deforestation and global warming?

Question

what are some interesting facts about deforestation in relation to global warming?? i have an assignment to do on it, but i need some help picking a particular 'branch' if deforestation. what are some interesting things about deforestation i can take further? or good websites?
thanks.

Answer 1

It's the second largest contributor to global warming after power generation. Each year there's about 13 million acres of mature forests that are lost and about 2 million acres that are planted. Of the forest that is lost almost half is primary (virgin) rainforest.

Reasons for deforestation include: clear felling for farming and agricultural land of which ranching plays a large part, building land especially in the tropical regions, quarrying and mining particularly open cast mining (site stripping etc), selective felling of timber for construction, furniture etc (often illegal logging), felling for the contruction of roads, railways, power lines, reservoirs etc.

When the timber is felled it no longer photosynthesises and stops removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If the timber degrades through rotting or burning (as much of it does) then the carbon trapped in the tree is released back into the atmosphere. Rotting timber can also release methane - another greenhouse gas.

Deforestation contributes 18% of global warming, reforestation and aforestation reduces the contribution by 2%. The net result is that 16% of global warming is the consequence of deforestation, a little bit more than all forms of transport contribute.

Here's some websites that may help...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation
http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/fra2005/en/
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deforestation_in_Amazonia
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/defor_index.htm
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/primary_alpha.html
http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1115-forests.html

Answer 2

actually, think of this! on your neighbourhood in Toronto you had 10 trees around your residing house. Then each and every week after a neighbour starts reducing them down. Now the city warms as much as greater temperatures. think of of a much better scale now. The Amazon Aboriginals are scaling down huge chunks of the rain wooded area for cow grazing . After the cows consume up all the grass there is hardly any grass left. The soil below the grass erodes from no flowers (trees) on it and is going arid . A wasteland varieties and the temperature will boost. this finished path isn't reversible. If human beings save doing this globally then we'd have a great situation.

Answer 3

Deforestation supports it self in geometrical progression as it stops cross polination.

Answer 4

deforestation is often done to turn rain forest into pasture, so you are replacing a greenhouse gas (CO2) uptake with greenhouse gas (CH4) emitters: cows

Answer 5

I should think that the best place for you to start would be The Amazon Rain Forest.

Answer 6

You could start with the pine beetles that are killing all the pine trees because the temperature wont drop low enough to kill them---- like it always has in the past

Answer 7

deforestation is one of the major contributors to local climate changes
and this is happening all over the world ,
so collectively it must have an enormous impact.
most people concentrate on industrial and domestic pollution as global Warming contributor
far to little attention is given to desertification.

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