1. Extinctions – loss of biodiversity of bacteria, plants, animals and indigenous peoples.
2. Loss of habitat – this may force animals to enter habitats already occupied and causes lack of food and territorial issues.
3. Climate change – more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere because there are fewer trees to absorb the carbon dioxide. This increases global warming which increases land and water temperature.
4. Pollution – ground, water and air pollution from oil extraction and mining chemicals.
5. Loss of culture – indigenous people rely completely on forest resources and are forced to move and change lifestyles. Many also lose food sources, which causes starvation. By losing the culture we lose the knowledge of the people about the rainforest wildlife and uses.
6. Poisoning - from oil and mining waste.
7. Flooding and drought – A forest acts like a giant sponge absorbing rainfall and stopping it from running away in rivers. If then releases the water slowly by evaporation from it’s leaves. This helps to stabilize the rainfall of areas downwind from forests preventing drought.
8. Erosion - The roots of rainforest trees and vegetation anchor the soil. When trees are cut, the ground is protected and soil washes away with rain (erosion). It causes river to become cloudy so fish die. Rivers become shallow because of the increased dirt and so people cannot navigate these. This may lead to people being stranded and starving and to an increase in diseases such as malaria because the water is now more stagnant.
9. Poor soil for agriculture – Soil in the Amazon is very old and fragile and therefore not very good quality. The vegetation and food in the plants is therefore more valuable than the soil itself. Many workers cannot pay for fertilizers to improve the soil so it often becomes unusable quickly. Without trees, the soil is also not stable so topsoil that is good for growing crops is easily washed away by rain and the land becomes even less productive.
1. Extinctions – loss of biodiversity of bacteria, plants, animals and indigenous peoples.
2. Loss of habitat – this may force animals to enter habitats already occupied and causes lack of food and territorial issues.
3. Climate change – more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere because there are fewer trees to absorb the carbon dioxide. This increases global warming which increases land and water temperature.
4. Pollution – ground, water and air pollution from oil extraction and mining chemicals.
5. Loss of culture – indigenous people rely completely on forest resources and are forced to move and change lifestyles. Many also lose food sources, which causes starvation. By losing the culture we lose the knowledge of the people about the rainforest wildlife and uses.
6. Poisoning - from oil and mining waste.
7. Flooding and drought – A forest acts like a giant sponge absorbing rainfall and stopping it from running away in rivers. If then releases the water slowly by evaporation from it’s leaves. This helps to stabilize the rainfall of areas downwind from forests preventing drought.
8. Erosion - The roots of rainforest trees and vegetation anchor the soil. When trees are cut, the ground is protected and soil washes away with rain (erosion). It causes river to become cloudy so fish die. Rivers become shallow because of the increased dirt and so people cannot navigate these. This may lead to people being stranded and starving and to an increase in diseases such as malaria because the water is now more stagnant.
9. Poor soil for agriculture – Soil in the Amazon is very old and fragile and therefore not very good quality. The vegetation and food in the plants is therefore more valuable than the soil itself. Many workers cannot pay for fertilizers to improve the soil so it often becomes unusable quickly. Without trees, the soil is also not stable so topsoil that is good for growing crops is easily washed away by rain and the land becomes even less productive.