services

• there are many services that benefit the environment, such as the water and nutrient cycling which is essential to maintain the ecosystem
• this helps to protect soil erosion and habitats that then ensure biodiversity is maintained
• this can be argued to benefit local people, settlers and tourists in the area
• rainforests do provide employment opportunities , however many of them such as logging and mining benefit settlers in the area but actively destroy the environment and many peoples way of living
• the most important service the rainforest provides is the role the rainforests provide in terms of regulating the worlds climate
• rainforests are one of the worlds largest carbon sinks which means they store carbon by taking carbon dioxide in to aid growth, in turn they release oxygen, around 28% comes from rainforests worldwide
• 2.5 acres of rainforest absorb 1 tonne of carbon dioxide per year, whilst conversely, the clearing and burning of trees in the rainforest accounts for around 20% of carbon dioxide emissions by man