DEFORESTATIO

N
 History of forests
. Earth 4.6byr
Life >3byr
MulticellularLife 600myr
Plantsonland 400myr(greenalgae)
Ferns,etc. 20070myr
Floweringplants 100myr
(Angiosperrms)
.

Firstlandplantsshort..<0.5m(100myr)
Ascompetitionforlightincreased,they
grewtaller.Requiredsupport(trunks).
Tallforestsfor~300myr,butdramatic
changesincomposition.
Onlylast100myrwouldlookfamiliar.
Lessthan2%ofEarthhistory.
 Forest types

BorealForests(conifers)
TemperateForests
(mixeddeciduoushardwoods)
TropicalRainforests
(conifersandhardwoods)
NPP:NetPrimaryProductivity

Whatisthenetannualproductionoforganic
matterbyaparticularecosystem,usually
measuredintheamountofCarbonfixedas
organicmatter.
Netmeansthetotalfixedminusthetotal
respired.

gC/km2/yristhe(net)gramsofcarbonfixed
overeachsquarekilometerinanaverageyear.
 CharacteristicsofEarthsForests
Forest Area NPP Biodiv
Where? Rainfall Soil
Type (km2) gC/km2/yr ersity
Immature,but
HighN Low abundant
Boreal Latitudes 12M 2050 mineralsyet 300M Low
(5060N) cm/yr tobereleased

Mid Moderate Rich,fertile,

Temperate Latitude 12M 50to100 abundant 500M Moderate
(3050) cm/yr nutrient
reserves
Low Poor,highly
Tropical Latitude High
leached.Most
Rainforest (030) 17M 2to10 1000M High
nutrients
m/yr
recycles
Percentage
areacovered
bydifferent
ecosystems
NPP(gC/m2/yr)for
differentecosystems
70%

3%
Percentagenet
NPP
(gC/m2/yr)for
different
ecosystems
TropicalRainforestarethelungsofthe
world.TheyinhaleCO2andexhaleO2
throughtheprocessofphotosynthesis.
 Deforestation: why we should be
concerned?

Lossofbiodiversity

Globalwarming(burningreleasesCO2)

Climateimpacts
 Deforestation and Climate Change
Mass deforestation of Amazon
regions could increase in the mean
surface temperature 2.5C and
decrease the annual evapo-
transpiration (30% reduction),
precipitation (25% reduction), and
runoff (20% reduction) in the region
 Deforestation and Climate
Change
There has been an increase in atmospheric
concentration of CO2 of 90ppm between
the pre-industrial era and year 2000. The
projected range of CO2 concentrations in
2100, under a range of emissions
scenarios developed for the IPCC, is 170-
600ppm above 2000 levels.
Complete global deforestation over the
same time frame would increase
atmospheric concentrations by about 130-
290ppm.
Deforestation and Climate
Change
Managing forests to help control
greenhouse gases can be
complicated. If the forests are cut
down again before they grow to
their optimum carbon storage
potential, they might not prove to
be as helpful to counter-balance
deforestation as once was thought.
Howageologist
viewsatree.Key
variables:

Leafareaindex

Rootingdepth

Waterholding
capacityofthesoil.
 Amazonia:Estimatedthat50%oftherainfall
overtheAmazonBasinisrecycledwater.

Duringarainfallevent,leavesinterceptrainwater,
andorganicrichsoilabsorbsrainfall.Leaf
evaporationandtranspirationreturnswatervapor
totheatmosphere.

Twoeffects:
landwardmigrationofrainfall
watervaporfuelsmorestorms
.
Amazonian Paradox

Amazonrainforestrequiresheavyrainfallto
exist,buthalftherainfallisitselfdependent
ontherainforestbeingpresent.
Examples:

Twoadjacentcatchments:Oneclearcut,the
otherleftforested.

Streamrunoffinthedeforestedcatchment
was4to10timestheforestedcatchment.

Rainfallsimilarinthetwobasins,so
differenceisdecreasedevapotranspiration.
Forested Deforested
Examples:

IvoryCoast:Replacementofrainforestbycropland
overlast5deacdes,;runoffincreased8fold.

Areasformerlysuitableforcocoanowabandoned
duetolowerrainfall,lesshumidityandmore
extremesummertemperatures.

SimilarexampleinIndiawherericeproductionfell
afterrainforestremoved.
.
Examples: IvoryCoast,India

Provingcauseandeffectisdifficult,butfirst
principlesprovidesareasonablemechanism
toexplaintheseobservations.
 Deforestation
Deforestation is the conversion of
forested areas to non-forest land for
use such as arable land, pasture,
urban use, logged area, or
wasteland. Generally, the removal or
destruction of significant areas of
forest cover has resulted in a
degraded environment with reduced
biodiversity.
 Causes of Deforestation
Population Growth
It is clear now that the role of population factors in
deforestation varies considerably from one setting
to another depending on the local patterns of
human occupancy and economic activity.

Population (especially rapidly increasing or dense

population) can increase demands for land and
wood, eventually exceeding the carrying capacity of
forests that are expected to supply wood fuels ,
food, and environmental protection for local people.
 Causes of Deforestation
Climate
Forest disappear naturally as a result of broad
climate changes or catastrophes such as fire
and landslides.
Agriculture
Growing populations need expanding food
supplies, so forests are cleared by shifting
cultivators for annual or permanent crops.
Rates of clearing are likely to be higher in
countries where little or no progress has been
made in agricultural productivity or where land
productivity falls rapidly after the natural forest
cover is removed.
 Causes of Deforestation
Logging
Commercial logging operations deplete forest stocks.
Regulated timber extraction should not permanently damage
the forest, but when it is not controlled, mechanized logging or
even selective timber harvesting may severely alter the
character of the forest

Fuel
Forests in developing countries provide wood fuels for local
populations. Fuelwood and charcoal are widely used for
domestic cooking and heating.

Burning and Grazing

Deforestation may occur in ways other than outright clearing
or wood removal. The practice of annual burning in many areas
prevents forest regrowth , and grazing by sheep, goats and
cattle has much the same effect.
Reasons of Deforestation
 Forest Management
Forestry departments in developing countries in many cases are
not equipped to deal with deforestation and its consequences. The
principles of forest management, especially extensive forest
management for sustained yields, are unfamiliar to many
developing countries where the policy emphasis has been on
protection rather than production. Even where forest management
practices are well known, institutions for forest management are
poorly supported or nonexistent.

The problem is compounded when local people for various reasons

do not cooperate with forest management schemes. Lack of local
cooperation may be a symptom of poorly designed policy or an
indication that rural people have other development priorities
 Turkey Case
In the world, the sufficient rate of
forest areas is about 30 percent for
each country. In Turkey 27,2 percent
of all land is forest areas and it is
close to world aggregate forest rate.
But 49 percent of our forest is non-
productive. So, forest areas are not
sufficient for Turkey.
Deforestation in the Amazon

Effects and Responses of the

Machiguenga of Peru and the
Xavante of Brazil
 The Amazon rainforests
have the highest rate of
deforestation

Its home to 60% of the

worlds remaining
tropical rainforest

In these regions
deforestation is mostly
caused by cattle
ranching and agriculture
 Preventing
Deforestation
 Tree incentive program
Tree replacement program
This program offers an incentive in
the form of money to those who
plant trees.
Many state governments have joined
this approach.
 Benefits
Helps shoulder the overall cost of
planting new trees.
Gives incentives to business by using
the capitalist system to replant trees
after cutting them down.
 Pitfalls
The money incentive is often not
enough money to cover the full cost
of planting trees.
This leads to mainly
environmentalists or corporations
planting trees. People who most
likely would have done so at a loss
anyhow.
 Non-Profit Organizations
There are many non profit
organizations who go about
collecting money / donations to plant
trees.
Some even encourage children to
buy land in the rain forests through
the schools.
 Technology
There is the possibility that
technology could progress to the
point to where we once again live in
a sustainable environment.
Our capitalist system dictates that
corporations will always try to
corner the market and by doing so
make huge profits.
 Technology
Often, for a corporation to receive
such an edge is through technology.
This ensures the progression of
technology.
Technology could come to the point
where it becomes so advanced
through the capitalist system that
the demand for natural resources
becomes significantly reduced.
 Strict Regulations
Throughout history, we see that
public outcry has elected politicians
who take to hart what the people
want rather than the needs of the
corporations.
If there is enough of a public outcry
over environmental issues,
candidates and government leaders
will begin to enforce stricter
environmental regulations.
 Deforestation

Deforestatio
n is one of
the major
environmen
tal
problems
that the
world is