Why is rainforest globally important

Curare, a poison used by Amazonian Indians on arrow tips can be used as a muscle relaxant if given in small doses. Many food sources are still being discovered in rainforests. The 'peach palm' of Brazil produces up to peach-like fruits a season. The fruit has twice the food value of banana and more protein and carbohydrate than maize. The forests and soil also lock away carbon, an important function, especially in this age when humans are causing so much carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere through, for example, transport and fossil fuel power stations.

During heavy downpours, the mass of vegetation in the rainforest catches and holds much of the rain, then 'disposes' of it through evaporation and transpiration; it acts like a bog umbrella breaking the force of the rain and protecting the ground surface. Where trees are cut down in large numbers, this natural protection is removed, soil erosion increases and minerals are washed away. Trees also help to control the amount of water that is held in the soil.

In areas around the world where forests have been felled, the rainfall patterns have changed. In some places, the rains have almost stopped falling, and in others, flooding has been caused. In South East Asia and the Pacific Islands, people have lived in the forests for about 40, years, but the earliest signs of human settlement in African forests are no more than 3, years old.

There are about 1, indigenous tribes in the rainforests of the world. Trees play an important part in the water cycle, grounding the water in their roots and releasing it into the atmosphere. In the Amazon, more than half the water in the ecosystem is held within the plants. Without the plants, the climate may become dryer and growing food could become impossible for many. Most of our foods come out of the Amazon like bananas, pineapples, nuts, coffee beans and many more. If deforestation continues at the current rate of thousand square miles of forest each year—equivalent to 36 football fields every minute — then we could be in danger of cutting off a significant percentage of our food supply.

Deforestation drives climate change. This disruption leads to more extreme temperatures swings that can be harmful to plants and animals. Trees also play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming. Fewer forests means larger amounts of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere—and increased speed and severity of global warming. The biggest reason to save the rainforst is the effect deforestation has on local economies.

Filed Under: Everyday actions Last updated June 20, Rainforests are essential to life on Earth. Not only do they provide air, water, medicine, food, and shelter to a multitude of living beings, they are also one of our best natural defenses against climate change because of their capacity to absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. From the beginning, our approach has been to work with farmers and indigenous and forest communities to cultivate sustainable rural livelihoods that incentivize conservation.

Today, we work in more than 60 countries to stop deforestation and initiate reforestation, improve livelihoods , and protect biodiversity. However, we cannot afford to give up on tropical forests. Restoring them and their ability to sequester carbon is one of several critical steps we must take to address our global climate crisis. Bengal tigers, mountain gorillas, orangutans, jaguars, and blue poison dart frogs are just a few of the magnificent animals found in rainforests.

Sadly, many of these species are on the brink of extinction, and their continued existence is crucial to maintaining the balance of marvelously efficient—but delicate—rainforest ecosystems. Rainforests add water to the atmosphere through the process of transpiration, by which plants release water from their leaves during photosynthesis. Deforestation reduces the moisture released into the atmosphere, causing rainfall to decrease. This is why the loss of forests often leads to drought.