A paper published in Nature in July found that Estonia (爱沙尼亚) had one of the highest rates of forest loss in Europe. There had been a rapid increase in forest harvesting across many European countries, the authors of the study found, which seemed broadly linked to a growing demand for wood products.
Worldwide, as the area covered by forests has decreased by more than 440 million acres since 1990, tree plantations have increased by more than 300 million acres. Forests are increasingly being converted into industrial tree fields—and tiny Estonia has become a pointed case study in this global transformation. The loss of forests cuts deep into Estonian history and tradition.
The Estonian Cultural Association lists 80 sacred sites that have been cleared by industrial loggers. They have mapped 1,200 additional sites, many of which have no formal protection, putting them at risk of being logged. Many of the sites are in old-growth forests, which make up about 2 percent of Estonia’s remaining forest cover.
There is debate about the accuracy of the map; the Estonian Heritage Conservation Agency has not adopted it. But at the heart of Estonian culture, lies the idea of the forest as an active presence, a thing humans do not create but rather “get out of the way of”. The respect for nature here is powerful.
As foreign investment and logistical support poured in, Estonians driving the country’s highways began to see harvester machines on the edge of the forests, pulling trees out like grass. In their place have come evenly spaced rows of pine and spruce planted for the global market, a replacement of the forest with something far simpler and more profitable, as Estonian ecologist Asko Lohmus has said.
1. According to the study, forest loss in Europe appeared to be associated with ____.
2. The impact of forest loss on Estonia lies mainly in ____.
3. Why did the Estonia Cultural Association worry?
4. The reason for pines and spruces being planted is that ____.