Sustainable management of tropical rainforests Flashcards
Functions of tropical rainforests?
1.They generate oxygen-helps to refresh air and allows better growth-dense and luxurious vegetation
2.They act as carbon storage;
3.They provide a habitat for plants and animals;
4.They provide protection against soil erosion, which is the removal of soil via wind or rain; and
These functions allow the rainforest to support the physical environment.
How do tropical rainforests generate oxygen?
They carry out oxygen generation through photosynthesis → absorb carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to produce food
❑ Capable of producing oxygen throughout the year as they are Evergreen.-helps to support the survival of many organisms
HOW DO TROPICAL FORESTS CONTRIBUTE TO CARBON STORAGE?
Tropical forest contribute to carbon storage when they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis
❑ Balance the amount of carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere through natural processes like respiration and Decomposition
How do tropical forests provide habitats for animal life?
Tropical forests are rich in biodiversity → warm climate and abundance of rainfall and food sources make them a very suitable habitat for a wide variety of animals
How do tropical rainforests help prevent soil erosion?
When it rains, the rain falls directly onto the ground with considerable force since the raindrops are no longer intercepted by the leaves from the trees and causes soil particles to become dislodged or loosened.
❑The intensity of the rainfall that impacts the ground prevents the water from infiltrating into the ground layer. If the rain falls too quickly, the soil may not be able to absorb all the rainfall immediately (e.g., during long periods of rainy season )
❑This means more water remains on the surface, leading to more surface runoff. The loosened soil particles are easily washed away by the surface runoff.
❑ This leads to severe soil erosion.
❑When the eroded soil fills up the river, it also causes the river to have a lower
capacity to hold the rainwater, leading to an even faster overflow in the water level. Causing floods to happen too.
How are tropical rainforests used by people?
-Habitation
-recreation
-source of food-nuts,fruit,spices
-source of raw materials
Millions of people depend on physical environment for their basic needs
How do tropical rainforests provide a source of raw materials?
❑Tropical forests are best known for being valuable sources of wood for building or carpentry
❑ Teak, mahogany and rosewood are particularly valued for their strength, durability and colour
❑Many different kinds of products are made from them
How do tropical rainforests provide a source of raw materials?
In some parts of the world, metals and minerals such as iron and diamonds, can be found in the ground beneath tropical rainforest
❑They are very valuable as they can be used to make a wide variety of products
❑This process through which metals and minerals are obtained, is known as mining
❑ The tropical forest is first cleared completely (by burning or bulldozing) before heavy machinery is used to dig the grown to extract Raw materials.
What are the consequences of extracting resources from tropical forests?
Deforestation:
❑ Permanent removal of topical forests due to
o unsustainable cutting down of trees for their wood
o human activities→mining, agriculture and aquaculture ❑The tropical forest vegetation is prevented from regenerating as the cleared land is converted by humans into mines, plantations,
ranches or fish farms.
❑Even if tropical forest vegetation manages to re-establish itself on a
piece of deforested land that people have abandoned, it will still lack the biodiversity of a tropical forest that has been untouched by humans and it takes a long time to re-established.
What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?
❑ Certain gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, are capable of trapping heat
❑ They are known as Greenhouse gases → help to keep the Earth’s surface warmer
How do tropical rainforests play a part in this?
Carbon dioxide is one of the most important greenhouse gases found naturally in the Earth’s atmosphere→released when living things respire and decompose
❑Tropical forest plants help to prevent build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as they absorb this gas during photosynthesis
HOW CAN TROPICAL FORESTS BE MANAGED SUSTAINABLY?
Establishing protected areas
❑Regulating forestry activities
❑Rehabilitating disturbed areas
❑Public education
How can tropical forests be managed sustainably?
❑ A common strategy to conserve remaining tropical forest is to set them aside as protected areas → human activities are generally very restricted in order to prevent plant and animal life form being negatively affected
❑ Governments usually put laws in place to ensure that people do not damage these protected areas, such as illegal cutting down of trees or poaching exotic animals
❑ The effectiveness of establishing protected areas depends n strong enforcement of these laws, which is sometimes a challenge in less developeD countries due to lack of funding.
What is controlled logging?
It is a process when companies are only allowed to cut down older trees or a particular species that is more economically valuable,allowing the forest to recover quickly as the younger trees have more sunlight and space to grow.
How do countries rehabilitate disturbed areas?
The diversity of plant and animal species in deforested areas is usually much lower compared to the original tropical forests
* Forest rehabilitation usually aims to re- introduce at least some of the plant and animal species which were originally found there
* Reforestation helps to rehabilitate a deforested areas through the planting of new trees→tree species which are not native to the area may also be planted
