Tropical Rainforest Crisis Research Paper

Rainforests are woodland of tall trees growing in a region with year-round warmth, and abundant rainfall. Tropical rainforest are only located 6 to 7% of the Earth's surface but they support more than half the world's plants and animals. In spite of the benefits, people cut down thousands of square miles of rainforest each year for its resources like medicine and food. Since most of the plants and animals live in rainforest most of the Earth's plants and animals are dying and being endangered. There are still many rainforest left around the world. They are mostly found in the lower part of the equator.

One of the major causes of rainforest destruction is logging. While logging can be carried out in a manner that reduces damage to the environment, most logging in large rainforests can be very destructive and harmful. Rainforests that once grew over 14 % of the land on Earth now cover only 6 %. These forests produce vital oxygen and provide homes for wildlife and humans. More than half of the Earth’s rainforests have already been lost forever due to the insatiable human demand for wood and arable land.

Rainforests are one of the biggest victims to biodiversity loss and deforestation. They cover only 7% of the world's surface but house about half of all the plant and animal species on the earth. If human manufactured deforestation occurs in the rainforests many of the smaller more secluded species are at high risk for extinction. Some animals only live in certain portions of the rainforest and if that certain part is taken out, so is that species.

On the article “Amazon rainforest losing ability to regulate climate, scientist warns” discuss that Amazon rainforest’s capacity of regulate the weather climate is becoming lower now and its a problem because it might be connected with others problems in the world for example the plaguing Sao Paulo. Scientists noticed the if the forests problems become bigger the consequences will become worse and what was the possible cause at the plaguing in Sao Paulo. The author said that before the problem in Sao Paulo people known about the problems and had a lot of alarms there, but now they will finally pay attention in what is occurring in the world and hopes that they do something to change this scenario.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/31/amazon-rainforest-deforestation-weather-droughts-report

The people that live by the rainforest will be effected in many ways. In the

After my research, I have found that the tropical rainforest is very important because they help maintain global weather and rain patterns. Tropical rainforests are also warm all year round, its temperature barely changes from day to night. The tropical rainforest is pretty wet from all that rain and has high humidity. The vegetation in a rainforest is very green with very different heights. There are three major layers of vegetation. The first and top layer is called the canopy, it is made up of large trees , the second layer is the understory, it is made up of vines, smaller trees, and ferns, the third and bottom layer is called the floor, it is covered with wet leaves and leaf litter. Many famous mountains and rivers are found in the rainforest, such as, Mount Kilimanjaro, Amazon river, and Angel Falls. Heavy vegetation causes the rain to take up to ten minutes to reach the ground.

Tropical rainforests are among the most threatened ecosystems due to large scale as a result of human activity. Habitat fragmentation caused by geological processes such as volcanism and climate change occurred in the past, and have been identified as important drivers . However, fast human driven habitat destruction is suspected to be one of the major causes of species.Tropical rain forests have been subjected to heavy logging and agricultural clearance throughout the 20th century, and the area covered by rainforests around the world is shrinking.

The rainforest supports the greatest biodiversity on Earth, playing an important role in various areas. Unfortunately, parts of these biological wonders are almost constantly being wiped out. Thousands of acres of rainforest are lost every day. At one point they covered 20% of the land surface on Earth. Now they cover less than 6% but hold over half of the world's plant and animal populations. Scientists predict that if this rate of loss continues, all the rainforests could be gone in less than 50 years (Taylor). Human impacts such as deforestation and combustion are destroying the rainforests now more than ever and are creating extreme damage. Some reasons for rainforest destruction include wood needed for fires or timber, pulp to make paper, road construction, agriculture, extraction of energy and minerals, or land for people, crops, and animals (Butler). This disturbance that humans are creating can have a great effect on the cycles of matter.

The rainforest that have not been destroyed are being cleared for food crops, tree plantation or for grazing cattle. Due to the cash crop system the soil fertility is even declining in the rainforest. The main reason the cash crops are grown is because it’s an easy way to get money and they have little concern about the environment. The modern machinery sometimes even cattle damage the land to such extent that there is no further use so they keep on transferring to another land of the rainforest and destroying it similar to the farmers.

The solution to this problem is to tell other people about it so they know not to cut down trees and kill the animals and plants in the rainforest. Support other companies that help the rainforest not be destructed. Encourage other people to do something for the rainforest that won't hurt it like not cutting down the trees there or find a place for the animals to live. Help the people from the rainforest protection help and protect the rainforests. Solve, save, and help the rainforest don't destruct, ruin, and lose the animals and plants.

Significant increases in greenhouse gas emissions contribute to large-scale, rising temperatures, changed weather patterns, and an escalated frequency of severe weather events contributing to issues such as global warming and biodiversity loss as a result of the decreasing availability of adequate food and water and altered habitats in these integrated ecosystems. Disruptions of water cycles such as changes in precipitation and river flow are considerably impacted when deforestation or forest degradation occurs, resulting in the throwing off of the balance between water on land and in the atmosphere that trees help maintain. Other negative impacts of deforestation or forest degradation comprises of increased soil erosion, disrupted livelihoods, and a simultaneously high loss in biodiversity species. Deforestation often results in the extinction of numerous, unique species struggling to survive in geographic locations all over the world. “About 80% of the world’s documented species can be found in tropical rainforests—some of the forests most vulnerable to deforestation.” (WWF). Agricultural expansion, wood extraction, and infrastructure expansion through processes such as urbanization and road building work together simultaneously to cause deforestation. Primarily for the need of subsistence, one of the most significant causes of

The rapid rate of tropical deforestation has raised widespread concern about the consequential irreversible environmental changes that lead to the loss of plant and animal species, on scale never before experienced in human history. Tropical deforestation is the leading cause of biodiversity loss. Behind fossil fuel combustion, tropical deforestation is the second leading cause of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with almost 20% of all global CO2 emissions are caused by deforestation.

The rainforests have been suffering from habitat destruction caused by human impacts such as deforestation, which then cause the destruction of entire rainforest ecosystems. The causes for the human activity of deforestation include grazing for animals, wood used for fires & timber, pulp for making paper, road construction, and agriculture for poor farmers. The effects that deforestation has on an ecosystem include climate change, destruction of habitats and ecosystems, global warming, the extinction of animals, and the disruption of matter cycles. There is an abundant amount of undeniable proof to support the claim that human impact is the cause of habitat destruction in the tropical rainforests. As UXL Encyclopedia of Science states, “Agriculture is the biggest cause of habitat loss.” The human activity of agriculture and deforestation for goods have devastating effects on rainforest ecosystems, stripping them of their resources, organisms, stability, and ecosystem productivity. Another source to back up this claim that The Gale Encyclopedia of Science states, “Various human activities result in net losses of forest area and therefore contribute to deforestation.” Also, 10% of CO2 emissions come from deforestation, according to Tropical Deforestation and Global Warming. This shows that, undeniably, humans have contributed to not only deforestation, but all of the harmful effects that come along with it.

The rainforests are falling at human hands. The world’s oldest living ecosystem is under threat in our conquest for farmland, timber, minerals, and other resources. These forests cover 2% of the Earth’s surface, or 6% of its landmass, yet they house over half the plant and animal species on Earth. Rainforests originally covered twice that area. Deforestation is occurring on such a scale that if it were to continue at present rates the forests could disappear within the next one to two hundred years. So why should we be concerned? Deforestation poses a threat to many plants and animals as well hurting the great impact the forests have in keeping our air clean. This greatly impacts the whole planet. For these reasons it is top priority to control deforestation so that a large area of forests will remain.

Deforestation has been happening since the beginning of civilization. Scientists estimate that half of the world’s tropical forests