two threats to tropical rainforest

The tropical rainforest average temperature can get anywhere between 20 and 35 degrees celsius, that is 68 to 95 degrees fahrenheit. Otherwise farmers may resort to using more and more fertilizers and pesticides which bring with them their own problems such as the pollution of rivers. Most of the world's soya comes from South America where areas of rainforest, as well as other habitats like the savannahs have been planted with this crop. Indonesia and Malaysia together produce more than 80 percent of the world’s palm oil. The pulp is used to make paper. The sun rises daily to a near-vertical position at noon, ensuring a high level of incoming radiant energy at all seasons. 1) The growth of populations in countries with rainforest. The Sumatran Orangutan is listed as “critically endangered” and the Bornean Orangutan as “endangered”. In addition, the paper industry requires a massive amount of pulpwood trees. One victim of palm oil plantations is the orangutan. The destruction of the rainforest could affect the world's climate. However, livestock can still be indirectly responsible for rainforest destruction since intensively farmed animals in the UK are fed a high protein plant called soya. However, the damage caused by these natural occurrences is generally different from that caused by human activities; mostly in that the forest is not completely lost and parts of the ecosystem continue to function. Out of the 6 million square miles (15 million square kilometres) of tropical rainforest that once existed worldwide, only 2.4 million square miles (6 million square km) remain. An estimated 70 - 80% of logging in Brazil and Indonesia is illegal. Human Threats. While trees have been cut for logging, development and human expansion, it is actually farming that is causing the most extreme and drastic deforestation among much of the Amazon rainforest. An ecosystem is not just the plants, but also the birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians, invertebrates, bacteria, and even the non-living elements like soil, water and air. Brazil suffered an energy crisis in 2006 and is keen to develop this source of power. During the day, the rainforests absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the air to make food in a process called photosynthesis. Climate change threat to tropical forests 'greater than suspected' This article is more than 10 years old. Many apes are vulnerable to diseases. In Africa apes such as gorillas and other animals are hunted for bushmeat to be sold by roadsides and in the markets. More than half of Earth's rainforests have already been destroyed, going from covering 14% of the Earth to about 6%. rather than clearcutting it for farmland. Wood rotting underwater also releases carbon dioxide and methane greenhouse gases. There are many natural events that pose possibl threats to the functioning and productivity of tropical rainforest biomes. Many of the food companies importing palm oil for use in our foods choose ‘sustainable’ sources which means that more care and responsibility is taken and areas rich in wildlife and animals are protected. That about 8.5 million football pitches. Keep in mind that the money can only be available for a short time, but the cleared forest will take ages to recover. This means that they have developed arrays of life unequalled by any other ecosystems on the planet. At first the land may be very productive. Serious concern about the threats and damage to the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (TRHS) have been raised by UNESCO and IUCN since the inscription of this site on the World Heritage List in 2004. Many feel this is a good exchange and may improve their standard of living, although the reality can be far from that. Breaking through the canopy and sometimes reaching over 200 meters above the ground, emergent trees are the “kings” of the rainforest. In a way Europe is contributing to the rainforests’ destruction as nearly a third of Brazil’s soy bean harvest is exported to Europe including Britain where 78% of the soya beans are imported form Brazil. Not only that but the cattle naturally produce large quantities of methane, another “greenhouse gas” approximately 26 times more effective than CO2. The equatorial latitude of tropical rainforest and tropical deciduous forests keeps day length and mean temperature fairly constant throughout the year. Oils from plants, vegetables, seeds and nuts have been used for centuries all over the world for many different foods and products. Road building through rainforests is another problem, making illegal logging and the poaching of animals much easier. During this lesson you will learn about the biotic and abiotic components of the rainforest. The destruction of the rainforests will affect other ecosystems throughout the world. The Young People's Trust for the Environment is a charity which aims to encourage young people's understanding of the environment and the need for sustainability. Nearly 800 square kilometres of forest were cut down during the first three months of 2020 — 51% more than during the same period in 2019. Threats Logging interests cut down rain forest trees for timber used in flooring, furniture, and other items. These keystone hardwood species like Brazil Nut, Mahogany and Kapok provide critical habitat for large birds and primates. It can also be used as a biofuel instead of petrol or diesel. Carbon dioxide or CO2 is a 'greenhouse gas', which helps to retain the heat of the sun within the Earth's atmosphere. China, with its growing demands for beef has in recent years become the largest consumer of soya from Brazil. Tropical rainforests absorb about 20% of the world’s man-made carbon dioxide emissions. It is possible that some of its forests may be opened up for mineral exploration. Sadly, experts believe deforestation for palm oil is the single greatest threat to orangutans in the wild. The soya companies are often owned by foreigners, who are there to make money, so it does nothing to benefit the local people and their economic situation. The big companies and governments who propose these developments of the rainforest usually offer incentives for the affected people such as jobs, schools and clinics. • More people means more houses, more cars, more roads, more dams, more powerlines … and that can mean more trouble for the rainforest. A by-product of photosynthesis is oxygen. Natural threats to tropical rainforests. But when it comes to the palm kernel meal used in pet food there’s a different story. Valuable trees are harvested and the rest are burnt to clear the land for the farming of palm oil. The money that can be made is only available in the short-term. But here are some of the main aspects: Loss of biodiversity: Species lose their habitat, or can no longer subsist in the small fragments of forests that are left. 97% of the soya meal produced worldwide is used for animal feed and much of that is not sustainably produced. It is impossible to draw a comprehensive list of everything we stand to lose from deforestation. In West Africa, almost 90% of the rainforest has been destroyed and now the logging is spreading to Central Africa. However the World Heritage Area does not extend to all of the Daintree with much of the coastal lowland tropical rainforest from the Daintree River to Cape Tribulation remaining unprotected. Warming global temperatures affect the atmospheric systems that bring wet The rate at which the forests have been cleared has accelerated during the latter part of the 20th and into the 21st century. But we now know more about the important role that forests, especially rainforests play. © 2021 Young People's Trust For the Environment. Rainforests used to cover over 14% of the world’s surface but currently only cover around 6%. According to the IUCN, over the last ten years their numbers have halved and up to 5000 are killed every year, despite their status as protected species. Have you heard of palm oil? Before humans started destroying the rainforests, they covered 15% of the Earth's land area, today, they cover less than 3%. The greatest cause of tropical rainforest destruction today comes from human activities, which, unlike natural damage, are unrelenting and thorough. For example, teak and mahogany are very valuable hardwoods and are profitable when sold. Educating people about the destruction caused by the loss of rainforests, and encouraging the purchase of sustainable rainforest products. Burning the trees and the peatlands beneath them is highly polluting (see below) although the ash improves the soil’s fertility before planting. Hardwoods like mahogany and teak are very valuable, and can be sold for a great profit. The construction was completed in 2019. Rainforests are the world's most spectacular ecosystems. Eventually the good topsoil will be washed away by the rains within three or four years and the area may become a desert. There are also many ways that nature is affecting the Tropical Rainforests in harmful ways. The Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem: ... knowledge and understanding of rainforest threats. More than half of the world’s rainforests have been destroyed by humans and their demand for wood and arable land. The population of humanshas been on the rise with scientists estimating that it will reach 9 billion by 2050. Logging operations use timber for flooring and construction; paper industries turn wood into … As well as damaging people's health, the mercury used goes on to pollute river systems and is the second-worse source of mercury pollution in the world, after the burning of fossil fuels. In many cases, promised compensation is not delivered. The more the rainforests are cut down and burned, the more the 'lungs' of the earth will be damaged. Tropical forests are incredibly biodiverse; they support at least two-thirds of the world’s biodiversity (1) despite covering less than 10% of Earth’s land surface (2). There may be only two or three commercially viable trees in an area of forest the size of two football pitches. This makes Indonesia the country with the 3rd largest carbon footprint in the world, when deforestation is taken into account! While rainforests are a vital part of our planet’s ecology, they are shrinking because of human activity. Power plants and other industries cut and burn trees to generate electricity. The problem is that 0% of the ingredient is sourced from sustainable sources, which means that farmers could be destroying the most species-rich rainforests in the world. Trees are also cut down for wood pulp, which until recently came only from softwoods like Canadian conifers. More than half of Earth's rainforests have already been destroyed, going from covering 14% of the Earth to about 6%. These are a great source of income for many countries, such as in Indonesia where mineral deposits form 19% of their exports. At the centre of the oil palm fruits, much like a nectarine, there is a stone, or ‘kernel’ and this is chopped and mashed up to produce the high protein ingredient palm kernel meal. Lesson one - Tropical rainforests. On the contrary, burning the rainforest is like creating a huge bonfire, throwing massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. A tropical rainforest is a closed canopy of forests growing within 28 degrees north or south of the equator. The Xingu river is the site of the world's third largest hydro-electric dam, the Belo Monte project where 310 square miles (500 square km) will be flooded. After deforestation, the second major (indirect) threat to tropical rainforests is climate change via global warming. How about vegetable oil or olive oil? This renewable “green” source of energy, ironically is to blame for some environmental destruction, for example in the Amazon when the Tucuri dam was built. Some are pets, some are farm animals which provide us with food or milk, but one thing they do have in common - they are contributing to the destruction of Asia’s rainforests. Some people estimate that, at the current rate of destruction, rainforests will be gone within the next hundred years. Soy plants may also be genetically modified - still a controversial issue. It is used in bread, cereals, chocolates, pizzas, cleaning products, chewing gum and even shampoo. Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of beef with more cattle (232 million) than people (210 million in 2020)! All the way from Asia, pets all over the country are eating food containing palm kernel meal. Worldwide, they make up one of Earth’s largest biomes (major life zones). In order to satisfy the world's demand, more and more of the Amazon rainforest is burned to … Often people involved in small scale gold mining use mercury to extract the gold. Encouraging those that live near rainforests to harvest its bounty (nuts, fruits, medicines, etc.) As the soil’s fertility does not last forever, the people at the head of logging companies avoid bankruptcy by buying up new areas of forest. There are many efforts and concepts already in place to try to preserve the rainforests we still have. This involves digging up the soil to a certain depth and then extracting the fuels. Once an area of forest is cleared, it will probably never recover. In just the last 50 years, one third of tropical rainforests have been destroyed, 46-58 thousand square miles of forest are lost each year. To avoid buying this wood in the UK, the most recognised and trustworthy standard is the Forestry Stewardship Council logo on wood and paper products which ensures the source was from sustainably managed forests. The tropical rainforests of the Amazon Basin face the threat of deforestation. Despite growing international concern, rainforests continue to be destroyed at a pace exceeding 80,000 acres (32,000 hectares) per day. Humans pose the greatest threat to the Tropical Rainforests because of conflicting interests within governing bodies, and lack of education on them. Many indigenous people such as the Kayapo Indians are concerned about the potential loss of land. The most significant threat to the Borneo Rainforest in Malaysia is logging, land-clearing/deforestation and conversion activities. Since the end of the Second World War about half the world's rainforest has been felled. It is also the case that with the example of soya, it doesn’t usually benefit the local people who are often violently forced off their lands and then sometimes forced to work on the plantations. 2) An increase in worldwide demand for tropical hardwoods has put a greater strain on the rainforests. Populations dwindle, … In Britain we destroyed our ancient forests thousands of years ago and used the land for farming. When the trees are removed, the flying rivers stop flowing. After logging and/or burning of the rainforest, cleared land is sold to local farmers for cattle grazing. Helping encourage and set government regulations on road building and infrastructure projects in the rainforests. When a 35 metre tree is felled, it can crush up to 17 smaller trees as it crashes to the ground. Threats to the tropical rainforest and the wider impacts The tropical rainforests of the Amazon Basin face the threat of deforestation. Logging is also a threat; many of the tropical trees are prized for their lumber (and some are just ground up to make toilet 1). Tropical rainforest, luxuriant forest found in wet tropical uplands and lowlands near the Equator. I think that it is important to note that, while humans do play a large part in the destruction of rainforests, we are not the only cause of the problem. As populations have grown and demands for land and timber have grown greater, so the deforestation has accelerated. Humans have cut down trees for thousands of years, yet concern over deforestation is fairly recent. (Researchers forecast this number will double by 2016.) Water falls on the rainforests, is absorbed by the trees and then evaporated from their leaves in a process called transpiration. 11.7 million people have settled in or near to the Borneo Rainforest, this has had much effect on how the rainforest functions. Fortunes can be made in the rainforest. Temperatures of these rainforests are also pretty high. Mercury is banned in Indonesia but is readily available for purchase by individuals. Threats to Daintree Lowland Rainforest The Daintree Rainforest is the heart and soul of Australia’s Wet Tropics. Another 350,000 residents live within 50km of the World Heritage boundary. Some of these include: Nature is very dangerous as well as very beautiful and beneficial. More than half of the Amazon rainforest belongs to Brazil. Rainforests also help to transport huge volumes of water vapour through the atmosphere in 'flying rivers'. The UK uses a considerable 10% of the global supply in palm kernel meal, and 80% of this is used in animal feed. There are two main human threats that destroy tropical rainforests. Forests are destroyed for a number of reasons:-. Brazil has the world's largest iron ore mine and has rich reserves of other metals such as zinc, nickel, tin and aluminium. In some cases their climates have remained stable for the last 65 million years. Because of this, it is here that much of the destruction … See our orangutan factsheet below for more information. Today tropical rainforests are disappearing from the face of the globe. Oil palms are palm trees which grow hundreds of little orange/red fruits that are squashed, squeezed and pulped to produce palm oil. This layer is threatened particularly by selective logging practices. • About two million visitors come to the region each year. Unfortunately, the building of hydro-electric dams often results in major flooding which harms wildlife and can change the eco-system of the river downstream. Both of these pose substantial threats to the organisms and biodiversity of rainforest biomes. What do we lose if rainforests are destroyed? Large areas of forest in Indonesia are protected by law against any prospecting or open cast mining, although new rules do allow underground mining in protected areas. Threats To Tropical Rainforests Some of the worksheets for this concept are Name the tropical rainforest, The tropical rainforest ecosystem teachers notes, The living world ecosystems tropical rainforests and hot, Work a environmental problems, Revision booklet gcse geography, People and environment issues forests under threat, Coral reefs 4 days total 6 hours with lab, Deforestation work a. 80% of deforested areas in Brazil are used for cattle ranching and are the greatest source of carbon emissions in Brazil. One of the largest, and most well known problems in the Amazon is that of deforestation. They are aptly named for the receive 200 cm of rain every year. Also, tropical rainforests are cut down in order to mine for coal and fossil fuels. Devastating cyclones, typhoons, and storms result in extensive damage to the rainforest, which are beyond recovery. As the population grows, people tend to log trees in order to get enough space to settle. It has been stated that 25–50% of the world's tropical rainforest has been lost and degraded due to the land - use change such as deforestation for palm oil plantations, agriculture expansion, cattle ranches, mining, and development of housing societies [ 16 – 19 ], while the rest of the rainforest areas is under a major shift in the dynamic structure and productivity. The disappearance of the forest is called deforestation. By burning the rainforest, we are not only adding huge amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere, but we are also reducing nature's ability to absorb CO2 and to produce oxygen. Rainforests are forests which grow in areas of high rainfall. It is estimated that 33% of all the products in your local supermarket contain palm oil - that’s a lot of products! Imported products are products grown or made in other countries and then shipped to the UK, the opposite of this is exports - products made in the UK and sent to other countries. We should not underestimate the destructive power that it holds. Sometimes land is cleared so that it can be replanted with valuable cash crops such as the oil palm plant, which produces palm oil. Tropical cover now stands at 2 billion hectares (7.7 million sq miles), an area about the size of the United States plus China and representing around 13 percent of the world's land surface. Current rates of deforestation amount to about 6 million hectares a year. Malaysia, an island nation in Southeast Asia, is covered in tropical rainforest – over two thirds of its islands are taken up by Malaysia rainforest. Deforestation is happening due to the following reasons: Farming - large areas are cleared for pastoral farming. Tropical rainforests are found between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn and receive between 175-200 cm of rainfall a year. Tropical rainforests are dominated by broad-leaved trees that form a dense upper canopy and contain a wide array of vegetation and other life. The most serious threats that tropical rainforests face include: logging, cattle industries, creating roads and agriculture. Logging tropical hardwoods for exportation as well as other timber is a big threat to the Amazon. For moderately strong storms, forests may recover within a … On the contrary, burning the rainforest is like creating a huge bonfire, throwing massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Humans pose the greatest threat to the Tropical Rainforests because of conflicting interests within governing bodies, and lack of education on them. In 2011, the TRHS was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Many of the fastest-growing human populations are located in the tropics, and as they clear land for sustenance farming there is a direct impact on the rainforest. Once a forest is cleared completely, it takes many years to revegetate, and is never the same ecosytem that it was prior to clearing. Here are some threats that tropical rainforests face: Tree collection: Rainforest trees are a valuable resource in tropical rainforests, but various human activities cut these trees down for other uses. Encouraging and teaching sustainable logging methods that selectively cut down trees rather than clearcutting large areas of forest.

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