4.3. The effects outside the forests

Up to now, we have mainly been concerned with the direct effects of the destruction of the forests on the species living in them. However, the effects of the forest ecosystem reach over much larger area beyond the edge of the forest. Forests play an essential role in regulating the water cycle in the surrounding area, in preventing erosion and as "carbon sinks" that bind carbon dioxide, which would otherwise be contributing to the greenhouse effect.

The plantations do not have the same capacities as the natural rainforests. In a pointed way it can be said that the further removed from the qualities of a natural forest the plantations are regarding e.g. their growth cycles and structure, the less they are in a position to fulfil their natural regulating tasks in the above mentioned fashion. When natural forests, even selectively logged ones, are replaced by plantations, the results are a drying up of the regional microclimate, an increase in erosion and additional carbon dioxide releases to the atmosphere.