Forests: Deforestation and Desertification

FORESTS
DEFORESTATION AND DESERTIFICATION

What is a FOREST?
The forest is said to be the “lungs of the earth”.
A forest is a community of trees, shrubs, herbs, and associated plants and organisms that cover a considerable area that use
oxygen, water and soil nutrients as the community attains maturity and reproduces itself.
TYPES OF FOREST
There are different types of forests which can be seen in different parts of the world. Though they may be different, they
generally perform the same ecological functions. These types of forests are:
1. TROPICAL EVER GREEN FORESTS
2. TROPICAL DECIDUOUS FORESTS ( Trees that shed leaves annually)
3. TROPICAL THORN AND SHRUB FORESTS (Annual rainfall between 60-75 cms, short stem trees)
4. MANGROOVE FORESTS
IMPORTANCE OF FORESTS
1. They provide raw materials for certain industry.
2. They provide food, fodder, fuel, fertilizer and fibre.
3. They prevent soil erosion and preserve the fertility of the soil.
4. They provide moisture and lower the temperature.
5. They are the home for many animals and birds, thus , they preserve the biodiversity.
6. They maintain the ecological balance.
7. They provide medicinal value resulting in the making of many medicinal drugs.
8. Forests also help to alleviate psychological stress arising from the trials of modern society.
9. They provide the opportunity for relaxation and meditation – can lead to the development of eco-tourism
ROLE OF THE FOREST
 Promotes rainfall
 Prevents soil erosion
 Prevents flooding
 Maintains the composition of the atmosphere
 Reduces noise pollution
 Acts as a wind barrier from heavy winds
 Provides medicinal remedies
 Recreation
 Lumber for the construction industry
DEFORESTATION
Deforestation is the full or large scale removal of a forest, or area of tress, in order to clear land for human development.
Deforestation” is the direct or indirect human induced conversion of forested land to non-forested land.
Deforestation is alarmingly high in the tropics, where forests are disappearing faster than anywhere else in the world.
CAUSES:
Cultivation:
 Countries clear large areas of land so that they can grow and develop them.
 Nutrients depleted
 fertility of soil is exhausted due to repeated cropping, a natural forest area is destroyed.
Overgrazing:
 Overgrazing in forests destroys newly regenerated growth. It also makes soil more compact and impervious.
 Overgrazing also accelerates the soil erosion.
Fuel wood:
 People living near forests get fuel wood
 charcoal for cooking and heating
 uses such as keeping the fire on for warmth at night Forest
Forest fires:
 Frequent fires are the major cause of destruction of forests.
 Some fires are incidental while the majority of them are deliberate.
Timber:
 Timber and plywood industries are mainly responsible for the destruction of forest trees.
 Thus the increased demand for timber led to a rapid depletion of forest.
Forest diseases
 Many diseases caused by parasitic fungi, rusts, viruses cause death and decay of forest plants.
 Diseases such as heart rot, blister rust, oak wilt, phloem necrosis and Dutch elm diseases etc. damage the forest
in large numbers.
Land slides
Deforestation due to land slides in the hills is of great concern
Mining for metals such as gold, copper, or aluminum clears large tracts of natural forests
Hydroelectric dams
Road Building
EFFECTS:
Deforestation has many environmentally damaging side effects:
Climate change
Destruction of millions of species
Tropical rainforest contains undoubtedly the world’s largest gene pool. Its bio-diversity is so
great that at least 50% of the earth’s species are living in it.
The greenhouse effect
Forests help in absorption of solar heat during evaporation and transpiration. • They help in
maintaining carbon dioxide level and hence give a boost to plant growth.
Flooding and Cyclones
• On the other hand, deforestation can also cause flooding.….coastal areas
Drought: If all the water is going away in the form of floods, or even in the form of
evaporation there won't be any water left for usage. Lack of usable water will lead to
drought.
Pakistan:
 Pakistan has earned the distinction of having the highest annual deforestation rate in Asia.  Internationally………
25 % should be under forest cover.
 covering only 4.8 percent of total land area.
Pakistani Ecosystems:
• Juniper forests of northern Balochistan have been heavily harvested for timber and fuelwood.
• Indus River …..Large tracts have been cleared for agriculture.
• Himalayan …..logging for timber and firewood and making clearings for agriculture.
• Mangrove forests…coastal areas.
The major threat to Pakistan's forests is:
• uncontrolled and unsustainable cutting
• lack of political will and commitment
• poor planning
• unrealistic forest working plans
• weak implementation of forest protection laws
SOLUTIONS:
 Propagating modern technologies and farming techniques
 encourage a tree planting (Billion tree)
 Use solar and hydal energy (air power) to generate energy.
 Reducing Political interference in the Forestry and Wildlife Departments.
 Improving other institutions and departments for the sustainable development of forests, wildlife and
biodiversity resources.
DESERTICATION
Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural
processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly more arid.
CAUSES:
There are 4 main causes of desertification. These are:
1. Deforestation
2. Soil erosion and Degradation
3. Clearing land for construction
4. Demographic and economic pressures
1. DEFORESTATION
Deforestation refers to the cutting, clearing, and removal of rainforest or related ecosystems into less bio-diverse
ecosystems such as pasture, cropland, or plantations. This cutting of trees is derived my many reasons mainly
because of agriculture. These include:
 Over-cultivation: This occurs when farmers/ agriculturalists disturb the soil around the crops too much
 Overgrazing: This occurs when animals such as sheep and cows are continuously fed from the same spot of
ground. Consequently, this does not allow the ground to recover causing loss in vegetation
 Poor irrigation Systems: This poorly designed irrigation system will cause water to be irregular distributed
causing some areas to be either under or over irrigated. This waste of natural resource cause areas to suffer yield or
quality reductions.
2. SOIL EROSION AND DEGRADATION:
Soil is the earth’s fragile skin that anchors all life on Earth. Therefore, it is one of the most significant resources to
humans. In the past 150 years half the soil structure but also the nutrient degradation of the topsoil on planet Earth has
been lost which not only affected.
Degraded lands are also often less able to hold onto water thus making the land more prone to flooding. This soil
erosion and degradation makes the land more vulnerable to desertification.
3. CLEARING OF LAND FOR CONSTRUCTION:
Due to the radical increase in world population there is a growing demand for housing, construction of roads and
airports. These can diversely interfere with ground water resources and affect the existing agriculture. Apart from
causing pollution because of the industry, it also increases quarrying activity which furthermore poses a threat on the
land.
4. DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC PRESSURES:
Desertification is encouraged due to the large production and consumption patterns rates which implanted a huge burden
on resources such as water, fossil fuel and construction material. Logging and mining….
CONSEQUENCES OF DESERTIFICATION
Desertification has:
• Environmental effects
Soil erosion, Biodiversity loss, Climate change, Drought
• Economic effects
• Social effects
COMBATING DESERTIFICATION
Raising awareness of the problem
Planting indigenous trees and shrubs
Developing sustainable agricultural practices
Mobilizing and involving people
Empowering women
Developing rural markets
THE END

Forests: Deforestation and Desertification

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Forests: Deforestation and Desertification

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Forests: Deforestation and Desertification

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

FORESTS

DEFORESTATION AND DESERTIFICATION

You might also like