P a g e | 1

MANNAM FOUNDATION CENTRE FOR

EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

PORUVAZHY, EDAKKAD P.O.,

KOLLAM

ONLINE ASSIGNMENT

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

RINTU CHACKO Name : AKHILA K NADH

Optional : NATURAL SCIENCE

Reg. No : 18114373002

SUBMITTED ON : 28/10/2015

P a g e | 2

INDEX

1. Topic : 3

2. Introduction : 4-5

3. Deforestation : 6

4. Causes of Deforestation : 7 - 9

5. Impacts of Deforestation : 10-12

6. Measures to control or check

Deforestation : 13

7. Conclusion : 14

8. Reference : 15

P a g e | 3

TOPIC:

DEFORESTATION

P a g e | 4

INTRODUCTION

Forests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem of earth. A forest is a large

area of land covered with trees or other woody vegetation. According to

environmental science, 25% of a country’s land area should be covered with

forests for a balanced ecology. Now a days deforestation is a serious problem.

Deforestation means the indiscriminate removal/destruction of the forest

cover or the vegetation of an area. It includes repeated lopping, felling,

annual removal of forest litter, browsing, grazing and trampling of seedlings.

Anthropogenic destruction of forests (deforestation) began thousands of

years ago. The initial needs for fuel wood and construction materials

continued to increase as populations expanded. With the progress in

industrialization, mining, grazing, commercial plantation and urbanization the

indiscriminate felling of trees and denudation of forests continued with

accelerated pace. Construction of dams and hydroelectric projects also

contributed to the large scale destruction of forests, over the years much of

P a g e | 5

the original forest cover disappeared due to clear felling and large scale

destruction mainly for making land for cultivation.

In ancient India, the tree was regarded as sacred, and the forest was a place

of pilgrimage. The artists give even greater significance to the tree. They

believe that the tree gifted art to mankind. The flute, the drum, the lute, the

pen- all comes from the tree. For the philosophers of ancient India the forest

was a symbol of an idealized cosmos. They found the forest to be self

sufficient and regenerative. Despite the importance of trees, today trees are

being cut down at a disastrous pace. Much of the Himalayan forest has been

already destroyed. The forests of India are the cradle of Indian civilization.

Every attempt has therefore to be made to preserve our trees and forests.

P a g e | 6

DEFORESTATION

Deforestation (clearance/clearing) is the removal of a forest or stand of trees

where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use. “Deforestation

refers to the cutting, clearing and removal of rainforest or related ecosystems

into less bio- diverse ecosystems such as pasture, cropland or plantations”

(Kricher, 1997). Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to

farms, ranches or urban use. In temperate mesic climates, natural

regeneration of forest stands often will not occur in the absence of

disturbance, whether natural or anthropogenic.

Deforestation is actually the destruction of biotic potential of land that leads

to a formidable threat to the economy, quality of life and future of the

environment. According to a global estimate, forests have dwindled from

about 7,000 million hectares in 1900 to 2890 million hectares in 1975. In the

year 2000, only about 2370 million hectares are left. Tropical rain forest,

which incidentally are the most productive forests in the world, have been the

worst affected. These have been reduced from 1600 million hectares to 938

million hectares. At the time of independence the country had 75 million

hectors under forest cover. This comprised about 22% of our total area. Today

this has been reduced to just over 10% against the minimum requirement of

33%. India has been losing 10 million trees every 24 hours. The entire

Himalayan ecosystem is threatened and under severe imbalance as perennial

springs have dried u owing to devastation of forests, Kerala has lost not less

than half of the forests it had at the time of its formation in 1956.

P a g e | 7

CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION

The following are the main causes of Deforestation

Agricultural practices: Land under forest coverage is converted into

agricultural land and used for cultivating crops. As the land is cleared

for agriculture, biomass is burned, and the resultant ash enriches the

soil. Without protecting layer of tree cover, the heavy downpours fall

on the bare soil. This leads to soil erosion and nutrients are flushed

away into rivers and out to the sea. Besides that, the decreasing

amount of organic matter in the soil and loss of vegetation cover

binding the soil also reduce the moisture retention capacity of the soil

considerably. Moreover, nutrient depletion also occurs due to the

cultivation and harvest of two or three crops.

Development projects: The scientific and technological advancements

had their impact on the forests. Development projects like the

hydroelectric projects, large dams and reservoirs, lying down of railway

lines and roads, establishment of industries, etc. are linked with several

environmental problems. Many of these projects require immense

deforestation. Infrastructural facilities like buildings, townships, electric

supply, etc. necessitate clearing the land. The forest products are used

on a large scale in the implementation of this project themselves.

Deforestation begins much before the actual commissioning of the

projects and continues even after the completion of the project.

Fuel requirements: the increasing demand for fuel wood is one of the

major factors leading to the degradation of the forest ecosystem. Fuel

wood is of such major importance that about one-half of all the wood

P a g e | 8

cut in the world is used for lighting, cooking or heating purposes. Even

today more than one third of humanity. Still relies on wood for fuel. In

the recent years, the oil crisis and the sharp increase in the prices of oil

have further escalated the demand for wood as fuel. The increasing

demand for firewood with every passing year means greater pressures

on the forests, which also means increased intensity of deforestation.

Raw materials for industry: Wood is not only used as fuel, but it also

has a variety of other uses, it is used for making boxes, crates, and

packing cases, match boxes , furniture, paper and plywood. Paper

industry consumes about 2 per cent of the country’s annual

consumption of wood. A major share of raw material for paper industry

comes from bamboo. This exerted tremendous pressure on the

bamboo plantations of the country. Packing cases made of ply wood

are used extensively in several industries. Softwood of various types

from forests or plantations is used for this purpose. Industries that

manufacture drugs, scents and perfumes, resin, gums, waxes,

turpentine, latex and rubber, tannis, alkaloids, bees’ wax, all obtain

their raw materials from plants, exerting tremendous pressure on

plants, ultimately leading to their destruction. Thus, a large number of

industries are dependent on forests. The thoughtless and unrestricted

exploitation of forest for various raw materials is the main cause of

degradation of the forest eco system.

Other Causes: Floods and forest fires have a devastating effect on the

forests. Very often, forest fires are caused by the deliberate burning of

trees by poachers and smugglers. Natural enemies like termites, pests

and several kinds of diseases affect the forests adversely. Defense

activities like preparation of ditches and bunkers movement of heavy

P a g e | 9

armoury and their use also affect the forest ecosystem considerably.

Major wars fought in the past have resulted in untold damage to

the forest ecosystems. The best example for this kind of destruction is

the Vietnam War. During the war period (1962-71), about 71 million

liters’ of defoliant chemicals were sprayed over the coast, which

resulted in the destruction of 1, 04,000 hectares of mangrove forest.

In addition to the above causes, deforestation also results from

overgrazing, agriculture, mining and urbanization.

P a g e | 10

IMPACTS OF DEFORESTATION

Forests are the most important natural resource on our planet upon

which the living beings, especially the human beings rely for their

existence. Deforestation would definitely deprive the man of the

economic benefits and environmental quality enjoyed by him from

nature. Large scale deforestation if continued unabated, will lead to

dangerous consequences, which will threaten the normal existence of

man on earth. Some of the adverse effects of deforestation are the

following:

Reduction of food and space for wild life: The deforestation has

resulted in drastic reduction of the habitable space and food of

wild animals. This leads to gradual decrease in the population and

ultimate extinction of several species of animals. Species

extinction may lead to severe ecological imbalance.

Imbalance in atmosphere: Since green plants remove CO2 from

the air and add O2 during photosynthesis, decrease in vegetation

causes increase in CO2 and decrease in O2 concentration of

atmosphere. This tipping the balance in favour of CO2 creates a

grave situation for living beings. Increase in CO2 concentration

tends to make the atmosphere very hot leading to severe

consequences.

Soil erosion: When vegetation becomes scanty, the root system

will not form a tight network in the soil. As a result the soil

becomes loose. It can be easily washed away by wind and flowing

waters. As a result of deep massive soil erosion, extensive systems

P a g e | 11

of gullies, called ravines are formed. Forests with deep-rooted

trees resist soil erosion and land slide.

Flood: In the absence of trees atmosphere becomes hot and

humus formation becomes adequate. As a result, the top soil

becomes loose, dry and hard, with only poor powers of absorbing

water. Consequently, most of the rain water flows away, causing

flash floods and soil erosion.

Silting of rivers and reservoirs: Extensive flood and soil erosion

consequent on deforestation result in washing away of large

amounts of topsoil. The fertile soil thus removed gets deposited in

rivers, canals and reservoirs of dams. This results in the

overflowing of rivers and canals on flooding and reduction in the

capacity of the dams.

Humidity, temperature and rainfall: Deforestation causes a

decrease in humidity, an increase in atmospheric temperature

and a reduction in rainfall. Trees increase humidity and thereby

make the atmosphere cool. In fact the evapo-transpiration from

the plants has a moderating effect on precipitation. Deforestation

naturally decreases humidity and renders atmosphere hot and

this in turn results in decreased rainfall.

Water resources: Deforestation reduces surface water and

ground water resources. In the denuded land, as the run off

increases, water percolation into the soil decreases. It results in

reduction of water resources available during dry season.

Reduction in soil fertility: Reduction in humus formation and

washing away of the topsoil due to increased soil erosion result in

the reduction of soil fertility.

P a g e | 12

Desertification: Increase in CO2 concentration and decrease in

humidity and rainfall bring about adverse climatic changes. In the

long run the entire area may turn into an arid land or at the

extreme a desert. Thus, deforestation may ultimately lead to

desertification.

Deforestation leads to scarcity of food, fuel and other requirements of

the native people. This forces them to migrate to the nearby urban

areas. This migration causes over-population in the urban areas and

hereby undue stress on the urban environment.

P a g e | 13

MEASURES TO CONTROL OR CHECK DEFORESTATION

1. People should not be allowed to cut young and healthy trees

2. Afforestation or planting more and more trees on waste land and hill

slopes.

3. People should be educated to concentrate on other sources of energy

other than fuel wood.

4. People should be educated against the hazards of deforestation.

5. People should not be allowed to throw burning match sticks, cigarettes

and beedies in the forest areas.

6. Forest Protection Force should be fully trained and equipped with latest

technology to check deforestation.

P a g e | 14

CONCLUSION

Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the

land available for other uses. Deforestation occurs around the world. There

are many causes of deforestation. Some reasons are: to make more land

available for housing and urbanization, to harvest timber to create

commercial items such as paper, furniture and homes, to create room for

cattle ranching …etc. These tactics leave the land completely barren and are

controversial practices. Clear cutting is when large swaths of land are cut

down all at once. A forestry expert quoted by the Natural Resources Defense

Counsil describes clear cutting as “an ecological trauma that has no precedent

in nature”. Deforestation is considered to be one of the contributing factors

to global climate change. Eco forestry, Green business, Land use planning

Community forestry etc can be applicable as remedial measures.

P a g e | 15

REFERENCES

1. Ecology, Ethology, Evolution, Zoogeography; K Vijayakumaran

Nair, M Jayaprakash, Meera George ; Academica publishers;

Pageno:150-153.

2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation

3. http://ayazraina.wikispaces.com/Measures+to+control+Deforest

ation.

4. https://ronzusgreenworld.wordpress.cm/disasers-and-

controls/assignment-on-deforestation/

5. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-

sciencce/deforestation3.htm