ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE
NOVEMBER 23, 2024
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
• define deforestation;
• identify the primary causes of deforestation; and
• identify the main consequences of deforestation.
Sierra Madre
Deforestation is happening around the
world with all forest types but occurs
mostly in tropical areas.
DEFORESTATION means cutting or
clearing trees and forests covering a
large area, and not replanting them.
• is a related term that indicates when a forest is no
longer functioning as a healthy ecosystem:
• A degraded forest can no longer sustain populations
the way it used to. For instance, it might not offer
enough quality habitat or food to animals. In other
words, when a forest is degraded it still exists, but no
longer function well. It becomes a shell of its former
self.
Deforestation is a major contributor to global warming
and climate emergency.
How?
As more forests are destroyed, so too is our ability to trap these
greenhouse gases and slow rising temperatures around the world
which cause droughts, forest fires, and more frequent hurricanes
and typhoons.
As more forests are destroyed, so too is our ability to trap these
greenhouse gases and slow rising temperatures around the world
which cause droughts, forest fires, and more frequent hurricanes
and typhoons.
DEFORESTATION is a critical environmental
concern. The loss of trees and forests can cause
desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding,
and a host of other problems:
- Once deprived of their forest
cover, lands rapidly degrade in
quality, losing their fertility, and
arability.
- Heavy rainfall and high sunlight
quickly damage the topsoil in
clearings of the tropical rainforests.
In such circumstances, the forest will
take much longer to regenerate. The
land will not be suitable for
agricultural use for quite some time.
Cagmanipis Sur, Calbayog City
- Fertile topsoil is eroded and flooded
into the lower regions. Many coastal
fisheries and coral reefs suffer from
the sedimentation brought on by the
flooding. This results in adverse
effects on the economic viability of
many businesses and damage to the
wildlife population.
- Through destruction and
extinction of many plants
and animal species.
- The loss of forests
threatens some indigenous
people’s way of life and
survival as they have to move
out of the forests to town and
cities.
Trees help maintain the water
cycle in various ways. They
absorb water through their roots,
which is then released into the
atmosphere. A large part of the
water that circulates in the
ecosystem of rainforests, for
instance, remains inside the
plants.
- A forest’s value is often higher
when it is left standing than it could
be worth when it is harvested as it
provides a host of natural services,
such as water purification and
carbon dioxide storage. It also
provides a home to millions of flora
and fauna that are the source of
ancient and modern medicines.
To meet the demands of a rapidly
growing population in developing
countries, forests are converted for
agricultural lands, new living
settlements, and infrastructure
building of roads.
The increase of mining for gold and other
valuable minerals in tropical forests is
furthering damage due to the rising
demand and high mineral prices. This
causes environmental impacts like soil
erosion, the formation of sinkholes, and
contamination of soil, groundwater and
surface water by chemicals from mining
processes.
For paper production,
firewood, building
materials and furniture
making.
conversion of forest into
agricultural land for growing
crops, building farms, ranches and
other lands for agricultural
purposes. This includes the slash
and burn farming technique
(kaingin)commonly practiced in
the Philippines.
Forests are cleared to make way
for the expansion of urban areas
including urban settlements,
commercial establishments, roads,
bridges,power plants and others
that have major impact on forest
life. This results in loss of forest
area and massive deforestation.
