Nature’s Sanctuary—Forests as the Sine Qua Non of Biodiversity and Environment

The chapter underlines the fact that a forest is an irreplaceable entity that, if destroyed, may have disproportionate consequences for humanity. Three significant aspects that make natural forests an indispensable component of nature include the influence of natural forest on rainfall, the complexity of maintaining energy flow by the interactions of a multitude of species, and the impact of natural forest or deforested sites on soil. The current science, with all limitations, has provided us with enough data to appreciate that the presence of natural forests does influence rainfall and microclimate. Studies have shown that the vegetation and atmosphere are in a dynamic equilibrium interacting with each other and exchanging energy, moisture, and momentum. Forest biodiversity is the outcome of the evolutionary process of nature and as compared with other ecosystems, the richness of flora and fauna in a forest reflects the depth of time over which biodiversity has evolved and adapted to the changing conditions. Our understanding of the biophysical and biochemical role and ecological interaction of diverse species within the ecosystem especially maintenance of flow of chemical compounds, soil fertility, purification of water, decomposition of waste, and pollination of flowers, etc., is still in a nascent phase. Finally, forest soils are different from others in many ways. They evolve over a long period ranging from a few decades to thousands of years depending on the human interventions and their physical and chemical properties are eventually determined by the biotic interactions during this period. Unlike other soils, forest soil forms an organic layer on the soil surface which contains freshly degraded organic matter from dead plants and animals. Forests are, by far, the best and most cost-effective carbon sequestering machine provided by nature.