Deforestation ( CRISP services + causes ) Flashcards
(18 cards)
What are the causes of deforestation ?
Cattle ranching , subsistence agriculture , commercial agriculture , logging , transport infrastructure development , hydroelectric power dam construction, mining and oil & gas development
What does the provisioning service of forests do ?
It provides timber , fibre , food , chemical and medicinal products , water
What does the supporting service of forests do ?
Provides habitats for biodiversity , photosynthesis, primary production , soil formation , nutrient cycling , pollination , seed dispersal
What does the regulating service do ?
Carbon storage ( plants ) , purification of air , purification of water , climate regulation , protection against erosion / avalanches , flood mitigation , protection against coastal erosion and storms
What does the cultural service do ?
Recreation / aesthetics , spirituality , education
What is deforestation ?
Large scale permanent removal of forests , through the means of cutting or burning for non forest and commercial use
Cattle ranching ( evidence + explanation )
Over 60 percent of deforestation, was caused by cattle ranching in 2011
More than 38600 square miles has been cleared for pasture.
Brazil is the world’s largest exporter and producer of beef , total exports of beef products in 2019 in US dollars was 7.449 billion
Processed meat turned into canned products go to Europe and America. Leather products go to China, Italy , Vietnam and Hong Kong
Overgrazing and nutrient loss turns rainforest land into an eroded wasteland
Subsistence agriculture / Small scale agriculture ( evidence )
Poor farmers are encouraged to settle on forest lands by government land policies.
Between 1995 and 1998 , the Brazilian government granted land in the Amazon to roughly 150 000 families
Poor families typically use fire for clearing land. The land is planted with crops like bananas , palms , maize. After a year or two , the productivity of the soil declines, and the transient farmers clear new forest for more short - term agricultural land.
Subsistence agriculture / Small scale agriculture ( explanation )
Brazil’s food security depends on the work of rural families on their land.
Small - scale farmers produce food to feed more than 190 million Brazilians.
Family farmers were responsible for 87 % of the total production of cassava and 70% of the national production of beans in 2012
Small - scale farming was responsible for 38% of the national revenues from the agricultural sector, or US$25.2 billion in 2019
With an unemployment rate over 15 %, small scale farms alleviate unemployment by employing 12.3 million workers in 2012
Large scale agriculture / commercial agriculture , soy cultivation ( evidence + explanation )
Since 1990, the area of land planted with soybeans in Amazonian states has expanded at the rate of 14.1 % per year and now covers more than 8 million hectares
Due to the rising demand for vegetable oils for food , industrial uses and biodiesel production , land under soy cultivation is increasing.
Soybeans are Brazil’s top export product with revenues totalling $25.72 billion in 2017
Logging ( explanation + evidence )
Logging in the Amazon is controlled by strict licensing which allows
timber to be harvested only in designated areas. However, there is significant evidence that illegal logging is quite widespread in Brazil.
The annual extent of selective logging was found to be between around 12000 km2 and 720000 km2 in 2005.
Logging in Amazon is closely linked with road building which opens up forested land for other uses , including small - scale agriculture , industrial farms , or cattle pasture and even subsidies these activities
Total revenue of primary timber products in 2015 was about 243.2 million US dollars
The timber industry employs about 204000 people
Transport Infrastructure development ( evidence + explanation )
Brazil’s trans - amazonian 2000 mile highway bisects the massive Amazon rainforest , opening rain forest lands to settlement by poor farmers and development of timber and mineral resources
Roads provide access to logging and mining sites while opening forest land to exploitation by poor landless farmers
hydroelectric power dam construction
The Tucuruí dam , located in the state of Pará, is the first large scale hydroelectric project in the Brazilian rainforest
1750 km2 of Amazon forest was flooded during its construction
Brazils hydroelectric dams generate 67% of the country’s power , Brazil’s main source of energy
The Tucurui Dam has an installed capacity of 8370 MW and brought power to 13 million people.
The Tucurui Dam created just under 2000 jobs.
Mining and Oil & Gas development ( explanation and evidence )
Typically , miners clear forest for building material , fuel wood collection , and subsistence agriculture.
During the 1980s , over 100000 prospectors invaded the state of Para when a large gold deposit was discovered.
Iron ore is the mineral of greatest value to Brazil’s mining industry , representing 78% of total mining exports , $16.5billion of a $22.5 billion industry in 2008
