THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FORESTS IN COMBATING THE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION.

Pollution has serious impacts on human health. In the past, the forests were the main source for human food and shelter. Today, forests have many roles. One of these roles is the possibility of combating pollution. Forests allow the maintenance of the ecological balance, being the most important factor for the natural environment. Climate change is affecting increasingly more human activities. Forests have the capacity to attenuate the climate change action. Considering the importance of forests in combating the soil erosion, this article presents a case related to the soil erosion caused by water, for the European Union countries. A real importance of forests is given by the contribution that they make to reduce the temperature increase and the fight against drought and floods. Forests are under threat because of the deforestation. The article presents an analysis of the forest area in Romania and of the areas where were performed regenerations. Thus, protecting forests is an effective measure against global warming and against the loss of the ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]