Why Do People Cut Down Trees?
Some of the reasons why people cut down trees are; to earn money from labour, to provide more space for planting crops or grazing livestock, building houses, buildings, malls, schools, using them as resources to make desks, chairs, table, bed, counters, board etc., to make paper products (this cuts down countless numbers of trees each year), to build roads for accessing remote areas or forests and to make room for trampers.
“Sometimes deforestation is not on purpose. It can be cause by wildfires and subsequent overgrazing, which may prevent the growth of young trees! :)”
“Sometimes deforestation is not on purpose. It can be cause by wildfires and subsequent overgrazing, which may prevent the growth of young trees! :)”
What Are The Effects of Deforestation And How Does It Affect The Environment?In NZ:
New Zealand used to be mostly covered in forest before humans lived there. Now over 40% of NZ’s original forest have gone and only 25% of NZ is covered with native forests. The forest is part of the ecosystem, if we cut it down then it could affect other things in the ecosystem such as soil stability, water quality and biodiversity (fungi, animals, plants). Also as the decline of trees continues, more of, the greenhouse gas, CO2 will be released in our air and will impact climate change because there are less trees to absorb the CO2 (by using the process of photosynthesis to produce their own food). The enormous machines that are used to cut down trees normally release a lot of CO2 emissions to work too. In The World: In the past 100,000 years, over half the world’s forests have been destroyed either by natural disasters or man-made ones. The majority of this loss occurred in the last 50 years where the world’s population has increased dramatically, along with technology. The annual deforestation rates are disturbing at 13.7 hectares a year (that’s about the size of Greece). About 50,000 species of animals and plants go extinct because of deforestation destroying their natural habitats. The causes for people to cut down trees are mainly for expansion because of population growth and agriculture. Major effects of deforestation are desertification, increase of soil erosion, 20% of our greenhouse gases emissions (about 1.5 billion tons are released each year). |
Arizona:
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What Can We Do About Deforestation?
We can reuse, reduce and recycle things such as paper, plastic bags, aluminium cans and glass bottles. We could also give out pamphlets about deforestation to spread the word and persuade people who cut down trees to plant two for every tree they cut down. We can also reuse a lot of things as second-hand items such as chairs, desks, tables or make them using old timber e.g. If you have an old desk that's made out of wood and you don’t want to use it anymore you could use the wood that used to make that desk to make/build new things. We need to restrict ourselves and keep track of what we're using so we don't use more than we need to.
When We Cut Down The Trees, What Effects Does It Have On Global Warming And Us?
A mature tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year. Without the trees breathing for humans would become very hard. Leaves turn carbon dioxide into oxygen through a process called photosynthesis. Forests cover 30% of the world’s land surface about 4 billion hectares. The Amazon rainforest is described as the lungs of our planet. About 20% of the earth oxygen is produced by the Amazon. The Amazon is one of the world largest resources and so Brazil has one of the highest deforestation rates. All plants produce oxygen, but if we cut down all the trees it will not be enough oxygen to go around, so the earth’s population will start to decrease.
Wiping Out Forests
World Watch Institute claimed in 2010 that worldwide toilet paper accounts for 10% of total paper use and requires the felling of 27000 trees every day to meet consumer demand. Trees have the potential to be the ultimate sustainable product. They create wood literally out of thin air by converting CO2 and water, plus trace minerals from the soil into timber. Harvesting and then replanting trees to make products such as toilet paper can be an environmentally sound.
Cutting down virgin forests - those that have not been milled before - is terrible environmental behavior for many reasons. Such ‘primary’ forests support a huge diversity of plants and animals - generally more that in ‘secondary’ forests that have been milled and then regrown.
Forests also function as the lungs of the planet by converting CO2 to oxygen; they provide a livelihood and home for indigenous peoples, prevent erosion and flooding and are a source of recreation and tourism revenue.
It’s crucial therefore that our remaining old forests are protected and that sustainably grown timber from is used for paper products instead. Usually this means using timber for plantation - so long as the land for these wasn’t cleared from forests in the first place.
Cutting down virgin forests - those that have not been milled before - is terrible environmental behavior for many reasons. Such ‘primary’ forests support a huge diversity of plants and animals - generally more that in ‘secondary’ forests that have been milled and then regrown.
Forests also function as the lungs of the planet by converting CO2 to oxygen; they provide a livelihood and home for indigenous peoples, prevent erosion and flooding and are a source of recreation and tourism revenue.
It’s crucial therefore that our remaining old forests are protected and that sustainably grown timber from is used for paper products instead. Usually this means using timber for plantation - so long as the land for these wasn’t cleared from forests in the first place.
What Can Farmers Do To Save Our Planet?
Land is needed to grow crops and rear cattle but in order to make room for that, trees need to be cleared. To prevent this, farmers need to be introduced to new methods of farming; cyclic agriculture, crop rotation, use of high-yield variety seeds and hydroponics. This can prevent the indiscriminate cutting down of trees.
Cyclic Agriculture
In cyclic agriculture, the land is used for cultivation till the soil loses its fertility, after which it is abandoned. Natural vegetation makes the soil fertile again in a few years. The time span in which the land remains barren can be utilized for cattle grazing and this can help in preserving forests as more trees don't have to be cut for creating lands for farming.
Crop Rotation
In this type of farming, the same plot of land is utilized to grow seasonal crops, one after the other. This prevents cutting down of trees to get new land for cultivation. Crop rotation also increases the productivity of soil.
Use of High-Yield Variety Seeds
This is a farming technique which uses highly productive seeds that are often drought and insect resistant. These seeds produce more while utilizing a smaller area of land. With the use of these seeds, the need to cut trees is lesser and a higher production is achieved from the same piece of land.
Hydroponics
It is a special farming technique of growing plants in water (without soil) containing dissolved nutrients. These techniques, if followed in the right manner, can definitely help prevent deforestation. Farmers should also be made aware of the harmful effects of cutting trees and of intensive farming, which leads to erosion and infertility.
Cyclic Agriculture
In cyclic agriculture, the land is used for cultivation till the soil loses its fertility, after which it is abandoned. Natural vegetation makes the soil fertile again in a few years. The time span in which the land remains barren can be utilized for cattle grazing and this can help in preserving forests as more trees don't have to be cut for creating lands for farming.
Crop Rotation
In this type of farming, the same plot of land is utilized to grow seasonal crops, one after the other. This prevents cutting down of trees to get new land for cultivation. Crop rotation also increases the productivity of soil.
Use of High-Yield Variety Seeds
This is a farming technique which uses highly productive seeds that are often drought and insect resistant. These seeds produce more while utilizing a smaller area of land. With the use of these seeds, the need to cut trees is lesser and a higher production is achieved from the same piece of land.
Hydroponics
It is a special farming technique of growing plants in water (without soil) containing dissolved nutrients. These techniques, if followed in the right manner, can definitely help prevent deforestation. Farmers should also be made aware of the harmful effects of cutting trees and of intensive farming, which leads to erosion and infertility.