What is the Downloads folder on an iOS device?

This might seem like a simple question but what is the downloads folder on an iOS device? Is it OK to remove the contents of it?

On my iPhone, I have used iExplorer to check out the contents of this folder and it is using roughly a couple hundred megs and has nearly 600 folders in it. I develop apps and have numerous apps with failed installs. Do you think it is OK to wipe this folder clean without impacting other apps?