DEFORESTATION
INTRODUCTIO
N
• The destruction of forests and trees
• Has many harmful effects on the
environment
• Happening too quickly to recover
CAUSES OF
•
DEFORESTATION
Agriculture.
• Logging.
• Mining.
• Dams
• Roads.
AGRICULTUR
E
• Leading cause of deforestation
• Farmers need land to grow crops and
raise animals
• They remove forest land to make room
for farms
• They use slash and burn to
perform deforestation
• Slash and burn is cutting away and burning
the forest
Loggin
g for their wood
• Loggers cut down trees
• Logging is illegal in many areas, like National
Parks
• The wood is used for many purposes,
including paper production and as a building
material
Minin
g
• Miners search for materials like gold, copper,
and aluminum
• This clears the land, including the forest
that occupies it
• Contaminates the ecosystem with runoff
Dam
•
s
• Generate hydroelectric energy
Flood forests that are upstream
• Trees decay slowly when dams are built in
tropical waters, depriving the water of oxygen
Road
s
• Building the roads themselves destroys trees in
the way
• Provides access to a larger area of the forest
for loggers, miners, and farmers
Effects of
Deforestatio
• Disrupts water cycle and
carbon cycle n
• Loss of biodiversity
• Soil Erosion
• Poor water quality
Water
• If the trees are Cycle
gone, there will
be less
transpiration and
less water
released into the
hydrologic cycle
Carbon
Cycle
CO
2 02
• If trees aren’t there, carbon dioxide will
accumulate and contribute to the greenhouse
effect
Loss of
• RainforestsBiodiversity
contain over half of the world’s
species
• Loss of trees -> loss of primary consumers -> loss
of secondary consumers -> …
• When trees are removed, all rainforest life
is affected
Soil
Erosion
• Soil erosion is when soil is removed by natural
causes
• When trees are gone, their roots cannot hold the
soil in place
• Reduces soil’s capacity to hold water
• Makes agriculture difficult
Poor Water
• Soil erosionQuality
lets dirt enter runoff, lowering
water quality
• Makes for bad living conditions for fish
• A reduced amount of fish can cause
ramifications all the way up the food chain
Examples of Deforested
Areas
• The Amazon
• Africa
• Southeast
Asia
The
Amazon
• World’s largest tropical rainforest
• Located in South America
• 1/5 of the world’s plants and 1/10 of animals
are found here
Rainforests in
Africa
• World’s second largest rainforest
• Almost all of the forest on Madagascar is
gone
• Madagascar too contains a large amount
of biodiversity that has been
compromised
Rainforests in Southeast
Asia is covered in rainforest
• Indonesia
• Has been deforested just like the Amazon and
in Africa
• It is hot and humid the whole year
Environmentally Friendly
Paper
• This could be recycled paper or paper made
from bamboo
• Again, this pressures paper making companies
into using recycled paper and bamboo paper
Donating to
Organizations
• Organizations like Greenpeace fight focuses its
campaigning on worldwide issues such as
climate change, deforestation, overfishing,
genetic engineering, and anti-nuclear issues.
• Since they receive money, these organizations
can influence corporations and politicians to
make environmentally friendly policies
T THA
U NK
PRESERVE OUR
FOREST
