Our forests provide us with many products that we use daily. Some are obvious, such as the paper that this newsletter is printed on. Lumber for housing and furniture, wood for pencils and toys, and the multitude of paper products easily come to mind when one is asked to name a forest product. Most people would be surprised however, by the number and variety of forest products that dominate their lives. Our forests provide many foods and chemicals. Cellulose extracted from plants provides rigidity to plastic items and thickens many liquids, such as paint and shampoo.Wood and paper products are reusable, recyclable and biodegradable. They typically require much less energy to produce in comparison to other materials. Our forests are a naturally renewable resource. Harvesting trees for wood products creates openings in the forest canopy. This allows sunlight to reach the forest floor and enable natural regeneration to occur. These openings also create edges and diversify habitat to improve conditions for many animal and bird species.
Our forests also provide us with clean water to drink and air to breathe. The oxygen upon which we depend is actually a by-product of tree growth. To grow a pound of wood, a tree uses 1.47 pounds of carbon dioxide and gives off 1.07 pounds of oxygen. However, when a tree begins to decay, the process reverses: 1.07 pounds of oxygen is used up and 1.47 pounds of carbon dioxide is put back into the air.
As for clean water, forests play an irreplaceable part in the water cycle. Trees absorb water from the soil and through the process of evapo-transpiration release clean water vapor into the air. The 200,000 leaves on a healthy 100-foot tree can take 11,000 gallons of water from the soil and "breathe" it into the air in a single growing season. The cooling effect of all that air is said to be the equivalent of air conditioning for 12 rooms. The tree roots also stabilize soil and impede runoff, helping to keep surface waters such as rivers and lake clean.
Forty years ago, Congress created National Forest Products Week as a time to recognize the many products that come from our forests and to honor the industry which produces them.
National Forest Products Week offers us the chance to ask people to think about the forest products industry and how it contributes to their lives.
Forest Fact: The forest products industry is the fifth largest industry in Maryland, the largest industry in western Maryland, and second only to agriculture on the Eastern Shore.
See also Governor Ehrlich's Executive Orders to support forestry
and the forest products industry
