Environmental Science (2+1)

Deforestation

What are forests and woodlands?

• In a forest the crowns of individual trees touch to form a single canopy. In a woodland, trees grow far apart, so that the canopy is open.Of great concern is the rate at which deforestation is occurring. Currently, 12 million hectares of forests are cleared annually. Almost all of this deforestation occurs in the moist forests and open woodlands of the tropics. At this rate all moist tropical forest could be lost by the year 2050, except for isolated areas in Amazonia, the Zaire basin, as well as a few protected areas within reserves and parks. Some countries such as Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Costa Rica, and Sri Lanka are likely to lose all their tropical forests by the year 2010 if no conservation steps are taken.



How does it happen?

• Deforestation is an environmental problem that is happening in many places, and affecting the whole world. Deforestation is the destruction or removal of rainforests. Trees are cut down for logging companies, for animals to have land to graze and so farmers have land for their crops. The removal of the forests may seem like it affects only the immediate surroundings, but it really affects the world as a whole. In regions where deforestation occurs there is an influx in the temperature extremes. There is no shade during the day, and no insulation during the night. Once the trees and shade are gone, the once moist soil soon becomes dry and cracked. This leads to flooding and erosion. There is nothing to absorb the rainfall and no roots to hold the soil in place. Another huge problem of deforestation is its contribution to the greenhouse effect.


• The greenhouse effect is when gases in the atmosphere trap the sun's heat causing global warming. Since trees are half carbon, all of that carbon is released into the atmosphere when they are burned. Unfortunately carbon dioxide is one of the gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect. Since three quarters of the deforestation is due to the burning of the forests, the burning of trees accounts for a quarter of the carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere each year.There is really no easy solution to deforestation. One possible solution is recycling.


• If more people recycle, there will be less dependence on disposable products like paper plates and paper towels. If there is no demand for these products there would be a decrease in the need for logging in the rainforests. Another possible solution to deforestation is the increase in the number of tree plantations. The rainforests destroyed by logging could also be replaced by new trees. In South America, the main area where deforestation occurs, there are currently no laws about deforestation. There are talks about a set of laws, but nothing is currently in place. If a law was made requiring loggers to plant new trees in place of the ones they cut down it would help the problem of deforestation