The present environmental situation – heavily influenced by climate change – could lead to a massive destruction of forests and the extinction of countless species. For example, modelling focusing on the Amazon region has indicated that 43 per cent of 193 representative plant species could become nonviable by the year 2095 due to the fact that changes in climate will have fundamentally altered the composition of species habitats (Miles...

Forests can undergo changes in various ways. Forest areas can be reduced either by deforestation or by natural disasters, which can result in the forest being unable to naturally regenerate. Conversely, forest areas can be increased – through afforestation or by the natural expansion of forests.

The ten countries with the largest forest plan tation area are supplying just under half of global demand for industrial round wood. The development of forest plan tations, however, poses problems when they replace natural forests and other valuable ecosystems.

The nature of forest product exports has changed in recent years, with exports of primary products – logsand sawnwood – being overtaken by secondary processed wood products, such as furniture and prefabricated wooden buildings.

Forests absorb carbon through photosynthesis and sequester it as biomass, thus creating a natural storage of carbon. Carbon stocks in forest areas comprise carbon in living and dead organic matter both above and below ground including trees, the understorey, dead wood, litter and soil.

Defining what constitutes a forest is not easy. Forest types differ widely, determined by factors including latitude, temperature, rainfall patterns, soil composition and human activity.

Dense forests can serve as hideouts for insurgent groups or can be as a vital source of revenue for warring parties to sustain conflict. Known cases of forests as sites of rebel camps include Colombia where left-wing guerrillas have camps deep in the Amazonian forest and in mountainous forest areas.

Some of the most serious deforestation occurs when there are various commodity booms at the domestic and international levels. At such times farmers and large agribusiness enterprises clear forest areas to plant more profitable market crops such as sugar cane and soya beans. At the present time, the production of soya beans is reaching record levels, with world soya bean production in 2006 reaching about 222 million tonnes. Brazil is ...