Forests and mountains and their riches

A forest is a place where trees, shrubs and herbs grow together. Kinds: coniferous forest (juniper, pine), broad-leaved forest (oak, birch; their leaves fall in autumn), riverside woods called tugay (along rivers and lakes: willow, poplar, reed) and tropical forest (always warm and wet, palms and lianas). In Uzbekistan there are tugay woods by rivers in desert and steppe, and juniper, walnut, pistachio and almond forests in the mountains. A forest releases oxygen and traps dust, creates moisture and helps rain, gives timber (paper, furniture, musical instruments), is home to many animals and a source of medicinal plants. Tree roots hold the sand and stop it from drifting. That is why forests are called “the Earth’s green lungs”. Do not cut trees, light fires or leave litter.