LAURIO, BRIZELLE ANNE PARAYNO

BSME IV-3

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
GROUP 8
INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN REPORT

DEFORESTATION

Deforestation in simple term means the felling and clearing of forest cover or tree plantations to accommodate
agricultural, industrial or urban use. It involves permanent end of forest cover to make that land available for
residential, commercial or industrial purpose.

Deforestation can also be removal of forests leading to several

imbalances ecologically and environmentally. What makes

deforestation alarming is the immediate and long-term effects it is

bound to inflict if continued at the current pace. Some predictions state

that the rainforests of the world will be destroyed completely if

deforestation continues at its current pace.

Deforestation or clearance occurs due to several reasons, to get an overview we could include the need of
money, both in terms of profitability as well as providing for ones family in most scenarios, along with lack of or no
forest laws, need for land space for housing etc. among a long list of other uses. Mainly blamed on agricultural or
pastoral use, farmers fell trees for increasing space for cultivation and/or as fodder land for grazing and surviving live
stock. The whole concept of slash and burn agriculture, is used to indicate this same process where farmers employ
the above chain of actions for their purposes.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CONCERNS OF DEFORESTATION?

Studies show that deforestation contributes to the progression of global warming. Trees are made up of 50%
carbon so when they are chopped or burned, the carbon dioxide they store are released back to the atmosphere. Also,
taking down trees that absorb carbon dioxide will result to much more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and will further
contribute to global warming.
Deforestation also contributes to drought conditions. The trees in the forests play an important role in the
hydrologic cycle where they release moisture into the atmosphere (through the process called transpiration), which
eventually comes down as rain (precipitation). It can help water several crops and vegetation miles away. Reduction
of forests and trees would mean reduction in the amount of rainfall too.

Deforestation can also increase risks in human health. The greater levels of carbon dioxide (and carbon
particles released when forest residue is burnt) may cause asthma and bronchial illness.
 Deforestation also causes the extinction of rare animal species. More than 60% of all animal species are
known to live in forests, where many of them are still unknown. Deforestation contributes to the extinction of these
animals by destroying their habitats and reducing biodiversity.

Last of all, deforestation hinders research for new medical drugs. A large proportion of the beneficial drugs
that scientists have developed over the last 70 years came from research into plant species of the forests. According
to US National Cancer Institute more than 70% of plants having anti-cancer properties live in the forests. Thousands
of species have not yet been examined.

AGENTS OF FOREST DESTRUCTION

1. MAN
KAINGEROS
-Kaingeros are the ones who does "kaingin". Kaingin is a human activity that is related to illegal
logging, but this one, after cutting down trees they also burn them for "uling" or charcoal.
SQUATTERS
-Lowlanders who migrate to uplands in search of land to own. They occupy vacant and cogonal
portions of the forest zone without any authority from the government. Some of them cut trees as a
means of livelihood. They convert logs into umber through hand-sewing and sell them to the
people in lowlands. They also gather raw forest products and sell them.
Illegal Loggers
-Any person who cuts, gathers, and removes timber from the forest, either for personal or
commercial use without permit or license from the government.
-Considered thieves under the forest law.
Legitimate Loggers
Hunters
-They often burn a portion of forest to attract wild animals that feed on ashes. Also when theyre
establishing their camps.
2. FOREST INSECTS

o Defoliators adult or larval insects that strips all the leaves from a tree or shrub
Leaf miners - Leaf miner damage is unsightly and, if left untreated, can end up
causing serious damage to a plant. A leaf miner is the larva of an insect that
lives in and eats the leaf tissue of plants.
Skeletonizers - The pest group called skeletonizers is a category of worms or
bugs that will completely devour the entire green leafy part of a plant leaving only
the rib structure of the leaf.
These are a very destructive creature that is highly traumatizing and sometimes
fatal to the plant involved.
Leaf Chewers - Chewing damage is caused by insects with mouth parts
consisting of two opposing mandibles, or jaws. Insects with chewing mouth parts
are responsible for ragged leaves, foliage consumption, and mining in leaves,
stems and trunks of plants.
o Cambium Miners -bark borers - Bark miners are the larvae of flies, beetles, or moths that tunnel in
the phloem and bark of maple, shadbush, cherry, ash, birch, holly, white pine, Douglas-fir, white fir,
rose, and other trees and shrubs. Although sometimes called cambium miners, they do not tunnel
in the cambium area as do the larvae of bark beetles, emerald ash borer, and bronze birch borer.
o Gall Makers - Plant galls are "abnormal" structures that develop in the cells, tissues, or organs of a
plant ONLY when it is colonized by certain parasitic organisms such as bacteria, fungi, nematodes,
mites, or insects. These gall-makers are collectively known as cecidozoa. They usually secrete
enzymes or plant hormones that stimulate hypertrophy (over-growth) and/or hyperplasy (cell
proliferation) in their host plant. The resulting structures are quite distinctive and highly species-
specific.

o Sap suckers - The majority of sap-sucking insects are in the orders Hemiptera (true bugs) and
Homoptera (aphids, leaf and plant hoppers, and scales). Most of these insects are relatively small
in size and injure the host in two ways:

1. directly by sucking the host of part of its food supply and water, producing necrotic spots in
host tissue, and
2. indirectly by introducing plant diseases.

The mouthparts of these insects and mites are formed into beak-like structures that are
used to pierce host tissues and suck the sap. Damage by sap-sucking insects is often
mistaken as a pathogen induced disease. A few of the sap-sucking insects are able to kill their
hosts outright, but most reduce growth rates and weaken the tree. Trees injured by these
insects may succumb to secondary insects or fungal diseases. Signs of sap-sucking insect
injury consist of enlarged growths or galls, leaf curling, bleaching, or yellowing of foliage.
Conifers are more severely injured than hardwoods.

o Fruit and Nut Feeders

o Wood Borers
 o Termites
Moist termites
Subterranean Termites
Dry Wood Termites

3. Forest Diseases
a. Damping-off - Damping off (or damping-off) is a horticultural disease or condition, caused by a
number of different pathogens that kill or weaken seeds or seedlings before or after they
germinate. It is most prevalent in wet and cool conditions.
b. Root Rots - Root rot is a condition found in both indoor and outdoor plants, although more
common in indoor plants with poor drainage. As the name states, the roots of the plant rot.
Usually, this is a result of overwatering. In houseplants, it is a very common problem, and is slightly
less common in outdoor plants.
c. Blights - Blight refers to a specific symptom affecting plants in response to infection by a
pathogenic organism. It is a rapid and complete chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues
such as leaves, branches, twigs, or floral organs.