Ecological Insight:

“If the elephant hasn’t enough to eat in the forest, it puts the forest to shame”.

The forest is a complex ecosystem consisting mainly of trees that buffer the earth and support a myriad
of life forms. The trees help create a special environment which, in turn, affects the kinds of animals and plants
that can exist in the forest.

Deforestation can be defined as the large scale removal of forest. It is the permanent destruction of
forests and woodlands. The term does not include the removal of industrial forests such as plantation of gums
or pines.

Almost 1/3 of Earth’s land is covered with forest. Forest statistics in the Philippines showed that our
forests are disappearing. From 1950-1978 deforestation claimed 201, 000 hectares annually. For the period
1978-1988 deforestation decreased to 199,000 hectares annually. And from 1989-1995 the rate of forest
destruction decreased to an average of 116,328 hectares per year.

Forest reserves are beneficial to wildlife; it also serves as a watershed as it is a source of water for
rivers and streams, a land for grazing and an area for recreational activities.

In this module, we will identify the causes and effects of deforestation and appreciate the ecological
importance of forest ecosystems.

Activity 1: What I Know Chart, PART 1 (3 mins)

Instruction: Do you know anything about the different causes and effects of deforestation in the Philippines?
Try answering the questions below by writing your ideas under the first column What I Know. It is okay
if you write key words or phrases that you think are related to the questions. Wait until you finish
answering all the activities before you answer the “What I Learned” column.

What I Know Questions: What I Learned (Activity 4)

What are the different causes of

deforestation in the Philippines?

What are the different effects of

deforestation in the Philippines?

Are forest ecosystems

important? Why?

B.MAIN LESSON

Activity 2: Content Notes

Types of Forest in the Philippines

Dipterocarp A forest made up of tall trees with branch-less trunks. These types of forest are the
major sources of timber and other forest products.
Pine The two types of pine forest in the Philippines are the Mindoro Pine and the Benguet
Pine.
Molave It occupies about 165,000 hectares of the total land forest area of the country.
 Although this classification of forest falls under the Dipterocarp, it is classified
differently because of its large total forest area.

Beach This forest is usually found in some coastal areas. The Dungon, Agoho and Banulad
trees are common which is endemic to the Philippine islands.
Mangrove These forests are found on the tidal flats of the coastal areas. They are good sources
of charcoals, firewoods and tannin. The mangrove ecosystem is a nursery ground.
They serve as buffer against typhoons and waves
Mossy Also known as cloud forest found throughout the higher parts of the mountains and
inhabited by many of the endemic wildlife of the Philippines.

Ecological Importance of Tropical Rainforest

 The rainforest is known as the “green hell” with about 80kg of green mass per square meter.
 It acts as a “gigantic sponge” or storage of moisture in which several billion tons of water circulate in an
endless cycle of rainfall and evaporation and transpiration.
 The rainforest function as a habitat for plants, animals and human, houses 2/3 of all known flora and
80% of all insects.
 Rainforest stabilize the tropical climate and protect from flood and drought areas far beyond their own
regions.
 It reduces the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere.

While it is true that forests offers a great deal of ecological importance mentioned above, deforestation is still a
very big threat. Below are the root causes of deforestation here in the Philippines.

Deforestation and forest degradation occur in response to policy, market and institutional signals.
Some of these are for mining operation, conversion of agricultural land, for commercial logging,
and for construction of dam as a source of electric power.

Natural Causes of Deforestation

1. Forest Fires
Forest fires started by lightning and strong winds help to spread the flames. Drought in the forest
has increased the amount of flammable bush and debris on the forest floor.
2. Volcanic Eruption
One of the several natural forces capable of causing damage to forests is volcanic eruption. The
ashes emitted during the eruption damages the leaves of trees, which then interfere with
photosynthesis.
3. Typhoon
These are violent storms when fierce winds destroy much of the island’s rain forest.

Effects of Deforestation
1. Denuded upland
2. Degraded watershed
3. Serious water shortage
4. Heavy soil erosion
5. Flooding
6. Silting of rivers and dams
7. Destruction of corals along the coast
8. Illegal logging
9. Greenhouse effect
10. Extinction of thousands of species
11. Food shortage

Activity 3: Skill-building Activities

Let’s practice!
 After completing each exercise, you may refer to the Key to Corrections for feedback. Try to complete
each exercise before looking at the feedback.

Exercise A: How well do you understand the lesson? Answer this activity without looking at your
concept notes. List at least 5 causes and effects of deforestation in the Philippines

Causes Effects

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

5. 5

Exercise B:
Instruction: See the scrambled letters below? Make a word out of it. Check your answers against the Key to
Corrections found at the end of this SAS. Write your score on your paper.

1. IBHAATT = _________________
2. TTIGNUC = _________________
3. TTIGDLO = _________________
4. ONITEDTSEOF = _________________
5. SSYOM = _________________
6. ARGTIGEDON = _________________
7. OSTERF = _________________
8. CURTTSEOIND = _________________
9. LLLIAEG = _________________
10. OUHESEENRG = _________________

Activity 4: What I Know Chart, PART 2

It’s time to answer the questions in the What I Know chart in Activity 1. Log in your answers in the
table.

Activity 5: Check for Understanding (5 mins)

Let us check how much you have learned.

Instruction: Choose the best answer and write the letter of your choice on the space
provided. Check your answers against the Key to Corrections found at the end of this SAS. Write your score
on your paper.

_______ 1. This type of forest is found on the tidal flats of the coastal areas. It is a good source of
charcoals, firewoods, and serves as a nursery ground and a buffer against typhoons and
waves.
A. Dipterocarp B. Molave C. Mangrove D. Mossy

_______ 2. It is a type of forest lodging that includes cutting all trees at one time and creating an even age
stand by planting or natural regeneration of trees.
A. Clear Cutting B. Seed Tree Cutting C. Selective Lodging D. Shelter Wood Cutting

_______ 3. It is defined as the large scale removal of forest. It is the permanent destruction of forests and
woodlands.
A. Forest B. Deforestation C. Reforestation D. Kaingin

_______ 4. It is a type of forest lodging that includes removal of old stand trees in a series of cutting.
A. Clear Cutting B. Seed Tree Cutting C. Selective Lodging D. Shelter Wood Cutting

_______ 5. It is a type of forest made up of tall trees with branch-less trunks and major sources of timber
and other forest products.
A. Dipterocarp B. Molave C. Mangrove D. Mossy

C. LESSON WRAP-UP

Activity 6: Thinking about Learning

Congratulations for finishing this module! Shade the number of the module that
you finished on the next page.

Period 1 Period 2 Period 3

1 2 3 4 5 6 P1 Exam 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 P2 Exam 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 P3 Exam

Please tell me something about today’s lesson. Write your answer on the opposite box.

1. Tell me at least 3 things

you’ve learned from
today’s lesson.
2. What are those 2 things in
the lesson you found
interesting?
3. Ask me 1 thing that made
you curious about the
lesson but we were not
able to discuss.