forest management rather than the principal product. In Puerto Rico, for example, wood production is a relatively minor aspect of forestry.Since the 1930's when timber harvests were curtailed, the forests have been managed primarily for watershed protection, wildlife habitat, and outdoor recreation.There are no easy solutions to the problem of tropical forest destruction, but most experts agree that the problems cannot be solved simply by locking up the forests in reserves. The forests are too important to local people for that to be a workable solution. There is no doubt that tropical forests will be cut. It is better for them to be cut in an ecologically sound manner than to be cleared for poor-quality farmland or wasted by poor harvest practices (fig. 12).
The only real long-term solutions are: (1) more efficient agriculture on suitable farmland, (2) efficient forestry practice including plantations, and (3) reserves to protect species and ecosystems. Many forestry experts believe that we have only begun to tap the potential for wise use of tropical forests. Many uses have yet to be fully explored. We are only starting to learn the value of tropical forests for medicines, house and garden plants, food and fiber, tourism, and natural resource education.
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