Research Letters - On Forests and Water Interactions

<p>More than one in six people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water and approximately 80 percent of the global population is living in areas where water resources are insecure. Forest watersheds play an important role in providing domestic, agricultural and commercial water, and therefore the conservation of forests is key to sustaining the availability and quality of water. Water conservation, soil protection and flood/drought mitigation provided by forests are paramount to human welfare and environmental sustainability. Forests capture and store water by increasing absorption, infiltration, abating runoff velocity and reducing water erosion. Filtration of water pollutants, flow regulation, and the mitigation of floods, droughts and salinity are among other key services of forests related to water.