Deforestation THE DESTRUCTION

OF THE RAINFORESTS.

What is deforestation?Deforestation is……..

. When a big percentage of the forest is eradicated , for various reasons.

E.g.

1. People needing to provide food and supplies for their family.2. Illegal loggers3. Supplies for factories4. More farm land5. Urban Sprawl6. Overgrazing7. Wild fires

Deforestation is clearing earth’s forests on a massive scale. If deforestation continues at its present rate the worlds rainforests could completely disappear in a hundred years.

Slash and BurnSlash and burn is a common technique used to clear areas of the forest.

Slash Burn

ThenFirst of all the trees and vegetation are cut down and taken away.

Then, the land is left to dry out until just before the rainforest season. This ensures a more effective burn.

The remaining land and vegetation is burned to get rid of any pests and to make the soil ready for use.

Burning the land makes the soil better quality because it provides nutrients from the ash.

ILLEGAL LOGGERS

Illegal loggers are people who illegally chop down trees for a lot of money. They can build roads to get to more remote forests leading to even more deforestation (clearing the trees to make a pathway. )

Illegal loggers would be looking for valuable wood or plants such as mahogany.

Urban Sprawl

Urban sprawl is when man made factories, buildings, towns or cities spread throughout the landscape. The cities tend to expand and when they reach the forest, they will just begin to gradually chop it down. Urban sprawl is one of the many causes of deforestation. When Urban Sprawl spreads, forests disappear.

The Effects Of Deforesta

tion

On our eco-system

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Loss of habitats- A big concern in rainforests as this is where most of the earths Biodiversity lies

Losing trees doesn’t help the planets very important Carbon Sink Function.

As well as the carbon Sink Function the world would have less vital oxygen that we need to survive.

Global warming will increase as there would be more greenhouse gases.

Loss of species- From animals and insects to plants and vegetation

USEFUL FACTS!

70 percent of earths land animals and plants live in forests.

In the Amazon, around 17 percent of forest has been lost in the last 50 years .

About 15 percent, of all green house gas emissions are because of deforestation.

Is There A Solution? There is NO proper solution to the destruction of rainforests other than trying to prevent large areas of forest being cut down. However , if we planted a new tree for every tree we cut down, the problem would perhaps be less of a massive issue and concern to the planet.

BIBLIOGRAPHY www.nationalgeographic.com

The Usborne internet linked children's encyclopaedia

www.livescience.com

Geography.about.com

wwf.panda.org

Thank you For Listening