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Cause 3
Improved transport networks
Roads and railway tracks cutting through forests, like the Trans-Kalimantan
Highway, have been constructed to improve accessibility and access to previously
remote areas.
However, this has made destruction of larger parts of the rainforests easier.
Cause 4
Industrial development
Industrial activities like logging and mining has led to forest destruction.
Trees are logged and sold as timber. The heavy logging in Kalimantan is the
result of the rapid pace at which wood is processed and exported.
In mining, vegetation is cleared to expose the underneath ground, causing
large rainforest expanse to be cleared.
Cause 5
Forest fires
Forest fires are deliberately set by people to clear large forest areas for oil
palm plantations and agriculture.
This is cheaper than employing labour to cut down trees and is the traditional
agricultural method for shifting cultivators.
Key term
Fauna refers to the animal life of a regions
Flora refers to the plant life of region.
The renewal of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide through photosynthesis has
given forests the name Green lungs of the earth
A habitat is the environment where plants and animals live in.
A resource refers to any component of the physical environment that can be used
by people to meet their needs. It can be a renewable or a non renewable
resources.
Renewable resources are resources that can be replenished as long as they are not
used up faster than they are replaced.
A water catchment is an area over which rain fall and is collected and stored.
Shifting cultivation is also known as slash and born cultivation. It is a type of
farming in which the farmers cut down and burn a part of the forest to grow crops.
After a few years, they move to another part of the forest as the fertility of the soil
is exhausted. The old plot is left to fallow or rest.
Sustainable development refers to the careful of resources in which the needs and
development of the present generation are met, without affecting the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs and attain development.
Key term
Afforestation refers to the replanting of trees on areas that were not originally
covered with forest.
Agricultural activities involves the cultivation of crops and rearing of animals.
Air pollution occurs when substances such as dust, smoke or harmful gases are
released into the atmosphere.
Biodiverity refers to the variety of organisms in an ecosystem.
Biomass refers to the combined weight of all organisms in an cosystem and is
measured in terms of kilocalories of stored energy. This sored energy represents
the total amount of food produced and the ability of the ecosystem to support life.
Conservation refers to careful use of resources to protect them from destruction.
Controlled logging involved the selective cutting and replanting of trees in forests
that have been logged.
Deforestation is the permanent clearing and destruction of forest.
Extinction of species occurs when a plant or animal species disappears and no
longer exixts on the Earth.
Forest fire refers to fire that occurs in forests which results in destruction of forests
and air pollution.
Haze occurs when forest fires causes dust and smoke particles to be suspended in
the air, which results in low visibility.
Industrial activity refers to any activity that is carried out for economic gain. An
industrial activity can be categorised into primary, secondary and tertiary
industries. A primary industry involves the extraction of natural resources and raw
materials. A secondary industry involves the manufacturing of goods from natural
resources and raw materials. A tertiary industry involves the provision of services.
Logging refers to the cutting of trees in order to sell the timber for profit.
The nutrient cycle refers to intake, use, release and storage of nutrients by plants
and their environments.
The pH level or potential hyfrogen level is the satandard measured of aciditity or
alkalinity. The pH values ranges from 0 to 14. The neutral value is 7. Acid have pH
values lower that 7 while alkalines have pH values above 7.
The sediment level refers to the amount of materials, like sand and the mud, in a
water body such as a river.
Transport refers to the movement of people and goods from one place to another.
Urbanisation refers to the growth and expansion of towns and cities.
Illegal logging refers to a logging activity that has taken place without the
permission of authorities.
Leaching is a process in which water seeps into the ground and transports soluble
minerals downwards into the soil layers. This results in the removal of nutrients
from the top layer of the soil.
Reforestation refers to the planting of trees in formely forested area that had been
cleared by logging.
Forests as a Resource
Function and uses of forest
1) Maintaining water supply
(a) Quantity of water in forested areas
Replenishing of rainwater
Urban area
No filtration processes
This reduces the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, thus preventing global
warming through excessive greenhouse effect.
Roots of vegetation hold onto the soil firmly, preventing rain/wind from
removing the fertile top layer of the soil. This prevents soil nutrients from
being removed through soil erosion which may reduce the soils fertility and
hence its ability to support vegetation growth.
Roots of forest vegetation prevent soil erosion by holding onto the soil
firmly.
Without roots, eroded soil deposited into rivers will cause the river bed to
become shallower. This reduces its water storage capacity and the river eventually
overflows its banks (floods).
Protecting coasts
Mangrove forests protect coastal areas from storms and strong waves.
Forests are natural habitats to of the flora and fauna species in the world.
Without forests, natural habitats will be lost leading to the endangering and
extinction of innocent plants and animal species, like the Orang Utan and
giant pandas.
It is also home to 60 million people who live in the TRs of Africa and SEA,
including natives and shifting cultivators.
The natives get their main source of food from the forests which include plants
and animals.
Medicines
Some plants of medicinal value are used to make medicines and drugs.
For example, cough syrups can be made from the Eastern White Pine tree
found in coniferous forests.
Chemicals
Useful chemicals are extracted from forests, including tannin which is used to
treat leather.
9) Research and education
10) Recreation
Forests provide people with a place for recreational activities like hiking and
camping.
Ecotourism has gained popularity and Taman Negara in Malaysia has been
promoted as an ecotourism destination.
This way, income can be generated through tourism while forests are
conserved.