Deforestation and Tropical Rainforests Taylor Hilimire & Vimbai Ushe

Deforestation Deforestation means damaging or destroying forests. It is mainly caused by humans Logging operations, which provide the world’s wood and paper products, cut hundreds of thousands of trees each year. Farmers cut forests to provide more room for planting crops or grazing livestock. Often, many small farmers will each clear a few acres to feed their families by cutting down trees and burning them in a process known as “slash and burn” agriculture. An area of a rainforest the size of a football field is being destroyed each second.

Deforestation Unintentional human and nature derived harm may come in the forms of wildfires Numerous countries have lost at least 90% of their native forests, with populations containing more people contributing to more deforestation

Tropical Rainforests Facts Tropical rainforests are located in tropical areas in Africa, South and Central America, Asia, the northeastern coast of Australia, and some of the Pacific Islands Native plants, such as the Giant bamboo plant, can grow up to 9 inches per day in the rainforest The trees of a tropical rainforest are so densely packed that rain falling on the canopy can take as long as 10 minutes to reach the ground In the moist rainforests of South America, animals like the sloth are able to grow algae on there fur due to their slow movement 1 out of 4 ingredients in our medicine is from rainforest plants.

How do we use the resources from the rainforest? Oil extraction Logging Mining Fires Commercial agriculture Cattle ranching Hydroelectric projects Hunting and poaching, Collection of fuel wood and building material Road construction

Deforestation affects the rainforest by… Increasing the amount of floods Causing soil erosions Losing of thousands of different types of potential medical cures (plants), and other undiscovered species Increase the carbon dioxide in the air, which could lead to global warming Causing a loss of tourism in that area, which could lead to economical difficulties if that area is dependent on tourism

Deforestation Prevention Planting replacement trees for the trees that are cut down Limiting and Decreasing the amount of farming in Tropical Rainforest areas Using recycled items such as electronic books or reusable shopping bags, instead of paper books, and paper bags Instead of using firewood, use coals to heat up your fireplaces during the winter season. Remember that it takes only a few hours to consume the firewood but it would take years to grow a single tree. Develop more rainforest sanctuaries in different parts of the rainforest, as a way to preserve its biodiversity

Works Cited Laurance, William F. "Deforestation." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2011. Web. 31 Peters, Charles M. "Rain forest." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2011. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. Coomes, Oliver T. "Amazon rain forest." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2011. Web. 31 Oct. 2011 Taylor, Leslie. “Species of the Rainforest.” Leslie Taylor Gallery. Web. 29 Oct. 2011.