DetrimentalEffectsofDeforestation

By:EmmaThompson

TheAmazonRainforestisexperiencingveryseriousenvironmentalchanges
causedbydeforestation.Deforestation,theactorresultofcuttingdownorburningall
thetreesinanarea,leadstoanincreaseinclimatechange,upsetsintheweather
patterns,habitatloss,andsoildegradation.

Deforestationisthreateningusandourenvironment.Onlytwentyninepercent
oftheEarthssurfaceismadeupofland,andonlythirtypercentofthatlandare
coveredbyforests(MongaBay).Withsuchlittlecultivatedlandtoworkwithandanever
growinghumanpopulation,manypeopleturntodeforestationtoexpandtheircities.
Almost18millionacresarecutdowneachyearintheAmazonRainforest(Bradford),at
thisratetheAmazonislosingalmostanacreeachsecond(RainforestFoundation).If
wewanttosavetheremainingforests,memuststopextremelogging.

Therearetwomajortypesoflogging:clearcutandselective.Clearcuttinga
forestmeanstakingasectionoflandandcompletelyremovingalltreeswithinthearea.
Largescaleclearcuttingcanseverelyaffecthowtheecologicalcycleworks(NRDC).
Clearcuttingisperformedusingfire,burningthesectionoftreestoashes,clearingthe
wayfornewfarmsorurbanization.Whenfarmersusethisastheirmethodofchoice,
it'sonlyservingthemashorttermsolution.Thefireburnsvegetationdeepintothe

ground,destroyingtherootsandtheirnutrientsburiedbeneaththesurfaceallowingsoil
erosiontooccur.Oncefarmersplanttheircrops,thoseplantswillsoakupany
remainingnutrientsleftintheground.Yearafteryearasthefarmerplantscrops,the
groundwon'thaveanysupplementstofeedtheproduceanylonger.Thecropswill
witherandhavelessyieldcausingfarmerstomoveandexpandtheirterritories,cutting
downevenmoretrees.Itsanendlesscyclethatonlygetsworseaslargerindustries
comeinandclearcutatanenormousrate.

Secondly,selectiveloggingwasadoptedasanalternativemethodtoprevent
largescaledeforestation.Selectiveloggingisthepracticeofonlycuttingdownacertain
speciesoftrees,whileleavingtheotherspeciesalone.Thispracticemaysoundlikea
betteroptionbuteverytreeremovedcoulddamageuptothirtymoretrees.Whentrees
arecutdown,thevinesthatconnectthempulldowntheneighboringtrees.Previous
studieshaveshownthattherearemoreforestfiresinconnectiontoselectivelogging.
Whentreesareremoved,lightpenetratesthroughthesparsecanopyoropening,
bakingforestfloor.Excessivesunexposuredehydratesthesoil,makingitmuchmore
susceptibletoburning.
Thethreatsaresoseverethatwearelosingforestsatarate
equivalentto48footballfieldsperminute.
Justasalarming,Scientistshavelinked
loggingtounusualweatherpatterns.

Scientistsareconcernedabouttheirregularweatherpatternsdeforestationhas

caused.AccordingtotheWWF,theAmazonBasinreceivesonaveragebetween59

inchesto118inchesofrainfalleachyear.Abouthalfofthisraincomesfromthe
evaporationofftheAtlanticocean,whiletheotherhalfcomesfromtranspiration.
Transpirationoccurswhenwaterthatisheldintherootsandleavesofthetrees,
evaporatesoutintotheatmosphere.Asweremovethesetreesit'sessentiallydrying
uptherainforest.Similarly,greenhousegasesplayaroleinthedevastatingeffectsof
deforestation.

Treesabsorbthecarbondioxideoutoftheatmospherethroughtheirleaves,
storingtheCO2inwoodfiber.Asthetreesgrow,theyconvertstoredCO2asclean
water,throughtranspiration,andbreathableoxygen.Aswecutdownexcessive
amountsoftrees,thestoredcarbonisthenreleasedbackintotheatmospherecreating
anexcessiveamountofCO2.TheabundanceofCO2createswhatisknowas
the
greenhouseeffect.
Theincreaseintemperatureisdryingouttherainforestleadingto
anincreaseinforestfires.TemperaturesintheAmazonregionarethoughttogoup
nearlythreedegreescelsiusby2050,thiswouldresultinadecreaseinrainfall,
parchingtheAmazonevenfurther.Witheffortstoslowdowndeforestation,thereare
manywaystoapproachthesituation:recyclingpaperproducts,aggressivelogging
regulation,andeducatingthepublicaboutdeforestationespeciallylargecorporations
andfarmers.Theseareallstepstoslowthedecayandrebuildtheremainingforest.

RepairingtheAmazonRainforestisadifficulttask.Itstretchesover
2.124
millionsquaremiles.Itis
quitelargeandcanbedifficulttodetectwhereaproblem

mightbeoccurring.ScientistGregoryAsner,whoworksintheStanfordUniversity
geologydepartment,mighthavecomeupwiththebestsolution.Backin2004,Asner
andhisteamofscientistshavedevelopedaultrahighresolutionsatellite(Stanford)that
candetectlargescaledeforestationthatishappeningintheamazonrainforest.The
satellitetakeshundredsofpicturesofthetreescanopyeachday,andcandetectwhere
thecanopyisdisappearingafterafewyearsofdataentry.Also,recyclingpaper
productscanbejustashelpfulinrestorationefforts.

KeepAmericaBeautiful,anonprofitorganization
thatinspiresandeducates
peopletotakeactiontoimprove
theenvironment,claimsthattheU.Salonehas
recoveredandrecycled63.5%ofallthepaperbeingused,yetwestillthrowaway
almost2.8billiondollarsworthofpapereachyear.Thereareabout9,000different
curbsiderecyclingprogramsintheU.S,87%ofthepopulationhasaccesstothese
typesofprograms.Fortunately,largecompanieshavebeenshowingtheirsupportby
implementingpoliciestocombatdeforestation.Implementingrulestouseonlyrecycled
materialswouldhelpstoptreeharvesting.Ifyoutakesimilarmeasures,wecanrebuild
therainforestyouandIheavilydependon.

AccordingtoTheRainforestFoundation,1.2billionpeoplerelyontherainforest
directlyorindirectly.IftheAmazonRainforestcontinuestodiminishsowillyour
morningnewspaper,oryourfridaynightmovietickets,evenyourdiplomamaysoon
vanishintothinair,likethetreessupplyingthepapernecessaryfortheproductionof

thesegoods.Wehavealreadyexperiencedariseispapercost.Theincreaseincostis
duetodeforestation.
Papermillshavereportedlesssupplyandgreaterdemand
causingthemtoraisethepriceoftheproduct.Thethinningforestinnotonlynegatively
impactingtheenvironmentbutalsoaffectingoureconomy.Ifwekeepcarelessly
loggingwearejusthurtingourselves.Loggingregulationsshouldbeenforcedandthe
forestshouldbemonitoredtoensurenofurtherdecay.

Illegalloggingistheleadcauseofdegradationoftheworld'sforests.Itincludes
theharvesting,transporting,processing,buyingorsellingoftimberinviolationof
nationallaws.Oftentimestreesareharvestedfromprotectedareasandthentraded
illegally,treesareextractedataquantitysignificantlyhigherthanisallowed,andmany
licensestolegallylogarephoney.TheAmazonRainforestisindanger,itisour
obligationtoenforcecurrentpoliciesandcreatenewregulationstosupportreliefefforts.
Consequently,thevastamountofforestbeingremovedisharmingwildlifeaswell.

Deforestationisadirectcauseofdecreasingwildlifepopulation.Whentheforest
coverisremoved,wildlifeisdeprivedofhabitatandbecomesmoresusceptibletoheat
exposure,poaching,andfoodscarcity.Consideringthatabout80%oftheworld's
documentedspeciescanbefoundintropicalrainforests,deforestationposesaserious
threattotheforestsbiodiversity.Wearedestroyingtheirhomesandchoppingdown
theirfoodsources.Itisourfaulttheanimalpopulationisdrasticallydeclining.Itisour
responsibilitytoprotecttheremainingspeciesresidingintherainforests.


Deforestationcontinuestobeanurgentenvironmentalissuethaterodessoil,
jeopardizespeoplesincomeandtheeconomy,threatensspeciespopulation,and
intensifiesglobalwarming.Itisnecessarythatwestopdeforestationforthesakeofthe
AmazonRainforestssurvival.

/WorksCited

Bibliography
AboutTheAmazon.
WWF
.Web.1Dec.2015.
<http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/amazon/about_the_amazon/>
AmazonDestruction.
Mongabay.com.
Web.1Dec.2015.
<http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_destruction.html>
CommonlyAskedQuestionsAndFacts.
CommonlyAskedQuestionsandFacts.
Web.1Dec.
2015.<http://www.rainforestfoundation.org/commonlyaskedquestionsandfacts>
LocalAndNationalConsequencesofDeforestation.
Mongabay.com.
Web.1Dec.2015.
<http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0902.htm>
LoggingIntheAmazon.
WWF
.Web.1Dec.2015.
<http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/amazon/problems/other_threats/loggi
ng_amazon/>
RECYCLINGFACTS&AmpSTATS.
RecyclingFacts&ampStatistics.
Web.1Dec.2015.
<http://www.kab.org/site/pageserver?pagename=recycling_facts_and_stats>
SelectiveLoggingCausesWidespreadDestruction,StudyFinds.
StanfordUniversity.
Web.1
Dec.2015.<http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/october26/select102605.html>
TreesImproveOurAirQuality.
TreesImproveOurAirQuality
.Web.1Dec.2015.
<http://urbanforestrynetwork.org/benefits/airquality.htm>
UnitedStatesRecyclingStatistics.
LoveToKnow.
Web.1Dec.2015.
<http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/united_states_recycling_statistics>