Scientists Claim That Only Two Intact Giant Forest Patches Are Left On The Earth

A latest study has revealed that there are only two intact forests left on the most habitable planet in the universe—Earth. According to the study, which got published recently, South America and Africa play host to the only two continuous forests left for acknowledgement.

"There are really only two big patches of intact forest left on Earth—the Amazon and the Congo— and they shine out like eyes from the centre of the map," claimed the lead researcher Nick Haddad, reported New Yorker. The rest of the natural forests in the world have already been intruded by man-made activities, including construction of roads and other natural calamities like forest fires, resulted in small fragments of a single large patch of intact woody forests.

According to the study, about 20 percent of the fragmented woody forest land situates itself at a distance of one football field away from the actual edge of the forest, while 70 percent of the fragmented forest portion lies half a mile away from its natural edge.

Another alarming revelation about the habitat loss has gained the attention of the ecologists from around the world. According to the researchers, half of the plant and animal species that have their natural habitat in the fragmented forest portions become extinct within 20 years of its fragmentation.

"People have known for a long time that fragmentation is bad and it's getting worse," concluded the co-author, Doug Levey from the National Science Foundation. "It's never too late to preserve what we already have," he continued.

The research was carried out by an international team of 24 scientists funded by the Natural Science Foundation. Their study has been published in the journal Science Advances.

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