Forests play a very important role in order to maintain the balance in the ecosystem, by playing a vital role in maintaining the water cycle through extracting groundwater through their roots and releasing it into the atmosphere, preventing soil erosion through their roots holding in the soil and their foliage shielding the soil from the effects of wind, rain and sun and most important of all, forests are responsible for maintaining the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the earth's atmosphere.

Forests are an important part of the global carbon cycle because trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. By removing this greenhouse gas from the air, forests function as carbon sucking machines, meaning they store large amounts of carbon. Trees are usually 50 percent carbon by weight and work hard to keep our planet in check. At any time, forests account for as much as double the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Even as more anthropogenic carbon is produced, forests remove around three billion tons of it every year. This amounts to about 30% of all carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. Therefore, an increase in the overall forest cover around the world would tend to mitigate global warming. In addition to locking in the carbon forests account for 28% of the oxygen we breathe.