Deforestation is an ongoing phenomenon in nigeria and is becoming more visible with increasing population and urbanization in almost of parts of the country. The impact of deforestation on biodiversity in nigeria is seen in terms of loss of valuable plant species, reduced plant biomass, extinction of animal species. The reason is that quite often animals that live in the rain forests require specialized habitats. Pdf deforestation, animal extinction and diseases researchgate. The greatest loss with the longestlasting effects from the ongoing destruction of wilderness will be the mass extinction of species that provide earth with biodiversity. They suggested that deforestation is responsible for the apparent extinction of the former species. The extinction rate of today may be 1,000 to 10,000 times the biological normal, or background, extinction rate of 110 species extinctions per year. The effect that climate has on extinction is very big. The ultimate result of deforestation is a major decrease in biodiversity. Deforestation and hunting effects on wildlife across. Trees are one of the key factors in the water cycle. Increasing food production is a major agent for the conversion of natural habitat into agricultural land. Natural causes as hurricanes, fires, parasites and floods human activities as agricultural expansion, cattle breeding, timber extraction, mining, oil extraction, dam construction and infrastructure development. When a species natural habitat is gone, it becomes hard for that species to adapt causing extinction.
The main fundamental cause of animal extinction in most recent times has. Rainforests contain the highest levels of biodiversity in the world, and without a diverse world, life will be unable to thrive. It also has nonbeneficial consequences for medical research. Harvesting, forest fires, and insect infestations do not count as deforestation because the affected areas will eventually grow back. Despite recorded species extinctions and attempts to recover particularly plants through remaining seeds, rates of biodiversity loss are not falling. Deforestation results in a decline in biodiversity and is known to have caused the extinction of many species. Amount of species that went extinct before humans became the dominant species on earth with the advent of agriculture species extinctions have increased dramatically 8000 b. It is identified as a main threat to 85% of all species described in the iucns red list those species officially classified as threatened and endangered. Animal agribusiness already occupies about 40% of earths landmass and accounts for 75% of global deforestation.
Climate change and deforestation together push tropical species towards extinction. However, many biologists believe that species extinction, like global. According to national geographic, loss of habitat is the major cause of species extinction. As deforestation proceeds in tropical forests, this promises to become the cause of mass extinctions caused by human activity all species have specific food and habitat needs. But forests around the world are under threat, jeopardizing these benefits. Diversity leads to unique adaptations and evolution and allows organisms to rely on each other to survive. Probably 500 million species have existed over time background rate of extinction. Estimates of rates of tropical deforestation vary enormously and the implications of this loss for species extinction are only beginning to be understood. Habitat loss is probably the greatest threat to the variety of life on this planet today. Climate change and deforestation together push tropical.
How does human activity affect species extinctions. The effects of deforestation have led to a decline. Tropical rainforests are the most diverse ecosystems on earth and about 80% of the worlds known biodiversity eminates from them. Deforestation definition, causes, effects, and control. Deforestation destroys natural habitats for animals. So far there is little evidence for the massive species extinctions predicted by the species area curve in the chart below. Importance and conservation of tropical forests causes of deforestation in southeast asia rate of deforestation drivers of deforestation case study of deforestation in sea research by searrin.
Most of the clearing is done for agricultural purposesgrazing cattle, planting crops. By extrapolating samples of local species assemblages, alroy estimates global biodiversity losses equaling a mass extinction event if tropical deforestation continues unabated. Deforestation, because most of animal species live in the rainforest but it is getting cut down so animals get closer to extinction. Deforestation causes can either be direct or indirect. Deforestation is one of the leading causes of climate change and species extinction. Tropical deforestation and species extinction iucn portals. Evidence to date suggests that deforestation is cur. Causes, effects and control strategies 5 deforestation are maintained. Global forest loss disproportionately erodes biodiversity in.
Combined impacts of deforestation and wildlife trade on tropical. Habitat loss is a primary cause of species decline, and predicting the distribution of quality habitats across broad scales is needed for. Pdf the 20th century witnessed profound, unprecedented changes in the natural, built, and social environments. Global warming world poverty world peace deforestation animal species extinction world hunger there are others. The effects of deforestation on animals healthy living. Deforestation causes species extinction in madagascar. According to recent estimates, the world is losing 7 species of plants, animals and insects every day to deforestation. Global biodiversity loss from tropical deforestation pnas.
The threats manifest themselves in the form of deforestation and forest degradation. Why deforestation happens deforestation occurs in many ways. Its easy to see that deforestation and desertification have many detrimental effects on the environment, but one of the most devastating impacts is on the loss of biodiversity. Deforestation has already caused the extinction of a large number of endemic insect species on the island of madagascar, according to new research published in. This workcauses of deforestation of the brazilian amazonappears in this context. As a result, any process that causes a population to dwindle may ultimately predispose that population to extinction. Deforestation creates agricultural or pastoral land but can also result in desertification, water resource degradation, biodiversity erosion and habitat loss, and soil loss it has been noticed that madagascar has lost 80 or 90% of its original or prehuman forest cover, but this claim is difficult to prove and is not. Deforestation defined as the cutting down of trees in a large area, or the destruction of trees by people, is a huge problem and it is estimated that between 3 and 7 billion trees are cut down each year. The analysis shows that natural resiliency causes the models to overestimate the rates of species extinctions for given intensities of deforestation. The central issue which it attempts to study is the role of cattle ranchingits dynamic and profitabilityin the expansion of deforestation. Insufficient political actions and governance failure as inadequate land. At its most extreme, overhunting can result in the extinction of largebodied animals in otherwise healthy intact habitat, driving changes in forest.
However, due to series of deforestation, the natural habitats of the wildlife are also destroyed. The biodiverse earth cant keep up with the rapid changes in temperature and climate. Around seventy percent of the planets animals and plants inhabit the forest and need it to sustain their life. Once their habitat is lost, they are on their way to extinction. Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to utilize the land or trees. More than a million species could be driven to extinction within 40 years due to deforestation and climate change. Vanishing species deforestation causes species extinction. In fact, over the decades deforestation has already led to the loss of several species.
We are losing species that might show us how to prevent cancer or help us find a cure for aids. Deforestation extinction of species conclusion essay. Species began falling in numbers and going extinct already throughout the 19th century. Deforestation on a human scale results in decline in biodiversity, and on a natural global scale is known to cause the extinction of many species.
When this happens, farmers pack up and move on to the next section of the rainforest, leaving their farmland behind for. The soil only stays nutrient rich for so long, about two years11, after this time, the nutrients from the burned biomass are used up. The main cause of deforestation is agriculture poorly planned infrastructure is emerging as a big threat too and the main cause of forest degradation is illegal logging. The changes in area of forest by region and subregion are shown in table 1. Loss in species caused by tropical deforestation and their.
Due to deforestation, the removal of trees causes sloped lands to be more susceptible to landslides. Deforestation can lead to the extinction of certain species. Causes and consequences of species extinctions navjot s. Deforestation poses a grave threat to this biodiversity.
Deforestation and hunting are main wildlife threats in amazonia, affecting the ecosystem and dwellers that rely on game meat. Marsfm working paper 5 2007 forestry department food and agriculture organization of the united nations manual on deforestation, degradation, and fragmentation using remote sensing and gis prepared by giri tejaswi rome, march 2007 strengthening monitoring, assessment and reporting on sustainable forest management in asia gcpint988jpn. Impacts of deforestation on the loss of biodiversity zambrut. Other organisms are losing species they depend upon, and thus face extinction themselves. A horrifying 50,000 species become extinct each year. Deforestation and species extinction in tropical moist forests. Indeed some 31 countries do not even make the list because they have already removed most of their forests and even if that remain are seriously fragmented and degraded. On a local scale, the clearing of forest land can cause a decline in the population of certain species. Typically, deforestation is clearing a lot of trees without the intention of establishing future growth. Seventy percent of the earths plant and animals dwell in forests, and deforestation affects them directly.
Given the results, one might question whether the loss of all tropical forests by. Many people have asked iucn to comment on the numerous conflicting estimates of species extinction and some would like us to come. The rapid destruction is causing species to disappear, negatively impacting the biodiversity of native ecosystems and furthering our path into the 6th mass extinction of all species on earth. On a global scale, however, deforestation can result in the extinction of several desirable species. In the article, benefits of deforestation, nathalie fiset mainly focuses on the economic benefits of deforestation. Deforestation is an ongoing phenomenon in nigeria and is becoming more visible with and urbanization in almost of parts of the country.
The loss of species will have a great impact on the planet. The main causes of extinction are deforestation and poaching. Deforestation alters ecosystem dynamics and leads to new breeding habitats for. Causes of deforestation of the brazilian amazon isbn. Deforestation in madagascar is an ongoing environmental issue. Habitat destruction is an important cause of known extinctions. Impacts of deforestation on the loss of biodiversity.
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