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Deforestation: by Sid Steinberg and Ben Heller

Deforestation is the destruction of forests and trees for purposes like agriculture, logging, mining, dams, and roads. It has harmful effects such as disrupting water and carbon cycles, reducing biodiversity, causing soil erosion, and lowering water quality. Some of the most affected areas are the Amazon, African rainforests, and Southeast Asian rainforests. Individuals can help address deforestation by buying sustainably grown food, environmentally friendly paper, and donating to organizations that advocate for forest protection.

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Harsh Nathani
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115 views

Deforestation: by Sid Steinberg and Ben Heller

Deforestation is the destruction of forests and trees for purposes like agriculture, logging, mining, dams, and roads. It has harmful effects such as disrupting water and carbon cycles, reducing biodiversity, causing soil erosion, and lowering water quality. Some of the most affected areas are the Amazon, African rainforests, and Southeast Asian rainforests. Individuals can help address deforestation by buying sustainably grown food, environmentally friendly paper, and donating to organizations that advocate for forest protection.

Uploaded by

Harsh Nathani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Deforestation

By Sid Steinberg and Ben Heller


What is Deforestation?
• The destruction of forests and trees

• Has many harmful effects on the environment

• Happening too quickly to recover


Causes of Deforestation

• Agriculture

• Logging

• Mining

• Dams

• Roads
Agriculture
• Leading cause of deforestation
• Farmers need land to grow crops and raise animals
• They remove forest land to make room for farms
• They use slash and burn to perform deforestation
• Slash and burn is cutting away and burning the
forest
Logging
• Loggers cut down trees for their wood
• Logging is illegal in many areas, like National Parks
• The wood is used for many purposes, including
paper production and as a building material
Mining
• Miners search for materials like gold, copper, and
aluminum
• This clears the land, including the forest that
occupies it
• Contaminates the ecosystem with runoff
Dams
• Generate hydroelectric energy
• Flood forests that are upstream
• Trees decay slowly when dams are built in tropical
waters, depriving the water of oxygen
Roads
• Building the roads themselves destroys trees in the
way
• Provides access to a larger area of the forest for
loggers, miners, and farmers
Effects of Deforestation

• Disrupts water cycle and carbon cycle

• Loss of biodiversity

• Soil Erosion

• Poor water quality


Water Cycle
• If the trees are gone,
there will be less
transpiration and
less water released
into the hydrologic
cycle
CO2 CO2 Carbon Cycle CO2 CO2

CO2
02

• If trees aren’t there, carbon dioxide will accumulate


and contribute to the greenhouse effect
Loss of Biodiversity
• Rainforests contain over half of the world’s species
• Loss of trees -> loss of primary consumers -> loss of
secondary consumers -> …
• When trees are removed, all rainforest life is affected
Soil Erosion
• Soil erosion is when soil is removed by natural causes
• When trees are gone, their roots cannot hold the soil
in place
• Reduces soil’s capacity to hold water
• Makes agriculture difficult
Poor Water Quality
• Soil erosion lets dirt enter runoff, lowering water
quality
• Makes for bad living conditions for fish
• A reduced amount of fish can cause ramifications all
the way up the food chain
Examples of Deforested Areas

• The Amazon

• Africa

• Southeast Asia
The Amazon
• World’s largest tropical rainforest
• Located in South America
• 1/5 of the world’s plants and 1/10 of animals are
found here
Rainforests in Africa
• World’s second largest rainforest
• Almost all of the forest on Madagascar is gone
• Madagascar too contains a large amount of
biodiversity that has been compromised
Rainforests in Southeast Asia
• Indonesia is covered in rainforest
• Has been deforested just like the Amazon and in
Africa
• It is hot and humid the whole year
Deforestation in Brunei
How You Can Help

• Buying sustainably grown foods

• Buying environmentally friendly paper

• Donating to an organization that stands up for forests


Sustainably Grown Food
• This is food that was grown without negative effects
like deforestation
• Only buying this type of food pressures businesses
into producing it, as they will produce what you buy
Environmentally Friendly Paper
• This could be recycled paper or paper made from
bamboo
• Again, this pressures paper making companies into
using recycled paper and bamboo paper
Donating to Organizations
• Organizations like Greenpeace fight damage to the
environment like deforestation
• Since they receive money, these organizations can
influence corporations and politicians to make
environmentally friendly policies
Thank you for
preserving our forests!

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