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Deforestation Research Paper

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Deforestation is a serious problem today, and has been for a long time. It is one of the greatest threats to nature on Earth, if not the single greatest. It is one root cause of soil erosion, the root cause of global warming, and the greatest contributor to the endangerment and extinction of so many species throughout the world. To understand deforestation though, one must know exactly what it is first. Therefore, deforestation is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica Online as "The cutting down and clearing of trees from forests, usually causing ecological harm. The process has occurred as long as wood has been used as an energy source." Furthermore, "In the 1990's, the deforestation of tropical rainforests threatened to increase Earth's …show more content…

Furthermore, this destruction of diverse biological aspects could result in extinction of yet unknown species. These aforementioned species could yield yet unforeseen cures of many of today's illnesses. We have no idea what possible opportunities might lie hidden within the genomes of the world's forests. "There is a further dimension to the impoverishment that is overtaking the Earth's biota. Many species are losing entire sub-units, in the forms of races and populations, which greatly reduces their genetic variability. Even though these species are not being endangered in terms of their overall numbers, many of them, such as corn, rice and wheat, are suffering a critical decline in their genetic variety," (Myers 132). "Informed estimates tell us there must be at least five million (species); recent research suggests there could be as many as thirty million insect species in tropical forests alone. We also know that the distribution of species worldwide is far from even. At least two-thirds of them, and perhaps as many as ninety percent are concentrated in the Tropics." Recent research suggests there could be as many as thirty million insect species alone, in the tropical forests." Also, six percent of the Earth's land surface is covered by these tropical forests, which shelter approximately fifty percent of all species of the world. If this bio-depletion is allowed to continue there soon may

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