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Why are they special?
Because they:
Have been the most important form of plant life for a long, long time.
Provide a place to live for nearly half of the total number of plants and animals living on earth.
Give us fruit, nuts, fuel, timber and medicine.
Provide shelter from sun and rain.
Slow down strong winds and act as sun traps.
Prevent too much water leaving the soil, by covering the floor with leaves.
Breathe in carbon dioxide, which can be harmful to us if we have to breathe it in
They make oxygen that we breathe
Hold top-soil that is needed for plants to grow.
Provide beauty to any environment.
They are special, but do we take care of them?
No
How are they harmed?
People cut down trees and burn forests to:
Make room for farming
Get fuel and energy
Make a profit from timber sent to Europe, North America and Japan
Grow a single type of plant such as conifers
Kill a certain type of tree. This is called ‘Selective logging’, where a bulldozer is made go to only one type of tree. But it also damages all the other types of trees in the area.
This causes:
Wildlife to be harmed.
Many other plants and animals to be left homeless.
Us to be short of much needed fuel, water, wood and food, medicines and chemicals
The soil to become unusable for plants or animals.
Some animals and plants to vanish from earth.
The land left from the burned forest to have an ugly scar for a long time.
The air to have carbon dioxide which is harmful to us.
Top-soil that is held by the trees to be washed into lakes and sea, which clogs them up.
What can we do to help?
Ask your parents to teach you to plant the right tree in the right place.
Visit forests. If you feel they are being damaged tell someone who can help save them.
Try to not waste paper and recycle things so new trees don’t have to be cut down.
Remember….
Trees are very beautiful and important to us. Let’s make sure they are taken care of!