Deforestation

By Sid Steinberg and Ben Heller

What is Deforestation?

• 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

Agriculture• 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

Logging• Loggers cut down trees for their wood• Logging is illegal in many areas, like National Parks• The wood is used for many purposes, including

paper production and as a building material

Mining• Miners search for materials like gold, copper, and

aluminum• This clears the land, including the forest that

occupies it• Contaminates the ecosystem with runoff

Dams• Generate hydroelectric energy• Flood forests that are upstream• Trees decay slowly when dams are built in tropical

waters, depriving the water of oxygen

Roads• 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 Deforestation

• Disrupts water cycle and carbon cycle

• Loss of biodiversity

• Soil Erosion

• Poor water quality

Water Cycle• If the trees are

gone, there will be

less transpiration

and less water

released into the

hydrologic cycle

Carbon Cycle

CO202

• If trees aren’t there, carbon dioxide will accumulate

and contribute to the greenhouse effect

CO2 CO2 CO2 CO2

Loss of Biodiversity• Rainforests 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 Quality• Soil erosion 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• Indonesia is covered in rainforest

• Has been deforested just like the Amazon and in

Africa

• It is hot and humid the whole year

Deforestation in Brunei

How You Can Help

• Buying sustainably grown foods

• Buying environmentally friendly paper

• Donating to an organization that stands up for forests

Sustainably Grown Food• This is food that was grown without negative effects

like deforestation

• Only buying this type of food pressures businesses

into producing it, as they will produce what you buy

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 damage to the

environment like deforestation

• Since they receive money, these organizations can

influence corporations and politicians to make

environmentally friendly policies

Thank you for preserving our forests!