Enviromental Orginizations

Green Peace:      

      An organization the is out their trying to protect our forest is Green Peace. The are a none profit organization that works on improving our environmental conservation. The advocate and are activist for environmental issues ranging from saving our forests to Alberta Tar Sands. Just recently green peace signed a contract with 8 other environmental organizations and 12 of  Canada logging companies to stop the further destruction of boreal forests. The reason why this forest is especially special to us as Canadians is because many of the animals you think of when you think to Canada exist there, these animals include Caribou, beavers, blue jays and mountain lion.

http://www.conservation.org/fmg/pages/videoplayer.aspx?videoid=23

Prevent Deforestation

What Can You Do?

• Become more informed about this problem, teach your friends and family

• Reduce the amount of packaging you buy

• Reduce the amount of paper products you use

• Use a G.O.O.S. box

• Support companies that are more Eco-friendly and take the environment into consideration

• Plant tree's

• Reduce consumption of beef products

We should all love tree's

Fun Facts

Did You Know?

• Forest cover over 30% of earths total land

• At the current rate in 100 years we will no longer have any existing rain forests

• One and a half acres of forest is being cut down every second

• We lose 147 plants and animals everyday due to deforestation

• There are over 121 prescription drugs with active ingredient that are found in the rain forest

• If the Amazon was a country it would be the ninth largest in the world

• Over 20% of the world oxygen is produced by the Amazon

• 25% of the world cancer fighting organisms are found in the amazon

• The number of fish species found in the Amazon exceed the amount found in the entire Atlantic ocean

• Over half the world timber and 72% of paper is consumed by 20% of the world population

Deforestation Chart

Earth's Spheres

Lithosphere:


      The lithosphere contains all of the solid land of the earths crust. The semi solid parts underneath the crust and the liquid part near the center of the earth. Basically how deforestation effects the lithosphere is by changing the land scape. Tree's and other forms of vegetation prevent soil erosion but when deforestation occurs there is no plant life to absorb the excess water. After deforestation occurs the soil is left nutrient poor, after this the land is unusable and plant life can no longer grow. The chemical compounds that are found in the soil change due to the lack of vegetation.

Lithosphere

Atmosphere:

      Tree's take carbon dioxide from our atmosphere and through the process of photosynthesis they create food for themselves but they also release oxygen into the atmosphere for human and other life forms to breath. The more tree's we have the better our atmosphere will become. Since we emit a lot of carbon dioxide from everyday activities such has breathing, using machinery and cars. A layer of carbon dioxide is formed by the ozone layer making it thicker, this is not a good thing. This is the green house effect, changing climate temperatures are occur because the suns ultra-violet rays are being tapped by this layer and increasing global temperatures. The more tree's that are cut down the slower the process of photosynthesis will occur, this means less oxygen, less oxygen means eventually life on earth might not be sustainable.

Atmospheric Water Vapor

Biosphere:

      The biosphere contain all of earths living things, this includes plants, animals and micro-organisms Deforestation depletes the earth of habitat land for animals. When a multinational company cuts down a forest, the animals that inhabit that part become homeless. Deforestation is a direct cause of some species going extinct. when tree's are cut down with out being replace there is a lot of soil that is exposed, the sunlight drys up the soil and causes it to loose its nutrients. Deforestation also causes the death of micro-organisms which break down soil material and are necessary for plant growth. The Madagascar Dung beetle is now extinct from many years of over foresting and not replenishing the land.

Madagascar Dung Beetle

Hydrosphere:

      The hydrosphere contain all of the solid, liquid and gas forms of water on earth. Deforestation causes rapid increase in soil erosion. The hydrosphere is linked to all of the sphere in one way or another. Less tree's mean there will be less perception in an area, this effects the atmosphere because the hydrosphere which consists of water also exists in our atmosphere. If there is little or no precipitation then the land will dry up and become scarce this is linked to the lithosphere. If the land is dry and cannot support plant life, animals will find a new place for their habitats, this is linked to the biosphere.

Hydrosphere

Cutting of Wood

Clear Cutting:

  
      Clear cutting is a controversial form of cutting tree's, the reason that this form of cutting is so controversial is because all the tree's are wiped out in an area due to this method. Clear cutting is directly linked to deforestation, destroying of natural habitats and contributes to global change. The standard form of clear cutting is not leaving a shred of vegetation. Clear cutting has many major negative impacts, the destruction of habitats and resources land. Over 95% of the forests in Nova Scotia are cut using the clear cut method, this is very damaging to the ecosystems in that region. The reason why so much of Nova Scotia's forests have been cut down is because of the lack of protection by the government and regional officials.

Clear cutting

Shelter Wood Cutting:


      Shelter wood cutting is a lot more environment friendly and is better for the ecosystem. Instead of all the tree's in an area being cut like clear cutting, in shelter wood cutting first the mature tree's area cut; this is stretched over a 10 year period of time. The main premise of shelter wood cutting is to cut tree's that are older, dieing or disease ridden first. This gives time for the younger tree's to get to a more mature age before they are cut. Cutting 40-50% of the forest canopy allows more sunlight to access younger tree's. Shelter wood cutting makes up 4% of all logging done in Canada.

Shelter wood cutting

Selective Cutting:


       Selective cutting is the most environmental friendly form of wood cutting. Unlike clear cutting and shelter wood cutting, for selective cutting you only cut certain tree's in an area. An example of this could be that you cut down every fifth tree. The reason this is the best form of cutting is because the ecosystem in which the cutting is taken place is not damaged to much. Also since less tree's are cut down that mean it is far better for the atmosphere and the amount of carbon dioxide which is released.The most common form of this is Single-Tree Selection, scatted tree's are individually marked and then later harvested.

 Selective wood cutting

Consequences

Carbon Cycle:     

    
       There are many consequences that come from the deforestation of land. Cutting down tree's is a direct link to global warming and the amount of carbon dioxide that is found in our atmosphere. The cutting of trees greatly effects the carbon cycle. Forest's act like a carbon store, they absorb carbon from the atmosphere and us it to create carbohydrates, protein and other nutrient needed for a plant to live and grow. As carbon dioxide is absorbed by the tree and photosynthesis occurs the tree produces oxygen which is used by humans. When forests are cleared, the tree's that are burnt or rotting also are emitting carbon dioxide, this is a major contributor to the green house effect. Deforestation contributes for one third of all carbon dioxide emissions.

Carbon cycle

Water Cycle:


      Tree's absorb ground water though there roots and release it back into the atmosphere though transpiration. In the amazon over half of the water in the region is found in the plant life. This is one of the reasons why rain forest are so humid and wet. When tree's are cut down the process of transpiration can no longer occur which means there is less water in our atmoshpere. This causes long term droughts in regions. Droughts alone can totally devastate a region and cripple it for years. Tree's retain water and hold the soil together, when there is no vegetation to hold everything together water runoff occurs causing soil erosion. The water runoff can seep into lakes and rivers were contaminants such as silt builds up, animals that are exposed to this can get sick or even die. Deforestation can also cause the watershed to no longer be able to sustain and regulate water flow, tree's are very good at absorbing the water but when there are no longer any tree's left this will result in flooding.

Water cycle

      In a forest their are hundreds of species which inhabit it. When deforestation happens all these animals no longer have a place to live. Some animals such as bears, foxes, raccoons and deer wonder into cities in search for shelter and food. Many animals become homeless and die off, some species also go extinct because of this. Another consequence of deforestation is desertification which is when a piece of land is stripped of its vegetation and little to no perception occurs for a substantial period of time simulating a desert like effect on the region. The more forestry and vegetation we destroy the greater the effects of global warming will be.

Frog only found in Amazon Rain forest

Causes

Deforestation is caused by humans and by natural change on earth. When plate tectonics occur mountains are formed, rainfall patterns are changed the over a long period of time forests adapt to this change. Humans, bugs, animals, forest fires, fungus, floods, erosion, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes and the natural life cycle are all natural ways that deforestation occurs. According to the World Resource Institute, over 80% of the worlds forests have been destroyed. Over 90% of Africa's coastal rain forests have also been wiped out. Brazil and Indonesia contain the worlds largest existing rain forests, which is rapidly decreasing in size everyday.

Sky view of what deforestation looks like

Human Causes

     

      The majority of deforestation is caused by humans about 95%, for every tree that is cut down carbon is emitted into the atmosphere. This is one of the direct causes of global warming. Since every tree that is cut releases carbon dioxide this causes our ozone layer to become thicker. The thicker our ozone layer is the more UV rays(ultra-violet) are trapped which means there is an increases in temperature. Forest fires do generally the same thing but is far worse not only to the environment but also to the land and the inhabitants of the land.

One big problem is government corruption. In countries such as South Africa which is a third world country that has a vast amount of tropical rain forest. Multinational companies, in most cases theses are foreign companies bribe and pay off government officials so they can obtain contracts and permits to cut down forests. This mainly occurs in third world countries were corruption is abundant.

 

Amount of deforestation that has occurred over the years

Human causes of deforestation include:

• Cutting trees for commercial use such as timber, harvesting or logging

• Clearing forests to make room for agricultural land

• Expansion of cities and towns

• Mining

• Urban Sprawl

• Corruption

• Cultivation