EV1005 - L3 Deforestation

Question 1

Define deforestation

Answer 1

Complete clearance of forest

Question 2

Define forest degredation

Answer 2

Decline in health of forest

Question 3

What are examples of forest degradation?

Answer 3

slashing, burning, selective logging

Question 4

Define reforestation

Answer 4

Establishment of forest after temporary loss (not to be confused with afforestation)

Question 5

Define afforestation

Answer 5

The establishment of forest plantation in areas not previously forested

Question 6

How much of India was forested 8000 years ago and what is the forest coverage now?

Answer 6

It was 70% forested and now only 8% forested

Question 7

What caused a fuel and nutritional disaster in 1500s?

Answer 7

Excessive logging for firewood. they ran out of wood and they had destroyed the habitats of wild game that they relied on for food

Question 8

Where are there massive oil palm plantation close to Australia?

Answer 8

Borneo, Indonesia

Question 9

where are most of the protected forest areas in Borneo?

Answer 9

In highland areas that aren’t as threatened to deforestation because they are unsuitable for plantation.s

Question 10

Where is the greatest concentration of biodiversity on earth?

Answer 10

The Amazon Basin

Question 11

Approximately how many species of mammals are in the Amazon forests?

Answer 11

500 species of mammals

Question 12

Approximately how many species of birds are in the Amazon forests?

Answer 12

1,600 species of birds

Question 13

Approximately how many species of plants are in the Amazon forests?

Answer 13

50,000 species of plants

Question 14

How many people live in the Amazon forests?

Answer 14

33 million people

Question 15

How much of the worlds logging take is used for fuel? (%)

Answer 15

50%

Question 16

How much of the world relies of wood as fuel? (%)

Answer 16

40%

Question 17

In Africa, how much of the energy comes from firewood? (%)

Answer 17

90%

Question 18

How is population growth linked with deforestation? (2)

Answer 18

1) Increased land needed for settlement

2) Increased need for energy (often from fires in underdeveloped countries)

Question 19

Why is creating roads through forests a bad idea? How is it linked with agriculture and erosion?

Answer 19

Roads open the forest up for logging because it is easy to remove logs. Farmers use the cleared land for growing crops on te fertile forest soils. After around 3 years the soil loses most its nutrients and crops fail. grass grows and ranchers move in. Over grazing can cause erosion and make ranching difficult and unproductive. This whole process may take only 10 years.

Question 20

Order these reasons for deforestation in Brazil

Small-scale agriculture
Large-scale agriculture
Ranching
Logging

Answer 20

Ranching (65-70%)
Small-scale agriculture (20-25%)
Large-scale agriculture (5-10%)
Logging (2-3%)

Question 21

Why are developing countries more likely to engage in logging?

Answer 21

They lack money and tropical hardwoods are a valuable commodity. They can sell the felled trees to other countries at little economic cost

Question 22

How much tropical wood production comes from Indonesia? (%)

Answer 22

25% of tropical wood production

Question 23

How does deforestation effect climate? (2)

Answer 23

It increases CO2 emmisions
It increases solar radiation
Daily soil temp variation increases 
Daily humidity variation increases
Wind speeds increase

Question 24

How is CO2 released from vegetation? (2)

Answer 24

When it is burnt or decays

Question 25

What does logging do to 
Infiltration
runoff
river velocity
water turbidity and sediment load?

Answer 25

Lowered infiltration
Increased runoff, river velocity, water turbidity and sediment load (sediment load can increase up to 500 fold in some cases)

Question 26

How does fragmentation effect a forest? (5)

Answer 26

Higher tree mortality
Higher tree density
Makes forest more susceptible to storms and droughts
Gene pools in species limited
Increased light at edges encouraging weeds

Question 27

What is the expected extinction rate in tropical forests in the next decade? (%)

Answer 27

2-5%

Question 28

How many species are expected to become extinct from tropical forests annually? (Thousand)

Answer 28

40,000 - 100,000 species anually

Question 29

How does biodiversity loss threaten human health?

Answer 29

Loss of species which may be found to hold cures for diseases

Question 30

As of Jan 2012, how many ha of the high conservation forest are legally protected? and how much is available for logging?

Answer 30

428,000 ha protected

2,000 ha available for logging