Forests are a large ecosystem formed by trees that host countless living beings and are the lungs of our planet.
Forests are a vast ecosystem formed by trees that host countless living beings and are the lungs of our planet. The destruction of forests means the extinction of countless species. The extinction of one species threatens its predators or other species that benefit from it. Because every living thing is connected by a chain, and if a part of this chain is broken, the entire chain must engage in the struggle for life.Considering that humanity has existed for the last 300,000 years and has encroached upon living spaces and forests in recent years, it turns out that we are a species that has ruled fire for only this long. In every habitat we inhabit, it is no surprise that fire has begun to rule us, as we have preferred to devastate our nature rather than sustainability. In fact, forests are at peace with fire. The reality of "being consumed by fire" lies in the nature of forests. Like everything has a life cycle, forests are also within a cycle of being reborn and perishing as ashes. For example, Mediterranean forests completely burn and turn to ash every 50 years. Because when the phenomena of death and rebirth do not occur, it may sound incredible, but the life cycle of the forest is disrupted, and some tree species in the forest face the threat of extinction. Although it is a natural reason for our forests to need fire to survive, turning to ash by an external force disrupts their entire balance and brings about a difficult recovery process. In the only planet capable of sustaining life, we, the wildest species living intertwined with all living beings and ecosystems; if we could understand that the climate we have changed, the domestic waste we throw on the ground, the wastewater we recklessly discharge into the receiving environment without treatment, and the greenhouse gases we release into the air are torture for our nature, we would not be at war with our nature right now. Neither would the life cycle of our forests be disrupted, nor would our seas begin to spew mucilage, nor would July 29, 2021, be marked as "D.""World Limit Exceed Day" would be declared.**So How Does the Changing Climate Turn Forests to Ash?**Due to climate change, atmospheric convective systems are strengthening, making storm formation easier. Therefore, although more intense rainfall occurs, these rains can also trigger lightning events that cause fires before sufficiently wetting an area. Additionally, since not every storm leaves precipitation at its starting point, storms that leave rain in another area can ignite forests in different geographies through lightning.**How Many Trees Does One Person Need?**An adult plane tree is about 12 meters tall. It has a mass of around 2 tons, including its roots and leaves. If it grows by 5% each year, it needs to produce 100 kilograms of wood annually. This means 38 kilograms of carbon. If the relative masses of oxygen and carbon are taken into account, it can be said that each tree releases 100 kilograms of oxygen into the air each year.Burned trees, all the living species that are lost, unproductive soils, the kilograms of oxygen we steal from our future... In this case, who is the ash? The forests or humanity?
