Deforestation

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  • Created by: KezHodgex
  • Created on: 24-04-15 17:06
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  • Deforestation
    • Process of which trees are cut down
      • To create timber for building material etc
      • To create more land for farming and buildings
      • To create paper from wood
    • Leads to four main problems
      • More methane in the atmostphere
        • Cattle produce methane
          • Rearing cattle means more methane produced in the air
        • Rice is grown in warm waterlogged conditions - ideal for decomposers
          • These organisms produce methane, meaning more is produced
      • More Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere
        • Carbon Dioxide is produced when burning trees to clear land
          • (The carbon in wood is only seen as pollution when it is being burned)
          • More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes global warming, which leads to climate change
        • Micro-organisms feeding on bits of dead wood
          • Release carbon dioxide as a waste product of respiration
      • Less Carbon Dioxide taken in
        • Cutting down loads of trees means the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere during photo-synthesis is reduced
      • Less biodiversity (the variety of different species in a habitat - the more species, the greater the biodiversity)
        • Tropical rainforests can contain a huge number of different species - when they are destroyed there is a danger of many species becoming extinct - biodiversity is reduced
        • Causes lost opportunities
          • E.G there are probably loads of useful products that we will never know about because the organisms that produced them have become extinct
            • (Newly discovered plants and animals are a great source of new foods, new fibres for clothing and new medicines)

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