Deforestation is the clearing of forests to make way for agriculture, logging, mining, dams, and roads. It has harmful effects by disrupting water and carbon cycles, reducing biodiversity, and causing soil erosion and poor water quality. The leading cause is agriculture as farmers clear land for crops and livestock. Logging and mining also contribute by cutting down trees for wood and extracting resources. Building dams and roads enables further deforestation by providing access to more forest areas. The Amazon and forests in Africa and Southeast Asia have faced significant deforestation, reducing habitats for many species. Individual actions like sustainable consumption and donations can help combat deforestation.
4. 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
5.
6. 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
7. 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
8. Dams
• Generate hydroelectric energy
• Flood forests that are upstream
• Trees decay slowly when dams are built in tropical
waters, depriving the water of oxygen
9. Roads
• Building the roads themselves destroys trees in the
way
• Provides access to a larger area of the forest for
loggers, miners, and farmers
11. Water Cycle
• If the trees are
gone, there will be
less transpiration
and less water
released into the
hydrologic cycle
12. Carbon Cycle
CO2
02
• If trees aren’t there, carbon dioxide will accumulate
and contribute to the greenhouse effect
13. 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
14. 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
15. 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
17. 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
18. 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
19. 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
20. 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
21. How You Can Help
• Buying sustainably grown foods
• Buying environmentally friendly paper
• Donating to an organization that stands up for forests
22. 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
