ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF FORESTS: WATER PROTECTION, SOIL PROTECTION, AND CLIMATE REGULATION

Abstract

The article examines the ecological functions of forests — water protection, soil protection, and climate-regulating. Based on an analysis of domestic and foreign sources, it is shown that forests play a key role in regulating hydrological regimes, preventing erosion and soil degradation, as well as in the global carbon cycle and climate formation. Special attention is paid to the impact of natural (fires) and anthropogenic (logging, industrial pollution, recreational load) factors, which significantly weaken the ecological potential of forest ecosystems. It is shown that to restore impaired functions, it is necessary to create artificial plantations of valuable deciduous species and maintain biodiversity. The insufficient development of methods for the ecological-economic assessment of the "weightless" benefits of forests is noted. The conclusion is made about the need for an integrated interdisciplinary approach to forest management in the context of global climate change.