Fiber production has risen nearly 50 percent since 1960 to 1.5 billion cubic meters annually. Fiber scarcities are not expected in the foreseeable future. Plantations currently supply more than 20 percent of industrial wood fiber, and this contribution is expected to increase. Harvesting from natural forests will also continue, leading to younger and more uniform forests. Production is recorded by value and by volume in cubic meters per year.
Various studies forecast future production and consumption rates.
Forest inventory data, recording annual rates of tree growth, tree mortality, size and age of stands, and harvest rates, are generally available for industrial countries but are incomplete and must be estimated for many developing countries. Information on plantation extent and productivity varies widely among countries. Water quality and quantity Conditions and changing capacity. Forest cover helps to maintain clean water supplies by filtering freshwater and reducing soil erosion and sedimentation. Deforestation undermines these processes.