Tropical Rainforests 2 Flashcards
Amazon rainforest case study
Name your case study for deforestation
The Amazon rainforest
What is deforestation?
The cutting down and removal of trees on a large scale.
What are the activities that cause deforestation? (all human - large fat men have short round necks)
-Logging
-Commercial farming
-Subsistence farming
-Mineral extraction
-Energy development - HEP
-Settlements
-Road building
-Population growth (natural)
How does commercial farming cause deforestation?
-Large areas of forest are cleared to make space for large-scale plantations or cattle grazing
-This is mainly monoculture (e.g. soy, palm) which reduces biodiversity, alongside upsetting the balance of nutrients and bacteria going into the soil
-Which means it can’t recover
How does subsistance farming cause deforestation?
-Many subsistence farmers use a technique called ‘slash and burn’
How does logging cause deforestation?
Logging is the removal of large areas of trees to sell a few for profit.
This destroys habitats, decreasing biodiversity by damaging or dividing ecosystems.
How does energy development cause deforestation?
-Building hydroelectric dams floods large areas of forest.
-The water will leech away top soil containing all the nutrients
-This means that the soil becomes infertile
-Which prevents plants from regrowing, meaning total destruction.
How does road building cause deforestation?
Large areas of forest must be cleared either side of a road
They must be continually cut back which means that the rainforest doesn’t have time to recover
How does mineral extraction cause deforestation?
‘Open cast’ mining is used to extract minerals and ores such as iron, copper, and particularly bauxite.
This type of mining destroys the rainforest down to the bedrock layer, which means nothing can grow back and the rainforest can’t recover.
How does the building of settlements cause deforestation?
As countries develop, towns and cities grow to home increasing populations.
This ‘urban sprawl’ means that large areas of forest have to be removed for new infrastructure (like housing developments) to be built which means the trees have no chance of regrowing.
How does population growth cause deforestation?
Uncontrolled urban sprawl and migration put pressure on the land for housing, which means large areas of forest have to be removed.
New infrastructure means the trees have no chance of regrowing.
What are the environmental impacts of deforestation on a local scale?
It interferes with the careful balance of the rainforest ecosystem.
As rainforests are interdependent ecosystems, even a change to just one part can have a knock on effect.
What are the environmental impacts of deforestation on a global scale?
-Contributes to climate change
-By the removal of a carbon sink and releasing stored CO₂ if trees burned
-More CO₂ in the atmosphere enhances the greenhouse effect, increasing the rate of global warming which has many further impacts.
What are the economic impacts of deforestation?
Deforestation in the Amazon has led to economic development for countries like Brazil:
-Farming has brought around $600 million into the country by beef exports
-Mining and tourism creates jobs - industry pays people, so their quality of life can improve
-Logging
How does logging impact Brazil?
Logging contributes hugely to the economy: wood is sold as produce which brings in money for the country.
However, logging destroys natural beauty, reducing the attractiveness of the area to tourists. It can also destroy resources that countries depend on.
What is sustainable management?
Managing the collection of resources we need today, without damaging the environment, so the resources are still available in the future.
What strategies are used to manage the rainforest sustainably?
-Selective logging
-Replanting
-Ecotourism
-Education
-Conservation
-Reducing debt
-International hardwood agreements
How does selective logging work?
-Loggers carefully cut certain trees from an area, leaving the rest of the rainforest untouched.
-This means that habitats are maintained and healthy tree growth is promoted by reducing competition.
-Which means biodiversity can be sustained and the rainforest ecosystem can thrive.
-It also maintains CO₂ absorption, so has less of an impact on climate change.
How does replanting work?
New trees are planted to replace the ones originally cut down.
How is replanting sustainable?
-This method allows the rainforest to recover because in time, the area will be fully restored.
-Many trees can be planted at once for more growth
What is ecotourism?
A type of tourism that minimises damage and created benefits for the local people.
How is ecotourism sustainable?
Ecotourism reduces the number of people allowed into an area, which can reduce negative impacts such as pollution and littering.
Employing people in ecotourism provides them with a source of income that relies on conserving rainforests, so they are less likely to carry out damaging activities like logging or farming.
How does conservation contribute to the sustainable management of rainforests?
Governments set up protected areas, where damaging activities are restricted.
This means that things like deforestation are reduced over the entire rainforest, which means that it can maintain the majority of its biodiversity - plant and animal life thriving.
How does reducing debt help to manage rainforest sustainability?
It allows countries to make money from activities other than ones that lead to deforestation (logging, farming, mining).
