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Why Forests Are Important

Vermont's forests are valuable ecologically, economically and socially. Covering 75 percent of the state, forests provide jobs, stability to the landscape, wildlife habitats, biological diversity, clear water, scenic vistas and diverse recreational opportunities. While changes are always occurring to the forests, these are values that Vermonters want to maintain.

Ecosystem Services

Benefits people obtain from forest ecosystems help sustain and fulfill human life. Our clean air and water are in large part due to the filtering effects of trees above and below ground. Forests provide food, fresh water, fuel and fiber. They support functions such as maintaining soil fertility, cycling of nutrients (carbon sequestration & air pollution filtering), and provide habitat for plant and animal life. Forests reduce the effects from climate (drought) weather (flooding, strong winds) and insect and disease problems (natural controls). And forests represent a part of our lives that we value for education, aesthetics, recreation, tourism and cultural heritage. Some of these benefits could be viewed as commodities that deserve compensation, such as: aesthetics, undeveloped open space, watershed protection and water purification and carbon sequestration and storage. Visit the following link more information on climate change and forests.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment – a four-year United Nations assessment of the condition and trends of the world’s ecosystems - categorizes ecosystem services as:

	Provisioning Services or the provision of food, fresh water, fuel, fiber and other goods;
	Regulating Services such as climate, water and disease regulation as well as pollination;
Supporting Services such as soil formation and nutrient cycling; and
Cultural Services such as educational, aesthetic and cultural heritage values as well as recreation and tourism.