In the scientific literature, there is often a description of the role of forests, forest vegetation as an integral part of the biosphere. It is usually noted that forests form the largest ecosystems on Earth, in which most of the organic matter of the planet is accumulated. That they are of great importance for photosynthesis, for the normal course of the processes of stabilization of the oxygen balance of the atmosphere, absorption of carbon dioxide, as well as for the preservation of soil fertility and purity of waters. That they are the largest repositories of the biosphere gene pool, habitat for a large number of plants and animals, an important source of wood, food, forage, technical, medicinal and other resources. In addition to all this, forests absorb noise, many air pollutants, thereby having a beneficial effect on the quality of the surrounding natural environment, and indirectly on the mood of people who find positive emotions in communication with nature. In a word, the economic, ecological and aesthetic value of forests is always highly valued.

Various indicators are used to quantify the world's forest resources as an important component of the biological resources of the land. The most important among them are indicators forest area, wooded area(proportion of forest area in the whole territory) and standing timber stock. However, upon acquaintance with them, a rather significant difference in assessments attracts attention. If you try to compare the assessments of FAO, other international organizations and individual experts in this area, then such a difference will be revealed quite easily. For example, in various sources, the world's forest area is estimated at 51.2 billion hectares; 43.2; 39.6; 36.0; 34.4;

30.0 billion hectares. Accordingly, there are also great discrepancies in the indicators of the forest cover of the earth's land (37%, 32, 30, 27%, etc.), as well as in terms of timber reserves (385 billion m3, 350, 335 billion m3, etc.) ...

This discrepancy is explained by the fact that some of these estimates refer to different categories of forest area. The highest of them refer to the area of ​​all forest lands, which, in addition to the forest land proper, also include shrubs, open spaces, felling areas, burnt-out areas, etc. . Directly occupied by forests, areas, and the lowest - to closed forests, which occupy no more than 2/3 of all forest areas and, perhaps, most accurately characterize the true forest cover of the territory. Sometimes the statistics also include primary and secondary forests.

Regional differences in the distribution of the world's forest resources are illustrated in Table 28.

From the data given in table 28, the following conclusions follow. First, about the fact that Latin America takes the leading place in the world in all important "forest" indicators. Secondly, that the CIS, North America and Africa are in the "second echelon" according to these indicators. Third, the fact that foreign Asia, which is distinguished by high overall indicators, has - as might be expected - the lowest endowment of forest resources per capita. And fourthly, that according to all the main indicators included in the table, foreign Europe and Australia and Oceania close the ranking of large regions.

Table 28

DISTRIBUTION OF WORLD FOREST RESOURCES IN LARGE REGIONS

* Without CIS countries.

Along with the distribution of the world's forest resources across large regions of the world, their distribution over the main forest-growing belts is also of great interest. (fig. 24). Figure 24 clearly shows the distribution of coniferous forests cold zone (or coniferous boreal forests), stretching in a wide strip across the northern parts of Eurasia and North America. The belt stretches to the south mixed forests temperate zone. Forests of dry areas are most typical for Africa (where they are represented by sparse forests and shrubs of the savannah zone), but they are also found in North and South America, in Australia. Equatorial rainforests grow in the belt with constant high temperatures and heavy rainfall north and south of the equator. Their main massifs are located in the basins of the Amazon and Congo rivers, as well as in the South and South East Asia... Tropical rainforests are generally much less well preserved and should only be sought in parts of Central and South America, Africa and South Asia. Finally, humid forests of the warm temperate zone are found in separate rather large areas in North and South America, East Asia and Australia.

Rice. 24. Schematic map of the world's forests (according to I. Malakhov): 1 - coniferous forests of the cold zone; 2 - mixed forests of the temperate zone; 3 - forests of dry areas; 4 - equatorial rain forests; 5 - tropical rainforests; 6 - humid forests of the warm temperate zone

Figure 24 also provides a basis for a more generalized approach to identifying forest belts, which is more often used in educational literature. It consists in combining them into two main forest belts of the Earth- northern and southern, which are separated by a wide belt of arid territories.

Square northern forest belt- 2 billion hectares (including 1.6 billion hectares under a closed forest stand and 0.4 billion hectares under shrubs and light forests). The largest forest areas in this belt are located within Russia, Canada, and the United States. Conifers occupy 67% of the total forest area, and deciduous ones - 33%. The diversity of species in the forests of the northern belt is not so great: for example, in foreign Europe, there are about 250 species of trees and shrubs. Wood growth is also rather slow. Thus, in the coniferous forests of Russia, on average, 1.3 m 3 per hectare per year grows, in Finland - 2.3 m 3, in the USA - 3.1 m 3. In the zone of mixed forests, this increase is noticeably greater.

Square southern forest belt- also about 2 billion hectares, but 97% of it consists of deciduous forests. At the same time, half of the entire forest area is occupied by a high-trunk forest, and the rest is accounted for by a low-density sparse forest, shrubbery, and forest fallow. In the southern forest belt, the forest stand is much more diverse than in the northern one: in all tropical forests per 1 hectare, you can find more than 100 and even 200 different types of trees. The average annual growth of timber per hectare is several times greater here than in the forests of the northern belt. And the average stock of standing timber reaches 250 m 3 / ha, which is ten times higher than that in some types of forests in the northern zone. Therefore, the total stock of timber in the forests of the southern belt is greater.

Naturally, the countries with the largest forest areas should be sought within either the northern or southern forest belts. (fig. 25). The countries with the highest forest cover are also part of the same belts: in the northern belt it is primarily Finland and Sweden, and in the southern one - Suriname and Guyana in Latin America, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, Papua New Guinea in Oceania.

Russia is the richest country in the world with forest resources. From Figure 25 it follows that this applies to both her forest and wooded area(the latter is 22.1% of the world). The total timber stock in the forests of Russia - 82 billion m3 - exceeds the reserves of any large foreign region, with the exception of Latin America... This means that Russia accounts for more than 1/5 of the world's timber reserves, including almost 1/2 of the coniferous timber reserves. According to the corresponding per capita indicators (5.2 hectares and 560 m 3), it is second only to Canada. However, the distribution of Russia's forest resources over its vast territory is very uneven: almost 9/10 of the entire forested area is located in the taiga zone, especially within Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

Rice.25. Top ten countries in terms of forest area

Forests are the source construction materials and raw materials for multipurpose purposes; source of biological resources.

The world's forest resources are characterized primarily by indicators of forest cover, forest area and standing timber.

The forest area indicator reflects the size of the area covered by forests, including per capita. Forest cover shows the ratio of forest area to common area country. Standing stock is usually determined by multiplying the average amount of wood (in cubic meters) from 1 m 2 by the area occupied by forests.

The total area of ​​forests in the world is 4 billion hectares. The largest area of ​​forests is preserved in Eurasia. This is about 40% of all the world's forests and almost 42% of the total timber stock, including 2/3 of the timber of the most valuable species. Australia has the least forest cover. Since the continents vary in size, it is important to take into account their forest cover. According to this indicator, South America takes the first place in the world. In the economic assessment of forest resources, such a characteristic as wood reserves is of paramount importance. On this basis, the countries of Asia, South and North America are distinguished. Leading positions in this area are occupied by countries such as Russia, Canada, Brazil and the United States. Bahrain, Qatar, Libya, etc. are characterized by a virtual absence of forests. Most of the forested area is in Latin America (930 million hectares), the CIS (810 million hectares), Africa (720 million hectares), North America (680 million hectares) and overseas Asia(540 million hectares). Here, in some places (the Asian part of Russia, Canada, the tropical countries of South and Southeast Asia, equatorial Africa, the countries of the Amazon basin and Central America), forests are located in huge continuous tracts (the forest cover is very high and sometimes reaches 75-95%).

In foreign Europe, forests occupy a relatively small area (160 million hectares) and are located mainly in its northern part (France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway). Most wooded of European countries Finland (59%) and Sweden (54%). The forested area of ​​Australia and Oceania is also small - 160 million hectares. This region of the world also has the lowest forest cover (20%).

The world's forests form two vast forest belts - northern and southern. The northern forest belt is located in the zone of moderate and partly subtropical climate... It accounts for half of all the world's forests and almost the same share of all timber reserves. The most forested countries within this belt are Russia, USA, Canada, Finland, Sweden. The southern forest belt is located mainly in the tropical and equatorial climate... It also accounts for about half of the world's forested areas and total timber reserves. They are concentrated mainly in three regions: the Amazon, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia.

V Lately there is a catastrophically rapid destruction of tropical forests. They are under threat of complete destruction. Over the past 200 years, the forest area has decreased at least 2 times. Every year, a forest is destroyed on an area of ​​125 thousand km 2, which is equal to the territory of countries such as Austria and Switzerland combined. The main reasons for deforestation are: expansion of agricultural land and deforestation for the purpose of using wood. Forests are cleared due to the construction of communication lines. The green cover of the tropics is most intensively destroyed. In most developing countries, logging is carried out in connection with the use of wood for fuel, and forests are burned to obtain arable land. Reduced and degraded from air and soil pollution forests in high developed countries... There is a massive drying out of the tops of trees, due to their damage by acid rain. The consequences of deforestation are unfavorable for pastures and arable lands. This situation could not go unnoticed. The most developed and at the same time low-forest countries are already implementing programs for the preservation and improvement of forest lands. So, in Japan and Australia, as well as in some Western European countries areas under forests

remain stable and stand depletion is not observed.

The forest has great value for life on Earth, is a source of raw materials in various sectors of the economy (construction, woodworking, hydrolysis, pulp and paper industry, etc.) Wood is widely used both as fuel and in everyday life.

The forests of Russia, which is the world's leader in reserves (81.6 billion cubic meters or over 23% of world reserves) and the area (771.1 million hectares) of forest resources, cover almost half (45%) of the country's territory. Conifers prevail (larch, pine, spruce, cedar, fir), which account for 82% of all timber reserves in the country, 16% are soft-leaved (aspen, birch, alder) and 2% are hardwood (oak and beech) breed. Forests are mainly concentrated in eastern regions- about 80% of their reserves falls on the share of Siberia and Of the Far East... Especially rich in forest Krasnoyarsk region and Irkutsk region, Khabarovsk and Primorskiy krais, Amurskaya oblast. The forests in these areas are not only large in reserves, but also have a high quality composition (larch, pine, cedar, rare broad-leaved species).

In the rest of Russia, the European North (Republic of Komi and Karelia, Arkhangelsk and Volgograd regions) and the Urals (Perm and Sverdlovsk region). Forests are actively exploited in all of the above-mentioned areas. Russia is ahead of many countries of the world in terms of forest area per capita. This figure is equal here to 3 hectares, while in the world as a whole it is 0.8 hectares, in foreign Europe - 0.3 hectares, foreign Asia - 0.2 hectares, in Africa - 1.3 hectares, North America- 2.5 hectares, Latin America - 2.2 hectares, Australia and Oceania - 6.4 hectares. Russia also stands out in terms of the size of harvesting and timber transportation.

In Russia, as well as in countries Northern Europe, North and Latin America, Asia and Africa, forests are very badly affected by deforestation (at present, around the world as a whole, the volume of logging approximately corresponds to the annual increase in wood -3.6 billion m 3), forest fires, acid rain and other phenomena. As a result, the area of ​​forests on Earth is decreasing annually (up to 0.6% per year), which creates a real threat of their complete destruction.

(97% composed of broadleaf forests - mostly humid and tropical forests of developing countries).

Over the past 200 years alone, the world's forest area has halved. The destruction of forests at such a rate will have disastrous consequences for the whole world, since the supply of oxygen to the gas decreases, the climate on the planet is changing.

The largest area of ​​forests is preserved in and, the smallest -. However, the sizes of the continents are not the same, so it is important to take into account the indicator of forest cover (the ratio of forested area to the total area of ​​the region), as well as the size of timber reserves and the area of ​​forested surface per inhabitant.

The problem of reducing forest cover is becoming a very serious global problem. The forests of the northern forest belt in economically developed countries were subjected to intensive destruction in the past, but then the forest cover was restored to a greater extent (forest plantations). In some countries with government conservation programs, wood gains have exceeded the volume of felling. And the main reason for the loss of forest and the decline in its quality in developed countries in recent decades has become acid rain(from pollution air environment). According to experts, the total area of ​​affected forests is about 30 million hectares.

For many centuries, the reduction in the area of ​​forests on the planet has practically not hindered the progress of mankind. However, recently, this process began to negatively affect the economic and ecological condition many countries. And although about 30% of the land is still covered with wood, the protection of forests and work is necessary for the continued existence of mankind.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the total forest area in the world exceeds 3.4 billion hectares, or 27% of the earth's land area. The FAO estimates are based on the determination that all ecological systems with a tree cover of at least 10% in developing countries and at least 20% in developed countries are identified as forests.

In addition, according to the adopted methodology of forest classification, 1.7 billion hectares of land occupied by trees and shrubs should be added to this area. More than half of the world's forest area (51%) is located in four countries: Russia - 22%, Brazil - 16%, Canada - 7%, USA - 6%

The FAO estimates the total timber stock in the world's forests by compiling data for 166 countries that cover 99% of the world's forest area. In 2000, it amounted to 386 billion cubic meters.

Total aboveground woody biomass in the world is estimated at 422 billion tons. About 27% of the aboveground woody biomass is concentrated in Brazil and about 25% in Russia (due to the area).

The average amount of woody biomass per hectare of forests on the planet is 109 tons / ha. Maximum amount woody biomass per hectare is recorded for South America as a whole. The largest stock of timber per hectare is also noted here (in Guatemala - 355 m3 / ha). Central European countries also have very high timber stocks per hectare (in Austria - 286 m3 / ha).

The Global Forest Assessment is based on information provided by each country to FAO in a recommended format. It is also customary to combine these data according to the zones of forest growth: tropical, temperate and boreal zones on the basis of the conditional division of the earth's surface into physical-geographical zones.

Forest zones are called natural areas land boreal, temperate, subtropical, tropical, subequatorial and equatorial belt, in the natural landscapes of which forest trees and shrubs prevail. Forest zones are widespread in conditions of sufficient or excessive moisture. The most typical for the growth of forests is a humid or humid climate. According to the geomorphological classification, the climate of areas with excessive moisture is considered to be humid, when precipitation exceeds the amount of moisture that goes for evaporation and seeps into the soil, and excess moisture is removed by river runoff, which contributes to the development of erosional landforms.

The typical vegetation of landscapes with a humid climate is a forest. There are two types of humid climate: polar - with permafrost and phreatic - with groundwater.

The world's rainforests cover an area of ​​1.7 billion hectares, which is about 37% of the land area of ​​countries located in the tropical zone of our planet. In the tropical zone, subequatorial monsoon forests, equatorial rainforests, tropical evergreen, tropical deciduous and semi-deciduous forests, including mangroves and savannas.

All forests of this belt of the earth develop on the so-called red soil - ferralite soils, which formed on the weathering crust of the ancient land of the earth, which has undergone deep weathering (ferrallitization), as a result of which almost all primary minerals are destroyed. The humus content in the upper horizon of these soils is from 1-1.5 to 8-10%. Sometimes ferruginous crusts are formed on the soil surface.

Ferralite soils are common in the South and Central America, Central Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Northern Australia. After clearing the forests on these soils, hevea plantations are created to collect natural rubber, oil or coconut palms, as well as a classic set of tropical crops: sugar cane, coffee, cocoa, banana, pineapple, tea, black and white pepper, ginger, etc. culture.

The forest zones of the temperate zones of the Northern and Southern hemispheres include the taiga zone, the zone of mixed forests, the zone of deciduous forests and monsoon forests of the temperate zone.

Characteristic feature forest zones temperate zones is the seasonality of natural processes. Coniferous and deciduous forests with a relatively simple structure and a small variety of vegetation cover are widespread here. Podzolic and brown earth types of soil formation prevail.

Temperate forests cover an area of ​​0.76 billion hectares in five regions of the world: East End North America, most of Europe, the eastern part of the Asian subcontinent, a small part in the Middle East and Patagonia (Chile).

Boreal forests grow in the latitudinal zone between the arctic tundra and temperate forests. The total area of ​​forest land in the boreal belt of the planet is estimated at 1.2 billion hectares, of which 0.92 billion hectares of closed forests, including 0.64 billion hectares of forests, called exploitable.

Boreal forests grow mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. Their total area in North America and Eurasia is almost 30% of the total forest area of ​​the planet.

In total, the area of ​​boreal forests is 82.1% of the total forest area of ​​the six countries in which they grow. In Canada, boreal forests make up 75% of forests, in the USA (Alaska) - 88%, in Norway - 80%, in Sweden - 77%, in Finland - 98% and in Russia - an average of about 67%.

Tropical forests are characterized by a thick weathering crust and intense runoff. The subzone of permanently moist forests is dominated by evergreen forests with exceptional species diversity on red-yellow lateritic soils. In the subzone of seasonally humid forests, along with evergreen forests, deciduous forests on red ferralite soils are widespread.

Equatorial rainforest zones are distributed on both sides of the equator in South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, the islands of Oceania. In zones equatorial forests there is almost no seasonal rhythm of natural processes, humidification is abundant, temperatures are constantly high, rivers are abounding in water, soils are lateritic podzolized, along the sea coasts there are mangrove communities.

The forest that grows here is commonly known as the evergreen rain forest. a tropical forest... This forest has become a symbol of the struggle for forest conservation and conservation biological diversity, since it is a multi-level arboreal formations growing in conditions of year-round moisture and has a high density of animal population, especially in the upper layers of the forest.

On the the globe less than 1 billion hectares (718.3 million hectares) of such forests remain, mainly in Brazil, i.e. about 41% of the total rainforest area or about 16% of the planet's forest area.

Subequatorial monsoon forests are common in Central and South America, Africa, southern Asia and northeastern Australia. In these zones, the climate is characterized by the dominance of equatorial monsoons. The dry season lasts 2.5-4.5 months. The soils are red-colored lateritic. Mixed deciduous-evergreen and deciduous forests prevail.

Humid tropical evergreen, semi-deciduous and deciduous forests are the predominant vegetation in the eastern sectors of the continents within tropical belts Northern and Southern Hemispheres (southern Florida, Central and South America, India, Madagascar, Southeast Asia, Australia, Oceania and the Malay Archipelago. oceanic trade winds.

According to the data information system for forests (FORIS), created by FAO, of the total area of ​​tropical forests (1756.3 million hectares), plain forests account for 88%, mountain forests - 11.6%, and alpine areas not occupied by woody vegetation - 0.4%. Among the lowland tropical forests, the largest area is occupied by rainforest evergreen tropical forests (718.3 million hectares in 1990), the forest cover of these territories is 76%. They are followed by humid tropical deciduous forests, whose area is 587.3 million hectares (forest cover 46%). Dry deciduous tropical forests occupied only 238.3 million hectares (forest cover 19%). The area of ​​mountain forests was 204.3 million hectares (forest cover 29%).

Land released from the virgin rainforest for agricultural use is losing fertility very quickly. For several years, abandoned agricultural lands are overgrown with the so-called secondary rainforest; secondary after the virgin.

The most typical feature of a secondary rainforest is considered to be depleted and fairly uniform in ecological characteristics. species composition trees - edificators.

The species of trees in the secondary rainforest are characterized by relative light-love, rapid growth, and the ability to effectively disperse seeds, i.e. less dependence on consort relationships with seed-distributing animals than the trees of the primary rainforest. But as the secondary forest develops, it is more and more approaching in its appearance to the parent formation.

The rainforests are heterogeneous. Total woody plants rainforests exceed four thousand. At the same time, the number of the main forest-forming tree species exceeds 400 species. Therefore, the rainforest is a complex mosaic of evergreen, semi-evergreen (semi-deciduous), mixed, deciduous and coniferous forests, which is formed under the influence of orographic and edapho-climatic factors.

Such edapho-climatic types of tropical forest formations as savannas, bamboo thickets, and mangrove forests stand out.

Unlike other forest formations, the species composition of natural mangrove forests is small. The mangroves proper, which determine the specific appearance of this formation, are the species of two families Rhizophoraceae (genera Rhizophora and Bruguiera) and Verbenaceae (genus Avicennia); The core of the formation is formed by 12-14 mangrove species.

It is believed that with the help of mangrove forests there is not only consolidation, but also an increase in the land of the countries of the Pacific region.

Wood is one of the world's most essential resources to be restored. And wood, both in ancient times, and now they make various building materials, interior components and other things people need. Of course, the forest is capable of recovering much more slowly than being cut down by people.

Most fortunate are those countries that have the most forests. That is, roughly speaking, while one site is being cut down, the rest are already growing rapidly. There are countries where there are practically no forests at all, but there are countries where forests occupy the bulk. In general, the area of ​​forests on the planet exceeds four billion hectares. Those countries with a large timber stock are included in the rating.

10. India, 65 million hectares of forest

It would seem that the territory of this country is not so much, but, for some reason, India is already in tenth place in the ranking. The fact is that Indian forests are located in the subtropical and tropical zone, that is, broadleaf moist forests.

They grow much faster than the familiar oaks, pines and birches. Moreover, in India they grow sacred trees, which are prohibited to cut down by the laws of this state. There are a lot of nature reserves, where there are also restrictions even on the entrance. Even though the trees are sacred natural resource they still count. Repeatedly there was news that the unguarded forest is often subject to felling. India in 2010 became the leader in logging.

9. Peru, 70 million hectares of forest

Not everyone knows the state. Located in South America. Jungle, broadleaf forests, which not only grow quickly, but are practically not cut down by anyone.

The population of Peru is small, therefore, there are few domestic consumers. Peru is a small country, the Amazon River flows only in a small part of it, where forests usually grow more intensively.

8. Indonesia, 90 million hectares of forest

Small state, but good woodland too. As in Peru, the forest is practically not cut down and international trade forest resources are not maintained. Deciduous forests, tropical, therefore they grow rapidly and in large quantities... There are also many nature reserves in Indonesia where deforestation and hunting are prohibited.

7.Republic of the Congo, 135 million hectares of forest

The African state of the Congo is ahead of Indonesia, as it has more territory, and the forests are already closer to the equatorial areas. A huge number of reserves (15% of the entire territory) do not allow poachers to cut down trees. Wet equatorial forests grow even faster than others.

Congo's soils allow forests to grow, as this state stands on the largest river of the same name, which feeds the entire coastal zone with waters. Also, this geographical location is characterized by abundant equatorial rainfall.

6. Australia, 165 million hectares of forest

Similar to Congo, the number of nature reserves is very large: there are many sacred sites that, according to local residents, should not be visited at all. Sometimes the punishment is the death penalty.

The vegetation of this continent corresponds to the species of subequatorial and equatorial forests. It is ahead of the previous leader, most likely due to the difference in territories. One of the largest trees in the world, eucalyptus, grows in Australia. About 100 species of woody plants are of industrial importance.

5. People's Republic of China, 200 million hectares of forest

Despite the very frequent incidents in terms of poachers, it is in fifth place in the ranking of leaders in terms of timber reserves. The vegetation is transitional: subtropical and tropical. There are also areas dominated by temperate forests.

One and the same forest performs two functions at once, one of which is growing silkworm for the extraction of the famous Chinese silk. For comparatively large area China is not characterized by strong forest cover, as the population density is off scale.

4. USA, 305 million hectares of forest

Vegetation inherent in this country temperate latitudes... It is important to note that the forests of the USA are practically the same Taiga, only of a smaller size. The forest is almost not cut down, plus everything - the responsibility for negligence towards nature has been tightened. Such forests are characterized by cedars, birches, oaks, pines, spruces and others. valuable breeds... In general, Americans are thrifty themselves, they buy up everything they can, and save up their own.

Do not forget that there are also many forests on the Alaska Peninsula, only they are more characterized by a forest-tundra feature. One of the largest forests in the United States is the National Forest. It is considered federal land.

3. Canada, 310 million hectares of forest

Almost the smallest population density is typical for Canada. Canadian forest seems to many local residents endless. It is precisely with the low population density that a large number of forests, as part of Canada is a tundra zone where practically nothing grows. Forests, like those of the United States and Russia, are taiga.

The most popular plant in this country is the Canadian maple, the leaf image of which is taken out on state flag... The most extensive are the Laurentian and Eastern forests of Canada.

2. Brazil, 480 million hectares of forest

Generally, geographical position very beneficial for its citizens. Brazil occupies about forty-eight percent of the entire area of ​​South America. Many archipelagos and islands. Brazilian forests are predominantly tropical and equatorial.

It takes the second place in the ranking, as the forests are growing rapidly, and the territory is larger than those listed tropical countries... Also flows here the largest river in South America, the Amazon, which feeds a huge amount of soil. In addition, forests in Brazil are almost never cut down.

1. Russian Federation, 810 million hectares of forest

The world leader in timber reserves. This state has had a lot of forests at all times, despite the very frequent poaching (this also applies to foreign poachers) felling, pollution, intensive sale and use of wood. The largest forest in Russia is Taiga. She is spanning from Ural mountains all the way to the Far East. The taiga is still sparsely populated and in some places has not even been studied.

In addition to the Taiga, there are other large forests in Russia, for example, the forests of the Caucasus, Central regions etc. Major rivers and lakes, a large territory of the country, a fertile layer, protection of reserves and national parks- all this favorably adds up to the growth of forests.