I welcome email with help. Other uses of forests Forests are also used for recreation including hunting, and they play a role in maintaining biodiversity. The amount needed for recreation seems to be a lot less than is available. However, it is complained that some large predators, e.g. wolves, require more land than is available. I doubt that humanity will move out of large areas for the benefit of wolves.
Forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
How much is unknown. July 18 discusses this question. Carbon Sinks in the Post-Kyoto World, Part I by Roger Sedjo of Resources for the Future studies planting forests as a way of reducing carbon in the atmosphere. It occurs to me that one way of removing CO2 from the atmosphere is cutting down mature forests and burying the wood - or anything but burning it. Then fast growing trees are planted and they remove CO2 from the air.