The Contribution of Trees

Abstract

It is nearly impossible to do more than outline the ways in which forest trees and their products have been of use to man. Even though we are entering an age in which steel and plastics may seem to be outdating the use of wood, it is probable that new uses for wood and wood products are at least keeping pace with the loss of the old ones. Indeed, no material is more intimately connected with the growth and survival of our contemporary civilization than a wood product, paper. Yet as more people use (and waste) paper for more purposes every year, the outlook for the forests of the world is far from rosy. Even when the wood is not used for paper, the forests are disappearing, chiefly being cleared for agricultural purposes. Almost all of the tropical rain forests will probably disappear within the next century, yet it has been estimated that the economic possibilities of more than 90 per cent of the plant species in them remain unknown. Even where the forests are preserved, the most valuable timber trees have often been removed.