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Beneficial forest

The importance of forests for us humans

The tree even provides shade for those that come to cut it down.
The forest is a habitat, a source of food and raw materials. It provides us work and an income. It cleans our drinking water and the air we breathe. It protects us from floods, wind, and noise. We find rest and relaxation in it.
The forest provides us with a variety of beneficial and useful services. Lots of them all by themselves and free of charge. If we didn’t have the forest, we could obtain these services from our own resources only at very high costs or not at all.
When we use the forest, we are required to use it responsibly. Also, there are limits to its resilience, and its performance should be preserved also for future generations.
Wood is a renewable, ecological raw material as well as a renewable energy source. Its use must be as sustainable and efficient as possible. And, we should be asking, do our current management methods extract all the potential of the forest. Climate change is a big challenge for forest management. When we establish stands of forest today, these must also be able to cope with the climate 100 years from now.
The greatest danger to the forest is overexploitation. Where does my wood come from? The principle of sustainability doesn’t stop at national borders. If we look after our forest carefully and treat it in a nature-friendly manner, but obtain large amounts of wood from regions where primeval forests are being deforested, then little is gained.

Forest services of 1 hectare forest of the Lower Saxony State Forests

RECREATION
35 meters (115 feet) of recreational paths are available for walks, rest, and relaxation per hectare (2.5 acres) of forest.
WOOD SUPPLIER
300 cubic meters (nearly 400 cubic yards) of wood are available per hectare (2,5 acres) in Lower Saxony’s state forests. And more is growing back than is being taken.
DRINKING WATER
1,500 cubic meters (~400,000 gallons) of ground water, depending on rainfall and geology, are formed each year in one hectare (2.5 acres) of forest.
CO2 STORAGE
~10 tons of CO2 are stored in one hectare (2.5 acres) of forest.
Large amounts of carbon are stored in renewable wood every year – climate protection pure!
The forest has many functions. It provides wood, protects the water, the soil, and the air, it stores CO2, offers us lots of space for sporting activities, relaxation, play, and fun. Its services are free and cannot be substituted. If we use it, we have to handle it carefully so that it is not destroyed. Sometimes, we choose not to use the forest so that it has a chance to develop undisturbed and become ancient.
The “Conservation Owl” logo indicates where the forest is allowed to develop undisturbed. Here, nature has priority and we humans stay on the trails and enjoy and marvel at what nature produces in forests.

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