Question

How are forests useful to humans? List any five ways.

Answer 1

Forest

1. Forest is a huge area of land covered by herbs, shrubs, trees, and grasses.
2. Forests are home to many organisms.
3. The functions of forests can be categorized as protective, regulatory, and productive.
4. Forests are of immense importance to humans as they provide us with many raw materials.

Five important ways in which forests are useful to us are given below:

1. Fuelwood - Forests are an important source of energy of fuelwood used for cooking and heating, especially in rural areas.
2. Timber - Trees like deodar, sissoo, teak, Sal, rosewood, babul, etc. yield valuable timber which is used in industries to prepare plywood, paper, sawmilling, and boards, etc.
3. Medicines- Human beings depend on various herbs and plants growing in forests to fight against diseases. They are often used to prepare herbal medicines. Neem, Bael, tulsi, etc. are important medicinal plants.
4. Fibers - Forests provide us with fibers from trees like jute, cotton, hemp, sisal, etc. to make different objects.
5. Essential oils - Oils are derived from leaves of trees like eucalyptus, wintergreen, pine, etc. Lemongrass, citronella, and khus are also important sources of essential oils. These oils are used for making soaps, cosmetics, incense sticks, etc.