Logging is an environmental issue that has very far reaching
effects; many people will know that millions acres of trees are cut down every
single year across the world from the rain forests of Amazon to the tundra of
Russia.
I’m not planning on actually focusing on the removal of tree
while this is the major issue as they play extremely significant effect on the
ecosystem for things such as carbon storage, food and shelter. However once
removed a process starts, an entire cascade effect or avalanche which is
started by the removal of trees.
The first impact on the habitat when trees are removed
starts instantly, the topsoil becomes unstable, this means that the thin nutrient
rich layers of topsoil is at risk. The topsoil is lost within a couple of years
owing to the fact that it is no longer secured by roots and also because water
will move through it faster speeding up the process of leaching. Leaching
occurs when water from rain moves through the exposed and unsecured topsoil, as
it moves it carries away nutrients and organic matter either in solution or
suspension. This matter is washed into water systems where it can cause a boom
in productivity of aquatic life or given excessive quantities cause a crash due
to excessive siltation. However this is only a one off situation as after a
year or so all the nutrients are removed and so the ecology of the water system
is affected.
It does not just end there however as after the initial boom
there is a lack of interaction between riparian areas (area within influence of
the river) and the aquatic life. A study was conducted between these exchanges
of both biotic and abiotic factors; it was found that when these interactions
were prevented invertebrates such as riparian based spider population crashed
massively as significantly fewer aquatic invertebrates emerge to start their
new life stage due to lack of nutrient sources from within the river reducing
population size. Also feeding systems within the rivers were affected and some more
generalised species populations increased while others more specific niche
based organisms crashed due to the new habitat created.
Deforestation also affects human populations as the removal
of trees effect the water cycle. Forests act as a sort of biological dam, the
rain fall is caught up in the forest either held within the plants before being
transpired, or as suspended ground water. This means that rainfall is steadily
released into the water ways thus controlling flow rates. Removal of the trees
however prevents this process and so rain proceeds into rivers faster without
being stalled, resulting in extreme and quick fluctuation it river level. These
changes in river levels can increases the risks of flash flooding in villages,
towns and cities which are commonly found on large water ways lower in the
catchment area. The faster movement of this water through the water cycle also
results in the areas which have been deforested being drier overall with a lack
of ground water.
Finally the effects of deforestation are detrimental to human
advances; already there are around 7,000 medical compounds which are derived
from plants. It is also important to remember that I’m not talking about herbal medicine or Chinese
medicines, because these are a con, if they are helpful the active molecule would
have already been isolated and concentrated into modern medicine. It is still
unknown to the exact extent of medical cures the forests of the world contain
but with an estimated 28,000 species expected to become extinct in the next 25 years
due to deforestation it is likely that
many of them will be lost forever.
So what can you do?
Simply try to avoid all types of tropical woods for
furniture and other applications especially Sapelee, Wenge, Ebony, Brazilian
Mahogany and Burmese teak, will help as it is demand for these exotic products
which are truly driving the process of deforestation. Also try to make sure that
the wood in the products which you do purchases is sourced from a sustainable
managed sources. The FSC for instance certify groups who support responsible
forestry, so look for their logo.
Thanks for reading
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