SUMMARY
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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VALUE
OF TROPICAL FORESTS
All forests have both economic
and ecological value, but tropical forests are especially important in global
economy. These forests cover less than 6 percent of the Earth's land area, but
they contain the vast majority of the world's plant and animal genetic resources.
The diversity of life is astonishing. The original forests of Puerto Rico, for
example, contain more than 500 species of trees in 70 botanical families. By
comparison, temperate forests have relatively few. Such diversity is attributed
to variations in elevation, climate, and soil, and to the lack of frost.
There is also diversity in other life forms: shrubs, herbs, epiphytes, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. One study
suggests that tropical rain forests
may contain as many as 30 million different kinds of plants and animals, most
of which are insects (fig. 5).
Wood and Other Products
Tropical forests provide
many valuable products including rubber, fruits and nuts, meat, rattan, medicinal
herbs, floral greenery, lumber, firewood, and charcoal. Such forests are used
by local people for subsistence hunting and fishing. They provide income and
jobs for hundreds of millions of people in small, medium, and large industries.
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Tropical
forests are noted for their beautiful woods (fig. 6). Four important commercial
woods are mahogany, teak, melina, and okoume. Honduras mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla),
grows in the Americas from Mexico to Bolivia. A strong wood of medium density,
mahogany is easy to work, is long lasting, and has good color and grain. It
is commonly used for furniture, molding, paneling, and trim. Because of its
resistance to decay, it is
a popular wood used in boats. Teak (Tectona grandis) is native to India and
Southeast Asia. Its wood has medium density, is strong, polishes well, and has
a warm yellow-brown color. Also prized for resistance to insects and rot, teak
is commonly used in cabinets, trim, flooring, furniture, and boats (fig. 7).
Melina (Gmelina arborea) grows naturally from India through Vietnam. Noted for
fast growth, melina has light colored wood that is used mainly for pulp and
particleboard, matches and carpentry. Okoume (Aucoumea klaineana) is native
to Gabon an the Congo in west Africa. A large fast-growing tree, the wood has
mod erately low density, good strength-to density ratio, and low shrinkage during
drying. It is commonly use( for plywood, paneling, interior fur niture parts,
and light construction.
Other Economic Values
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Tropical forests are home for tribal hunter-gatherers whose way of life has been relatively unchanged for centuries. These people depend on the forests for their livelihood. More than 2.5 million people also live in areas adjacent to tropical forests. They rely on the forests for their water, fuelwood, and other resources and on its shrinking land base for their shifting agriculture. For urban dwellers, tropical forests provide water for domestic use and hydroelectric power. Their scenic beauty, educational value, and opportunities for outdoor recreation support tourist industries.
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Many medicines and drugs come from plants found only in tropical rain forests. Some of the best known are quinine, an ancient drug used for malaria; curare, an anesthetic and muscle relaxant used in surgery; and rosy periwinkle, a treatment for Hodgkin's disease and leukemia. Research has identified other potential drugs that may have value as contraceptives or in treating a multitude of maladies such as arthritis, hepatitis, insect bites, fever, coughs, and colds. Many more may be found. In all, only a few thousand species have been evaluated for their medicinal value.
In addition, many plants
of tropical forests find uses in homes and gardens: ferns and palms, the hardy
split-leaf philodendron, marantas, bromeliads, and orchids (fig. 8), to name
just a few.
Environmental Benefits
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Tropical forests do more than respond to local climatic conditions; they actually influence the climate. Through transpiration, the enormous number of plants found in rain forests return huge amounts of water to the atmosphere, increasing humidity and rainfall, and cooling the air for miles around. In addition, tropical forests replenish the air by utilizing carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen. By fixing carbon they help maintain the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels low and counteract the global "greenhouse" effect.
Forests also moderate stream flow. Trees slow the onslaught of tropical downpours, use and store vast quantities of water, and help hold the soil in place. When trees are cleared, rainfall runs off more quickly, contributing to floods and erosion.
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