Deforestation – 101
Where’s my tree gone?…
So this week I’m hammering my ignorance of climate change into a finely forged, and sometimes double edged, sword of justice and understanding. While I was researching my global warming scepticism article I uncovered 1.21 gigawatts of information regarding climate change and its environmental factors. The problem, as I have mentioned, is that there is almost too much information about it. Wrapping your head around the various arguments and counter claims can often lead to complete apathy and uncertainty. Who is right? Who’s wrong? Is it global warming, or is it actually cooling down? Is an ice age incoming, or is a blistering heat wave just around the corner? To be honest I’m still completely confused. Not being a physicist or an environmental scientist doesn’t really help when you trawl through immense amounts of information and statistics. In light of this I thought I’d refresh my GCSE geography knowledge with a few 101 classes on environmental basics. This week we’re going to start with deforestation…
Save the trees, kill the beavers…
Well it’s pretty hard not to get the basic grip on this subject. The term simply refers to the act of cutting down vast swathes of trees and the resulting impact this can have on our environment. Analysts suggest that the rate of deforestation is estimated at about 6,000,000 hectare a year, which roughly equates to 685 hectares an hour. So about 6,850,000 square meters of trees, forests, woodland and rainforests is being removed every hour from the face of the earth. Thankfully deforestation rates have declined throughout the 80’s, 90’s and the aptly named nought’s. In the last few decades more and more is being done to protect and conserve these environments, but unfortunately the rate of deforestation is still rampant. Over 14% of the world used to be covered by rainforests; tragically this has now dropped to just a little over 6%. Scientists suggest that rainforests could completely disappear within 40 years. Deforestation of these areas could lead to a potential point of no-return. Rainforest biospheres are particularly vulnerable to climate shifts and changes within rainforest ecosystems could have disastrous consequences leading to their complete collapse.
"And I would have gotten away with it, if it wasn't for you pesky activists"...
Deforestation – main factors…
There are several main reasons for acts of deforestation most of these are anthropogenic, meaning that they are caused by human activity. These factors include;
- Overgrazing.
- Agricultural cultivation and techniques.
- Urbanization.
- Legal & illegal logging.
- Mining and resource acquisition.
Most deforestation occurs due to the increasing demand in land for cultivation and grazing. Vast tracks of trees are logged to provide adequate agricultural land for farmers and cattle. Certain specific farming techniques like ‘slash & burn’ cannot also have long term negative effects upon the soil. Resource acquisition is also another major factor of deforestation. Lumber for construction and commercial products is a lucrative business and this often leads to illegal and uncontrolled logging.
Deforestation – environmental effects…
What exactly are the environmental effects of deforestation? Perhaps one of the most easily observed and prominent affects on the environment is the destruction of carefully balanced ecosystems and their inhabitants. Scientists estimate that 50,000 animal, insect and floral species a year are made extinct due to rainforest deforestation. The world’s ecology has long since been a vital source for human innovation and inspiration in the fields of science and technology. Who knows what we are potentially loosing by removing so many species from the planet. The removal of certain species like the bee could have disastrous effects upon the world and as such it is imperative that we preserve as much of the rainforest as we can.
Not so clever now huh pigeon?...
Rainforests are vital CO2 extractors and carbon sinks. CO2 is a vital part of photosynthesis. Plants and trees absorb CO2 which in-turn is used and changed by the organism into oxygen. Deforestation removes these natural CO2 extractors and this allows atmospheric CO2 levels to increase. A large amount of CO2 is actually held within decaying organic matter and leaf litter. By removing rainforest we are also removing our world’s potential to retain CO2 in vast quantities via these CO2 sinks. CO2 and methane are greenhouse gases; deforestation and overgrazing lead to increase of levels in these gases and further adds towards anthropogenic climate change.
Removal of forests also affects indigenous tribes. By destroying the habitats that they live in, many tribes have been forced to relocate. Deforestation in this sense also leads to global poverty, as indigenous tribes are forced away from their lands into more urbanised areas where they are unable to remain self-sufficient.
A further effect of deforestation is the disruption caused on the climate, local weather patterns and the water cycle. Deforestation reduces the water content of the ground and can lead to desertification and soil erosion. The effect on water run-off and groundwater can also lead to a decrease in evapotranspiration, which lessens atmospheric moisture which in some cases affects precipitation levels down wind from the deforested area. This change in atmospheric moisture can alter local micro climates and additionally add to global climate change.
More GCSE geography to come! Look out for the CO2 and water cycle to be featured in next weeks ConfusedbytheWorld…
4 Comments to “Deforestation – 101”
deforestation is really bad.. this is a really good article
This is great! Now I want to see your ways for us readers to become more involved! Expect an email later today.
good article , I added you in the ‘Liked’ category.. thanks for sharing the article!
Sadly, little is being done to stop deforestation. However, our current economic crisis might slow it down as demand for wood and forest products is less now that construction is down. Also, as the price of oil has gone down there is less incentive to produce corn ethanol, this means that the price of corn went down and there is now less incentive to cut down forest to plant corn.
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