Page 134 - Supplemento 2-2016 (ENG)

ProF. riccardo valentini

Fundamentally the central base of the fertility of the soil originates with
the existence of a forest. In view of this, and in order to give that fertility which
is important in our agriculture, the moment for reforestation has arrived.

Apart from what I have just said, forests have many functions. The servi-
ces they give us, the ones known to us, are linked to the primary production, in
other words timber and fibres, and important material for the green chemistry.
Less known, but similarly important, are the eco-systemic services such as the
regulatory function of forests in the hydrological cycle.

For example, forests are important in the Hydrogeological Defence, for
their capacity to retain water, to make soils more permeable and to reduce the
risks of overflows. At the same time, they have an important function for the
quality of the air, for the contrast to certain diseases and also for example – this
is the fundamental point I will discuss later – as an element which absorbs car-
bon dioxide, which is a gas causing global warming. The latter is a central issue
for the attention of the world Governments.

Forests also represent an element of landscape which goes beyond a strai-
ghtforward recognisable function such as a pleasant walk which makes us feel

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